THINK Breakfast!
Materials Needed: paper plates, newspaper ads, coloring materials, scissors.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Overall Goal: Children will understand the importance of eating a balanced breakfast every morning.
Objectives:
1- Be able to list at least 3 different balanced breakfast ideas.
2- Name 3 reasons why breakfast is important.
3- List the 3 ingredients for a balanced breakfast.
Icebreaker: Measure 19 g and 10 g of sugar into baggies, show kids amount of sugar in a poptart (19g) vs light yogurt (10g) (almost double the amount).
Introduction:
How many of you kids eat breakfast every morning? What do you kids eat for breakfast? What makes up a healthy breakfast?
Studies have shown breakfast is a very important meal for everyone both old and young. Waking up and putting food in your bellies to break the overnight fast has been shown to be very beneficial in your overall health. Eating breakfast has been shown to boost metabolism. People who skip breakfast have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes and many other chronic diseases.
Your body is like a car and just like a car needs gas for fuel, your bodies need food for fuel. That is why breakfast is so important. It is like not filling a car with gas and expecting it to drive all day. Breakfast helps it so you have energy all day long.
Your brain especially needs fuel to be ready for school. Studies show that a good breakfast improves behavior and school performance! Basically if you kids want to be even smart….eating breakfast is a good idea. Your brain needs glucose to function properly. Glucose is what you get when foods are broken down in the body. Good breakfasts can help you maintain a healthy weight.
I like to call skipping breakfast A-No-Brainer…..when you skip breakfast your brain and your body suffers.
Keys to Better Breakfasts!
There are three secret ingredients to a balanced breakfast to help fuel your brains! I am going to share these secrets with you kids today.
The first secret is Protein- protein can keep you full throughout the day and is an important component in a morning meal. This will help you go strong and have energy all day long. Choose lean protein sources such as turkey bacon, an egg, slice a meal or cheese, low-fat yogurt, or peanut butter on toast. Make sure you are getting protein for breakfast, if you want your energy to last. You can even have left over dinner for breakfast, usually having a Binner really helps increase protein.
The second secret ingredients is to choose a whole grain carbohydrate- Carbohydrate provide glucose for your brains and help keep you focused and energized until lunch. Try oatmeal, whole wheat breads, bagels muffins, waffles, pancakes. Lots of kids are eating cereal these days and this is a good choice if you know how to choose the right kind of cereal. When choosing cereals pick brands that have less than or equal to 6g of sugar, and high in fiber (greater than 3g).
The third secret ingredient is to make sure you’re getting a fruit or veggie: make sure you are getting at least one fruit like apples, oranges, bananas, blueberries, or strawberries. You could even have an omelet with lot of veggies. Try Smoothies to get both fruits and vegetables.
Activity: Breakfast Collage: Bring Ad’s from the newspaper, have the kids cut out healthy breakfast choices and glue them on a paper plate. Make sure they have the most important three ingredients for breakfast.
Optional: provide them with a healthy breakfast snack: homemade granola, small yogurt, or fruit etc.
Conclusion: Make it a Routine: BREAKFAST CANNOT BE SKIPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!
Make sure you are getting a balanced breakfast every morning. If you find yourself rushing out the door make preparation’s the night before. Or get a simple healthy grab and go breakfast.