H = Healthy Eating #GETABC

H is for Healthy Eating (GTG's #GETABC Series =
Green, Education, & Tech*)


It's been awhile since I've written about food and the obesity in America crisis here at GTG.  No, it hasn't gone away--unfortunately, it's still here. A second season of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution this past year shows us that, as he tackled the school board, sugar in flavored milk, and a lot of other things in Los Angeles.  Truth be told, a walk in any mall in America will also prove the same point!

 

Another piece of clear evidence: the changes to the Food Pyramid...which, after a few modifications is now "My Plate."  Glad to see that the government's radar is on health and better guidelines from the USDA regarding dietary intake.  They even have interactive tools online to help you get on your way!

Chef Ann's "Healthy Eating Meal Wheel"

What I really like about this BESIDES the fact that the visual is perfect given it is so relate-able to our every day dining experience, is that it serves as a parallel to Chef Ann Cooper's "Healthy Eating Meal Wheel." Known also as "the Renegade Lunch Lady," Chef Ann (as her bio states) is a "celebrated author, chef, educator, and enduring advocate for better food for all children." She's on a mission, just as Jamie Oliver is, to get us all eating healthy, and she's starting it where habits start: with the young, and in schools. 

If you are tackling nutrition in the classroom, here are some great places to start:

--Both Chef Ann's and Jamie Oliver's YouTube channels.  

--Use the 2 visuals of the Meal Wheel and the USDA's My Plate as springboard teaching tools.  Students can compare and contrast them using a Venn Diagram.  To do this in the computer lab, head to an online version at ClassTools.Net.

--Check out The Food Revolution's site, particularly the "School Food" link.  Scroll to the bottom for a PDF of either the Teacher Tool Kit, or the School District Tool Kit.

--Not to be outdone, Chef Ann also has a "Curricula and Classrooms" page, with loads of links for teachers to use.

--As an aside...Here's a map from Chartbin ranking US states by the Fattest, of 2011.  Wow! 

via chartsbin.com
 

Letter H from http://www.123rf.com/photo_9776069_food-collage-for-catering-business-concept-art.html, USDA's "My Plate" pic from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ , Ann Cooper's Meal Wheel from http://www.thelunchbox.org/content/healthy-kids-meal-wheel.

*Note:  In an attempt to meld my pursuits of green, education, and technology, "GET" and this ABC series began...as did my twitter thread #GETABC.  To see the inception of #GETABC and give yourself a tidbit of background, go to GTG's True Confessions & Whirling Dervishes.

As Chef Ann states in the video on her home page, we can all do it, little by little, step by step. Another fine example of how 1 person can indeed make a difference.