Children’s Hour at the Table

Highlights:•Learnwhyeating

togetherisimportant

•Howtomakemealsfunforeveryone

•What’sgoodtoeat

•Picturestocolor

•Funactivities

•Mealtimecontracts

C H I L D R E N ’ S H O U R A T T H E T A B L E

Draw your family on this page. Next to each person, write their name and their favorite food.

C H I L D R E N ’ S H O U R A T T H E T A B L E

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Questions for Kids

What’s your favorite food?Everykidhasafavoritefood.Formany,it’speanutbutterandjelly;otherslovepizza;somepreferspaghetti,sushi

orevensalad.Buthowwillyouknowwhatyourfavoritefoodsreallyareuntilyou’vetriedthemall?Youmight

evendiscoverthatyouactuallylikeBrusselssprouts!

If your brother could have just one super power, what would it be?Wouldhewanttobeabletofly?Becomeinvisible?Beincrediblystrongorfastorflexible?Readminds?Which

superpowerwouldhechoose?Wanttoknow?Askhim!Mealtimeisagreattimetogettoknowyourfamilybetter

—andtohelpthemgettoknowyoubetter,too.Sogoahead…Taketurnsaskingandansweringquestions,share

storiesandjokes,talkaboutwhat’sonyourmind.

Which came first: the chicken or the egg?Haveyouevernoticedthatpeoplearehappier(andusuallynicer)whentheysmile?Sowhichcamefirst:thesmileor

thehappyfeeling?Haveyoumadesomeonesmiletoday?Haveyoudonesomethingniceforanyone?Mealtimeis

theperfecttimetodoboth.It’seasy!Setthetable,lendahandinthekitchen,helpwithclean-upafterwards.

Ifyou’renotsurewhattodo,justasking,“HowcanIhelp?”issuretogetasmile!

Unscramble the letters to learn how to set the table...

S G L S A

RO

FK

INKEF

ONSPO

PIN

NAK

A L P T E

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You Are What You Eat!Yourbodyisafactory,constantlymanufacturingtheapproximately50trillion(50,000,000,000,000)cellsthatmake

upyourskin,hair,nails,bones,blood,brain,heart,stomach,liverandotherorgans.Justlikeanautomotivefactory,

whichneedsmetal,plastic,rubberandotherrawmaterialstomakeacar,yourbodyneedstherawmaterialsto

makeyou!Thoserawmaterialsarefoundintheairyoubreathe,thewateryoudrinkandthefoodyoueat.

Color these foods...

Draw some of your own favorite foods...

C H I L D R E N ’ S H O U R A T T H E T A B L E

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What Foods Should You Eat?Doctorsandscientistsarestilllearningjusthowthebody

worksandaboutwhatthebestfoodsareforustoeatto

makeitworkbetter.Buttheyknowenoughtosuggestthat

weshouldeatavarieddiet.TheUnitedStatesDepartment

ofAgriculture(USDA)offersguidelinesforhealthyeating.

They’veevencreatedapicture,called“MyPlate,”tohelp

usbetterunderstandtheseguidelines.

MyPlateusestheimageofaplacesettingforamealto

illustratethefivefoodgroupsthatarethebuildingblocks

forahealthydiet.Chooseyourfoodswisely:fillhalfofyour

platewithveggiesandfruits,addleanprotein,include

wholegrains,anddon’tforgetdairy.Avoidextrafat,like

greasygraviesorsauces.Trynewfoodstokeepmeals

interesting.Andsatisfyyoursweettoothinahealthyway,

withnaturallysweetdessertsmadewithfruit.

What are some of your favorite foods? Fill in the chart below...

Fruits Vegetables Grains Protein Dairy

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Vegetables

It isn’t easy being green!Alotofvegetablesaregreen:asparagus,greenbeans,broccoli,Brusselssprouts,cabbage,lettuce,greenpeas,spinach

andzucchini,tonamejustafew.Whenpeoplethinkaboutvegetables,theyoftenjustthink“green.”Sosometimesit

seemslikegreenvegetablesareboring.Kids,especially,cangettiredofeatinggreen.Butvegetablescomeinawide

varietyofcolors!Differentcoloredvegetables,likeorangeacornsquashordeepredbeets,canbebeautifulontheir

own,oryoucanmixvariouscoloredvegetablestogetherforahealthychangeofpace.

Herearesomecolorfulmixturesthatyoumightliketotry: Whatothercolorfulveggiemixturescanyouthinkof?

•assortedsweetpeppers(green+red+orange+yellow)_______________________________________________•snowpeas(green)+onions(white)+carrots(orange)

•summersquash(yellow)+zucchini(green) _______________________________________________

Match the vegetables to their colors, then color them.

