Teaching Nutrition &

Cooking Skills to Youth

Jennifer BowenExtension Agent/4-H

Prince Edward Countyjebowen1@vt.edu

Patsy PellandExtension Agent/FCSPrince Edward County

ppelland@vt.edu

Ruth WallaceExtension Agent/4-HBuckingham County

ruwallac@vt.edu

WHY ARE THESE SKILLS IMPORTANT?

Research shows that …

… Eating habits are adopted early in life and carry through to adulthood

… Children are more likely to try new foods if involved in preparing them

… Cooking skills and cooking literacy are declining with each generation

… Only 40% of youth ages 10 – 17 can cook a spaghetti dinner

… The lack of cooking skills may be contributing to the nation’s growing obesity rate

Research from the University of North Texas, the Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center, and SDA

WORKING WITH AGES 5-8 (K-3)

Nuts about Nutrition

3rd Grade Nutrition Program

Delightful Dinners

Food Fundamentals

NUTS ABOUT NUTRITION

3 week series

Week 1

• Learn about the pyramid & serving sizes

• Identify which foods go in which group

• Focus on a different food group each day

Week 2

• Identify which foods go in which group

• How to read food labels

Week 3

• Food Safety

• Grocery Store Field Trip

NUTS ABOUT NUTRITION

Simple Food Preparation each day including …

… English Muffin Pizzas

… Making Pretzels

… Ants on a Log

… Frozen Yogurt Sundays

… GORP

… Banana Splits

… Homemade Stromboli

… Sunshine Shakes

3RD GRADE NUTRITION PROGRAM

Four easy lessons

• 45 minutes each

• hands-on activities

Lesson 1 – My Pyramid

Lesson 2 – Physical Activity

Lesson 3 – Fruits and Vegetables

Lesson 4 – Sugar Content of Drinks

Monthly Activity Calendar

DELIGHTFUL DINNERS

A Parent/Child cooking class

… Instruction

My Pyramid

Table Setting

Manners

Hand Washing

DELIGHTFUL DINNERS

… Cooking

Kid-friendly recipes (chicken fingers, pizza, pasta salad, etc.)

Basic skills

… Measuring liquid and dry ingredients

… Combining ingredients

… Basic food safety

… Following directions

… Parents join children after work

… Family Meal Time

Children set table and serve family members

FOOD FUNDAMENTALSIN SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Session 1: Introduction to the Food Guide Pyramid

•Children learn basics of MyPyramid and practice identifying inwhich section foods belong

Session 2: Fruits and Vegetables Day

• Children make a class chart of fruits and vegetables. Throughout the week the children are encouraged to eat fruits and veggies. The children play a game identifying fruits and vegetables from taste.

Session 3: How Our Diet Fits Into the Pyramid

•Children will draw pictures of the foods they ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They place these foods where they belong on a large paper pyramid.

Session 4: Review of the Pyramid

•Food Pyramid Hunt

WORKING WITH AGES 9-13

After-School Programs

… Fun With Foods

… Beef It Up

… Project NIFTY

… 4-H After-School (Middle School Unit)

Summer Programs

… Simply Scrumptious

… Fit & Fun in the Sun

FUN WITH FOODS

Focus on learning basic cooking skills

• Measuring dry and liquid ingredients

• Measuring shortening, peanut butter

• Sautéing, browning, caramelizing

• Folding, mixing, combining

• Chopping, dicing

• Using a microwave, blender, food thermometer

• Kneading

FUN WITH FOODS

Focus on Learning Basic Life Skills

• Learning to read and follow directions

• Working together

• Sharing

• Cleaning up after oneself

• Time and resource management

FUN WITH FOODS

Focus on Food Safety

• Handling raw meat

• Cooking with raw eggs

• Appropriate cooking temperatures for meats (cooking meat until done)

• Safety around knives, stovetop, grills, etc.

FUN WITH FOODS

Focus on Nutrition

• Identifying the food group each major ingredient comes from

• Identifying nutritional value of each of these major ingredients

• Planning what other dishes could be served to complete the meal

BEEF IT UP

Similar to Fun With Foods, but emphasizing beef dishes

Focus on …

… Cuts of meat

… Various cooking methods

… Which cooking methods best suit which cuts

… Food safety

… Nutrition

… Cooking skills and life skills

4-H AFTER-SCHOOL

Part of Structured After-School Program at Middle School

Lesson 1 - Food Safety & Cooking

Lesson 2 – Vitamins, Minerals, and Phytonutrients; Made Kabobs

Lesson 3 - Eggs and Protein; Made Omelets

Lesson 4 – Calcium; Made Sunshine Shakes and Peanut Butter Crackers dipped in Chocolate

PROJECT NIFTY (Nutrition, self Image, & Fitness tools for Youth)

How do nutrition, self image, and fitness all contribute to being healthy?

Day 1 – My Pyramid; Make Yogurt Sundaes

Day 2 – Label Reading; Make Cinnamon Snack Mix

Day 3 – Smart Image; Make Pizza Crackers

Day 4 – Smart Activities; Make Deviled Eggs

FIT & FUN IN THE SUN

Focus on Benefits of Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Cooking

Lesson 1 – What is Physical Activity? Benefits of Physical Activity

Lesson 2 – My Pyramid

Lesson 3 – Cooking Skills

Lesson 4 – Bag Lunches, Food Safety on the Go, Well Balanced Diet

Lesson 5 – Fast Food, Fat & Sugar Contents of Foods, Serving Sizes

FIT & FUN IN THE SUN

Games & Crafts

Made Pizza, Blackberry or Peach Cobbler, tacos (in teams of 4-6 youth with an older teen or adult helper)

SIMPLY SCRUMPTIOUS

Targets academics in addition to cooking and nutrition

Nutrition Skills

• Review of My Pyramid

• Reading labels

• Menu preparation 

Food Preparation Skills

• Reading a recipe and following directions

• Doubling/halving a recipe

• Learning proper cooking techniques

• Learning safe food handling practices

WHAT’S NEXT FOR US?

Cooking with Cloverbuds

Advanced skills workshops

Effective evaluations of knowledge and life skills gains

TEACHING NUTRITION AND COOKING SKILLS TO YOUTH

Lessons can be stand alone or as part of a unit

The hands-on approach is best

When teaching cooking skills, the MOST IMPORTANT lesson is on how to read a recipe and follow it!

Kids will learn better when taught the skills and then “turned loose” to use those skills in the recipe (with supervision of course)

VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION CURRICULUM RESOURCES

Family Nutrition Program (FNP) lessons*

* For low-income youth only; A FNP educator may be able to come to your location to teach youth or may train you to use the curriculum

Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids

Nourishing Children with Books

Childcare Provider Kits on Grains and Physical Activity

Suppers Made Simple

Stepping Up to the Plate

Computer based curriculum for ages 9-13

TEACHING NUTRITION AND COOKING SKILLS TO YOUTH

Group Discussion

1. Please share your experiences with after-school programs in this area.

2. What challenges/triumphs have you encountered teaching nutrition and/or cooking skills?

3. Do you have additional ideas/comments to share?

THANK YOU!