The fun factor in child nutrition

  • By Barbara Quinn The Monterey County Herald
  • Monday, March 24, 2014 6:14pm
  • Life

One hand-made envelope was filled with dried flower petals. In another was a hand-written poem: “Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sugar is bad and I’ll miss you.”

Thank you letters from students at Lagunitas Elementary School, one of several elementary schools in Monterey County, Calif., that has hosted a program called Kids Eat Right.

How do you teach kids to eat right? Expose them to fun activities that focus on healthful habits, says Uriel Mendoza, coordinator of the Kids Eat Right Program at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

Within five fast-paced sessions, students experience and practice simple yet profound health messages:

Eat at least one fruit and one vegetable every day.

Drink beverages that contain no added sugar.

Get at least one hour of physical activity each day.

These messages are part of a national initiative from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to help curb childhood obesity in our country. “Kids Eat Right helps reinforce the healthful messages children get from home,” Mendoza said.

There’s even a website (www.kidseatright.org) that offers resources to help children and their families to “Shop Smart, Cook Healthy and Eat Right.”

And forgive the pun, but kids seem to be gobbling up what they learn. I mean, really. Who would guess a fourth-grader would call a colorful broccoli salad “delicious”? Or a yogurt parfait “yummy”? Or say, “Thank you for telling us to do 60 minutes of exercise a day”?

“I am soooooo going to be healthy now!” one student gushed on a card embellished with colorful fruits and vegetables. “Thank you soooo much!”

Key to the success of this program? Basic health messages rolled into lively outdoor games and hands-on recipe preparation.and tasting.

“There is no reason kids cannot have fun while Kids Eat Right,” Mendoza says with a smile. And he backs up his claim with one of his props — a giant parachute of many colors (to represent colorful fruits and vegetables) — that he uses in activities.

Registered dietitians teach the nutrition portion of Kids Eat Right.

“My favorite food was the Batman Tortilla,” (black beans on a corn tortilla topped with chopped tomatoes and low fat yogurt), writes one student.

“I loved that broccoli pasta (whole grain) stuff,” said another.

And then there’s the crayoned fourth-grade drawing of a colorful unicorn with a bright red apple perched on his horn. Absolutely epic.

Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, Calif. Email her at bquinnchomp.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.