Hiding in the vegetable binThingsaren’talwayswhattheyseem.Justbecauseit’sstoredwiththevegetables,servedlikeavegetableand

consideredashealthyforyouasavegetabledoesn’tmeanthatitistrulyavegetable.Asamatteroffact,tomatoes

andavocados(sometimescalled“alligatorpears”)areactuallyfruits!

Tellingthedifferencebetweenvegetablesandfruitscanbeconfusing.Theyhavealotincommon:bothvegetables

andfruitsarepartsofplantsthatweeat.Botanists(scientistswhostudyplants)tellusthatifithasseedsinside,it’s

reallyafruit.Bythatdefinition,manyofthefoodsthatwethinkofasvegetablesarereallyfruits:cucumbers,squash,

pumpkinsandpeppers,forexample.Vegetables(edibleplantpartswithoutseeds)canberoots,stems,leavesor

flowers.Carrots,onions,beets,potatoesandradishesareroots.Asparagusandceleryarestems.Lettuce,spinach

andkaleareleaves.Artichoke,broccoliandcauliflowerareflowers.

RED

YELLOW

PURPLE

BROWN

ORANGE

GREEN

Eggplant

CarrotsTomato

Mushrooms Lima Beans

SummerSquash

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Fruits

Comparing apples and orangesWhenwewanttosaythattwothingsareverydifferent,weoftensay,“That’slikecomparingapplesandoranges.”In

reality,applesandorangeshavealotincommon:

• Theyarebothfruits.

• TheyarebothrichinvitaminC.

• Theybothgrowontrees.

• Theyarebotheasytotransport,sothey’reoftenpackedforlunchorpicnics.

Whataresomeofthedifferencesbetweenapplesandoranges?

• Themostobviousdifferenceistheircolor:anorangeisorange;applesmaybered,greenoryellow.

• Weeattheskinoftheapple,butnotoftheorange.

• Applesgrowinavarietyofdifferentclimates,butorangesgrowonlyinmildtemperatezonesandtropicalregions.

Color the fruit trees and the baskets. Fill the baskets with drawings of your favorite fruits. Then do the math!

Not all fruit grows on treesApples,oranges,bananas,pears,peachesandnectarinesaresomeofthefamiliarfruitsthatgrowontrees.Berries,

whicharealsopopularfruits,growonbushes(likeblueberriesandraspberries),smallplants(likestrawberries)or

vines(likegrapes).Melonsalsogrowonvines(likehoneydew,cantaloupeandwatermelon).

1. Count the apples on the apple tree. Answer: ______

2. Count the oranges on the orange tree. Answer: _______

3. Add the number of apples + the number of oranges to get the total pieces of fruit. Answer: _______

4. If you filled 4 baskets equally, how many apples and oranges would there be in each basket? Answer: _______

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Protein

Strike it protein rich! TheUSDA’sTipsforHealthyMealstellsustoaddleanproteintoourmeals.Evenifyouhavechosenavegetarian

lifestyle,youstillneedproteininyourdiet.Foodsmadefrommeat,poultry,seafood,eggs,beansandpeas,processed

soyproducts,nutsandseedsarepartoftheProteinFoodsGroup.

Vary your protein choicesForthebestnutritionalbenefits,selectavarietyofprotein-richfoods,includingatleasttwoservingsofseafoodper

week(vegetariansexcepted).Andevenifyouarenotvegetarian,chooseplantproteinsoftenforentrées,suchas:chili

withkidneyorpintobeans;stir-friedtofu;soupsmadewithsplitpeas,lentilsorwhitebeans;bakedbeans,blackbean

enchiladas;garbanzoorkidneybeansonasalad;beansandrice;veggieburgers;hummus.Chooseunsaltednutsfor

snacks,onsaladsorinmaindishesinsteadofmeat.Forexample,usepinenutsinpestosauceonpastaoraddtoasted

nutstosteamedorstir-friedvegetables.

Search for the proteins listed on the right...

U S A L M O N R D T X E P G I

E C L S R U C H I C K P E A S

G A M E B E L T P R E E M T L

O T O I L T N E O A T R Q E E

R F N E I Z S H R I M P X S O

W I D E M T U R K E Y L P O B

N S S T A U T K C P G E M Y K

A H O U B N E W J A L N O B F

P L B P E A N U T B U T T E R

E U C H A D N T E E Y I D A Y

G W A L N U T S L E M L R N O

G D R A S N M G I F U S M S L

S X I M Y T O P W H V A U A Z

T N F B R C H I C K E N K X N

J Q U E S T D F L O U N D E R

ALMONDS

BEEF

CATFISH

CHICKEN

CHICKPEAS

EGGS

FLOUNDER

LAMB

LENTILS

LIMA BEANS

PEANUT BUTTER

PORK

SALMON

SHRIMP

SOYBEANS

TURKEY

WALNUTS

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Grains

The whole storyFoodslikebread,pasta,rice,cereal,tortillasandgritsaremadefromgrains.Wholegrainscontaintheentiregrain

kernel.Refined(ormilled)grainshaveafinertextureandlongerstoragelife,buttheprocessremovesdietaryfiber

thathelpsmovefoodsthroughyourdigestivesystemandeliminatewastes.RefiningalsoremovesironandmanyB

vitamins,whichmayhelploweryourriskofdiabetesandheartdisease.

