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Feeling Alive and Eating Five - Fruits and Veggies Matter
08/22/2007
The National “Fruits and Veggies Matter” Campaign kicks off
in September which highlights the importance of eating five fruits and
vegetables a day. With the return of school, children need to eat healthy meals
and nutritious snacks to support their learning – beginning with a healthy
breakfast to “break the fast.” We all know we’re supposed to eat more fruits
and vegetables, but why is it such a challenge sometimes? The Centers for
Disease Control [CDC] and the Produce for Better Health Foundation [PBH] have
joined teams with several other organizations to help us eat more fruits and
vegetables…five a day in fact!
The CDC updated its web site to reflect its new mission
called “Fruits & Veggies: More Matters” campaign, which can be viewed at:
FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov. The new public initiative web site offers the
following: a calculator to figure out the number of fruits and vegetables you
need based on daily caloric needs, behavior tips on how to add fruits and
vegetables to busy days, and interesting fruits and vegetables with nutritious
recipes to try.
Of course, my favorite fruit is the apple --- the green,
and sweet and sour Granny Smith apple to be exact. Tens of thousands of apple
types are grown throughout the world, and each type of apple has its own story
and its own history. For the Granny Smith, the story goes that green apple
sprouted from a pile of apples tossed out by a southeast Australian named Mrs.
Smith back in 1868. But the Granny Smith apple has another story. As legend was
told, a woman named Marie Ana Smith carelessly tossed some French crabapples
into her garden back in the 1860s. Upon discovering the sprouts which surfaced,
she cultivated the young shoots into horticultural history. And it’s very easy
to eat one apple a day since apples are easy on-the-go fruit. Think “green” and
“on-the-go”!
My favorite vegetable is asparagus. Asparagus….looks like a
tall, skinny tree shaded with thiamine that offers a trunk full of folic acid,
calcium, as well as riboflavin. It’s quite a vegetable delicacy that also comes
in white through a process called blanching when shaded by the light. I love
Brussels sprouts too. Green vegetables are an important part of our diet and
most children do not eat enough of these veggies. Encourage your children to eat
more vegetables, especially the cruciferous vegetables [broccoli, Brussels
sprouts, collard/mustard greens and cabbage] because vitamins A and C are help
fight against cancer and other major diseases. Teach your children: green is
good!
Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins, minerals
and fiber that protect us from disease. Apples contain fiber which lowers are
risk of heart disease, fairly inexpensive and easy to eat as an “on-the-go”
snack. Bananas provide our bodies with magnesium, potassium and vitamin B which
give us energy, as well as lowers our blood pressure. On the vegetable side,
broccoli contains bone-building calcium, fiber, vitamins A, C and E, and also
contains the mineral boron which enhances brain function in every way. Adding
healthy vegetables to our lunches and dinners supports our need to eat a “square
meal.”
What is a “square meal”? It’s not food on a square plate.
And it’s certainly not lunch with Sponge Bob Square Pants. According to The
American Heritage Dictionary, a “square meal” is: a substantial and
nourishing meal.
Square Meals is the Texas Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Division’s school nutrition education and outreach program,
funded by the United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] Food and Nutrition
Service. According to the Square Meals program, children should follow
these guidelines: for active school-age children, 1.5 cups of fruits a day which
equates to three ½ cup servings, and two cups of vegetables a day which equals
four ½ cup servings of vegetables.
During health science class, elementary school age children
should be learning the following and more based on the Texas Essentials of
Knowledge and Skills [TEKS] Health Education Objectives which can be reviewed at
www.tea.state.tx.us These objectives are just some of the many lessons that
public school children are required to learn:
Kindergarten: Identify types of foods that help the body
grow such as healthy breakfast foods and snacks.
Grade 1: Describe practices and activities that enhance
individual health such as enough sleep, nutrition and exercise.
Grade 2: Identify food groups and describe the effects of
eating too much sugar and fat such as knowing that sugar causes dental cavities
Grade 3: Describe food combinations in a balanced diet such
as a food pyramid
Grade 4: Identify the importance of taking personal
responsibility for developing and maintaining a personal health plan such as
fitness, nutrition, stress management and personal safety.
Grade 5: Examine and analyze food labels and menus for
nutritional content.
For more information on daily nutrition needs, visit
www.mypyramid.gov, as well as my web site at
www.amytheapplelady.com where you can find my book, The ABCs of Fruits &
Veggies, which highlights vitamin content for specific fruits and
vegetables. Visit
www.squaremeals.org or call 888/TEX-KIDS for school meal program details,
healthy recipes and more.
In the meantime, eat five and feel more alive --- because
fruits and veggies matter, and so do you and your children!!
Originally published in
Burleson-Crowley Connection Newspaper,
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