Encourage Healthy Eating: With a Book!

 

Learn new things and try new foods! Incorporating snacks into your class lessons and activities is a great way to introduce new foods while teaching important early learning concepts. Why not combine snack time with story time? Students will enjoy eating the same foods as their favorite book characters, and introducing foods through these characters will lend familiarity to foods children may be reluctant to try. Check out these neat examples below!

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

In this 'berry' wonderful tale, a little boy and his bear friend discover all kinds of delicious berries when they go exploring. The melodious rhyming sounds in this book roll off the tongue like berries into a bucket, easily engaging young listeners. Read with an assortment of berries, have some toast and jam, or try these berry recipes below!

Berry Popsicles
Creamy Frozen Fruit Pops
Triple Berry Popsicles
Berries & Cream Popsicles
Fruit & Veggie Popsicles

Berry Smoothies
Three Fruit Yogurt Shake
Berry Blast Smoothie
Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Berry Muffins/Cookies
Baked Blueberry Oatmeal Cups
Banana Berry Buttons 
Lemon Blueberry Muffins 
Healthy Raspberry Muffins

 Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

In this classic, a father and child grow vegetables and make their own soup together! Ehlert simplifies the gardening process for young minds with easy-to-understand, straightforward diction and brightly colored, labeled illustrations of vegetables and the tools used to grow them. For the soup-making process, she explains the utensils and other kitchenware used.

When you read this story aloud to your classroom, bring in examples of different vegetables for your students to examine texture and smell.

Make an assorted platter of vegetables for your students to try as you talk about these vegetables in the book.

Read this book on a day you will be serving vegetable soup to facilitate a discussion on how those vegetables are grown.

You may also want your kids to grow their own mini vegetable garden!

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff 

If you give a moose a muffin, he might want a whole bunch of things to go with it! Filled with humorous illustrations and lovable characters, this classic children's book is sure to leave your kids craving more...muffins!

Try these healthy whole wheat muffin recipes at the links below:
Sweet Spinach Muffins
Healthy Cinnamon Peach Muffins
Healthy Apple Muffins
Healthy Lemon Blueberry Muffins

For more healthy and kid-friendly muffin recipes, check out these listings:
Super Healthy Kids--Muffins
Babble--23 Wholesome Muffin Recipes
KidSpot--19 Healthy Muffin Recipes