Pyramid Explorations™

Building Body-Building Snacks and Meals

Building Body-Building Snacks and Meals
Students learn that by combining nutritious foods into body-building meals and snacks, they can eat a healthy diet. In Part I, students suggest examples of body-building meals and snacks and evaluate their suggestions. They also learn what foods belong in the "Others" category and why. In Part II, students read The Pyramid Explorations™ Theater, Act IV and plan body-building meals and snacks.

• Understand that nutritious foods can be combined to make body-building snacks and meals
• Explain what the "Others" category is and identify at least three "Others" foods
• State that it's okay to eat "Others" foods but not too often
• Understand that by selecting body-building snacks and meals, students can eat the recommended number of servings from each of the Five Food Groups each day

• Pyramid Explorations™ Theater, Act IV PDF (1 per student)
• Draw the following chart on the chalkboard (see graphic at right)
• Review Comparison Cards PDF worksheet. Note:
  • Each graph has six bars.
  • The bar on the far right represents the percent of calories in a 2,000 calorie diet, e.g., if a food has 200 calories, the bar would represent 10%.
  • The other five bars represent protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.
  • Nutritious foods from the Five Food Groups will have one or more nutrient bars higher than the calorie bar.
• For "Others" category foods, the calorie bar is the highest.
• Comparison Cards PDF worksheet (1 per student)
• Body Building Meals and Snacks PDF worksheet (1 per student)
• Optional: Snacks-By-FAX PDF worksheet (1 per student)

• Begin with a review of concepts presented in The Balancing Act activity. Write "17" on the board. Point out that students need 17 servings of nutritious foods from the Five Food Groups each day for a healthy diet. Write the name of each food group on the board and have students tell you the number of servings they need from each group. Also review the various rhythms they applied to "4-2-3-2-6 gives me the right mix" chant in The Balancing Act activity.
• Introduce the concept of body-building meals and snacks using the flow chart on the board.
  • For a healthy diet, use nutritious foods from the Five Food Groups to make body-building snacks and body-building meals.
• Distribute the Body-Building Meals and Snacks worksheet. Explain that a body-building snack contains at least one food group. It can have more than one nutritious food, but it must contain at least one. Ask students for a few examples. Decide if each example is a body-building snack and what food groups are represented. (Some examples might include: yogurt and a banana; crackers, cheese and an apple; cereal with milk.)

  Continue:

  • Why do you think we call these snacks "body-building"? (Because they contain nutrients that help keep the body healthy and give the body energy it needs.)
    
  • Why is string cheese is a body-building snack but a soft drink isn't? (String cheese is a nutritious food from the Milk Group; a soft drink isn't.)
    
    

  Ask for a few examples of body-building snacks students might eat after school.

• Explain another way to make sure you get the nutritious food you need every day is to eat body-building meals. Point out body-building meals on the flow chart. A meal is a small body-building meal if:
  • There are three or four different foods in a meal and
  • There are foods from at least three food groups.

  Continue:

  • Why do you suppose a meal with three or four foods and at least three food groups is considered "body-building"? (It contains nutrients that help keep the body healthy.)
  • What's a small body-building meal you might eat for breakfast?
  • What's an example of a breakfast that is not body-building?
• Move on to large body-building meals. A large-body building meal contains:
  • Five or more food groups.
  • Mostly nutritious foods.
  • At least one food from each of the Five Food Groups.

  Ask students when they might eat a large meal? (Evening, brunch.) Ask for examples of a large body-building meal and evaluate them on the basis of the three criteria.

• Review the concept of the "Others" category. On their Pyramid Explorations™ Mini-Poster, have students compare the tip to the rest of the Pyramid. Ask what's different. (The tip is gray; the tip is smaller, the tip isn't connected to the rest of the Pyramid.)
  • What are some foods that belong in the tip and not in a food group? (Chips, cake, candy, soft drinks, salad dressing.)
  • Why do you think these foods are in the tip and not one of the Five Food Groups? (They have few body-building nutrients.)
• Distribute the Comparison Card worksheet and ask students what they illustrate. Point out:
  • The first five bars represent nutrients.
  • The bar on the far right represents calories.
  • If the calorie bar is the highest bar on the graph, the food belongs in the tip of the Pyramid.
  • Which foods have the highest bar? (Soft drink, chocolate chip cookies, corn chips.)
  • Foods that don't have many body-building nutrients don't belong in any of the Five Food Groups. They are in the "Others" category.
  • "Others" aren't bad. You can eat two or three of them just as long as you eat all the servings you need from the Five Food Groups every day.
• Have students cover the Five Food Group portion of the Pyramid and ask:
  
  • What if you only ate "Others"? Where would you get calcium for strong bones and teeth to help your blood clot?
  • Where would you get protein for strong muscles and growth?
  • What would happen if you only ate "Others"? (You wouldn't get all the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.)
• Now have students cover the tip of the Pyramid. Ask:
  • What if you didn't eat any "Others"? Would it affect your health?(No)
  • Would there be other effects? (Food might not be as much fun.)
  • "Others" are often good taste and can be part of a healthy diet, but they should be only a small part.
• Optional: If you did the first activity, bring out the "Nutritious Food Brainstorm" list you created. Identify any "Others" foods on the list.

• Divide students into groups of six. Distribute Act IV, "Body-Building Meals." Assign roles and have students read the act in small groups. Position the groups so they can read with minimal disruption to one another. Discuss some of the key ideas:
  • What were the six foods in the meal Chef Cassie prepared? (Salad, rice, chicken, papaya, milk, chocolate cake.)
  • Why does this qualify as a large body-building meal? (It contains five or more foods; it contains mostly nutritious foods with at least one from each of the Five Food Groups.)
  • If someone didn't like papaya, what are some other foods that could be served instead? (Accept all Fruit Group suggestions.)
  • If chicken weren't available, what food could be substituted? (Accept all Meat Group suggestions.)
• Have students complete their Body-Building Meals and Snacks worksheet and share their examples. Invite the rest of the class to evaluate the suggestions.
• Optional: Distribute and have students complete the Snacks-By-FAX worksheet, then share their responses.
• End by pointing out that:
  • To eat for health, we start with nutritious foods from the Five Food Groups.
  • We organize those nutritious foods into body-building meals and snacks.
  • When we eat body-building snacks and meals, we have a healthful diet.

Note: PDF documents require the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, click here to download a free copy.

Note: This activity is from the Pyramid Explorations™ student workbook. Pyramid Explorations™ is available from your local dairy council. Click here for contact information.

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