Education and Support Services
Innovative Nutrition Intervention:
A Welness Seminar Series for Parents, Teachers amd Administrators
Mission
The mission of this series is to educate parents, teachers and administrators on the principles and fundamentals of nutrition as it affects overall wellness so that they can gain the knowledge and tools they need to help our children make healthy choices both in school and at home.
Over four 1 ½ hour sessions, participants will learn about the current health crisis and projected outcome; the difference between low-energy nutrition and high-energy nutrition; how to read food labels and identify ingredients; where and how to shop; and other solutions that they can take home and implement into their daily lives. We believe that by empowering parents they will have an incentive for supporting the schools in setting higher Wellness Policy standards and achieving their Wellness Policy goals.
Session One: Opening Presentation - Understanding Nutrition & Wellness
- Identifying the current childhood health trends
- What are our kids currently eating?
- Link between healthy food and test scores
- USDA Standards vs. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
- What your school is doing to implement their Wellness Policy
- Understanding Whole Grains
Session Two: Creating Climate of Wellness
- The food pyramid and what it means
- The importance of ingredient-based nutrition standards
- The top six modified food ingredient “culprits”
- Hydrogenated oils and fats
- MSG
- Bleached and Enriched Flour
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Food Coloring
- TBHQ
- A. What are they? | B. How are They Created? | C. What they do to the Body? | D. What dangers do they pose?
- What are whole and organic foods?
- Introduction to Proteins, Fats and Oils
Handouts:
Harvard School of Public Health Food Pyramid; KSNS Red List: Unacceptable Food Ingredients List; Articles on “The Top 6 Ingredient Culprits:” MSG, Bleached/Enriched Flour, HFCS, Food Coloring, Hydrogenated Fats and Oils
Session Three: Food Marketing and Common Misconceptions
- Are you being duped by food industry marketing tactics?
- Reading food labels and making healthy food decisions
- Other food concerns (GMOs, rBHG, Irradiated Foods)
- Comparing different processed foods by brand
- Other food pyramids that work and why
- Whole-food sources of high-energy nutrients
- Sources of Calcium | Omega 3's and 6s Fatty Acids | Vitamins and Minerals
- Introduction to Vegetables and Fruits
Handouts:
List of links where you can find out more about these healthy food companies.
Session Four: Making it Work at Home, at School and for Life
- Menu planning
- Tools for eating out
- Portion control
- Suggestions for introducing new food items into the home and school
- How to get your kids to eat healthy and like it
- Hiding vegetables in sauces.
- How to shop
- Reasons to buy local
- Bringing back the family meal
- How healthy school lunches and eating out can raise money for other programs such as Phys Ed?
- School lunch programs that turn a profit
- Working with restaurants to make money for school programs
Handouts:
Sample school lunch menus; sample recipes that you can prepare with your children; restaurant guide; reasons to buy local flyer; List of local markets where you can find healthy food items