March Is National Nutrition Month.
Do you think about what goes on your plate or in your bowl before you sit down to eat? Eating nutritious options like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean protein foods provides the nutrients you need without too many calories. Over the day, make it a point to include foods from all the food groups. Click here for suggestions to “Get Your Plate in Shape.” For more information, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.
As a class activity, encourage your students to track their food choices and physical activity online at FuelUptoPlay60.com. Click here to download the Paper Tracker.
National School Breakfast Week
In the race to get to the head of the class, many students forget the importance of starting the day with breakfast. “School Breakfast—Go for Gold” highlights how eating a nutritious breakfast at school helps students succeed. The campaign also highlights the importance of eating healthy and being active. The campaign runs from January to March 2012, culminating in National School Breakfast Week, March 5-9, 2012.
Visit the School Nutrition Association website for more information including tools and resources, activities for kids and a parent brochure.
The New Look of Flavored Milk
Over the past few years, many of the nation’s milk processors have been hard at work to lower the calories and sugar in this kid-friendly drink. This school year when kids pick up a bottle or carton of flavored milk with their lunch, the majority will be less than 150 calories – about 31 calories more than white milk. These products will also contain about 22 grams of total sugar (or 10 grams of added sugars) per 8-ounce serving. And the good news – the new products preserve milk’s nutritional value and taste appeal. Learn more.
“Why I Drink Flavored Milk” Create Your Own Poster Contest Winners
The Bottle Buddies, in their recently released coloring book “From Head to Toe: Milk Helps You Grow,” invited young artists to create a poster showing why they drink flavored milk. The judges poured through the entries and selected a grand-prize winner for each age category: K-2nd grades and 3rd-5th grades. Check out the winning entries.
Make Fuel Up to Play 60 Work for Your Child Nutrition Program!
The School Nutrition Association has launched a new Fuel Up to Play 60 toolkit for school nutrition professionals. The toolkit can help schools meet the USDA’s HealthierUS School Challenge criteria, increase breakfast and lunch participation – and more! Click here to access the new toolkit.