TheUSDArecommendsthatyoumakehalfthegrainsyoueatwholegrains,suchaswhole-wheatbreadandpasta,

bulgur,oatmeal,wholecornmeal,brownriceandpopcorn.Whenyoudochooserefinedgrains,suchaswhitebread,

flourtortillasorwhiterice,checktheingredientslisttomakesurethattheword“enriched”isincluded.Enriching

doesnotrestorethelostfiber,butitdoesaddbacksomeironandBvitamins.

Find a way to get the spaghetti from the spoon to the fork. Then draw and color your favorite pasta toppings — like mushrooms, broccoli or meatballs!

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Dairy

The cow jumped over the moon!AllmilkandfoodsmadefrommilkthatretaintheircalciumcontentbelongtotheDairyGroup.(Somefoodsmadefrom

milk,suchascreamcheese,creamandbutter,havelittletonocalciumandarenotconsideredtobepartofthegroup.)

Thebestchoicesarefatfreeorlowfat.Calcium-fortifiedsoymilkisalsopartoftheDairyGroup.

Children2-to3-years-oldshouldhave2cupsofDairyGroupfoodseachday;children4-to8-years-oldshouldhave2½

cups;andtheUSDArecommendsthateveryone9-years-oldandolder(childrenandadults)shouldconsume3cupsof

DairyGroupfoodsperday.

Herearesomegreatwaystogetyourdailydairy:

• Drinkfat-freeorlow-fatmilkorsoymilkinsteadofsugarysodas.

• Topabakedpotatowithfat-freeorlow-fatyogurt(insteadofsourcream).

• Meltshreddedreduced-fatorlow-fatcheeseontopofcasseroles,stewsandpastadishes.

• Useyourblendertomakefruitsmoothieswithfat-freeorlow-fatyogurt.

• Fordessert,layerfruitandfat-freeorlow-fatpuddingoryogurttomakeparfaits.

Have fun coloring...

Hey diddle diddle, The cat and the fiddle,The cow jumped Over the moon.The little dog laughed To see such such a sight,And the dish ran away With the spoon!

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Kids Family Mealtime Contract

Becausemyfamilyisimportanttome,Iagreetoattendandparticipateinthefamilymeals.

I agree to:

• Beontimeforfamilymeals.

• Helpplanandpreparemeals,setthetableandcleanup.

• Askforandpassfoodpolitely.

• Tryabiteofeverything,evenifI’vetrieditbeforeanddidn’tlikeit.Iunderstandthatmytastesmay

changeasIgrowup.

• Focusontimewithmyfamily(switchofftheTV;notexting;nocellphonesorotherelectronicdevices

orreadingmaterialsatthetable).

• Joinintheconversation,answerquestionswithmorethanoneword,askquestionsthatshowmy

interestinotherfamilymembers,makecommentsthatshowIvalueandappreciatemyfamily.

• Waitmyturnwhensomeoneelseistalking.

• Bepleasantatthetable(noshouting,whining,arguingorcrying).Iunderstandthatmealtimeisnot

thetimetoargue,complainortease.

• Say“please”and“thankyou.”Thankthecookforpreparingthemeal.

Signed________________________________________________

Signed________________________________________________

Signed________________________________________________

MilkMilk

The HoneyBaked Ham Company • Alpharetta, GA

Children’s Hour at the Table

Join the Lunch Bunch!

Eat right and have more funKidsareoftenontheirown,atlunchtime—atschooloratcampinthesummertime.

Don’teatalone—it’smuchmorefuntoenjoylunchwithfriends.Ifyouplaysports,gainacompettiveedge

byencouragingyourteammatestoeatahealthylunch.Ifyou’repartofaclub,gatherwithothermembers

andputhealthyeatingonyouragenda.Orstartanew“HealthyEating”club.It’seasiertoeatright,

maintainahealthyweightandgetplentyofexercisewheneverybody’sdoingittogether!

What’sinyourlunchbox?

Isyourcafeteriatraywell-balanced?

Besurethatyourlunchincludessometing

fromeverysectionofMyPlate:protein,grains,

vegetables,fruitanddairy.

(Learn more about MyPlate and eating right inside this book.)