What You Will Need
- Large piece of parchment paper
- Crayons or pencil crayons
- Foods, pictures or food containers from each of the food groups plus fluids
- Examples of foods that work:
- Vegetables and Fruit: use whole fresh fruits and veggies, canned fruit, applesauce
- Grain Products: use pasta (in package), rice in baggie, piece of bread or bagel, cereal in baggie
- Milk and Alternatives: use empty yogurt containers, milk carton, cheese slices (in plastic)
- Meat and Alternatives: use a can of tuna, a box of frozen meat with picture on cover, and a can of beans
- Fluids: use water bottles and milk containers
- Include “other” food items: candy, soft drinks, chips, doughnuts
NOTE: Grocery store flyers are a good source of pictures of foods.
Directions
- Have your athlete lie down on the parchment paper and trace the outline of his/her body.
- At this point, he/she can get creative and try to draw more distinct features of himself such as eyes, ears, and t-shirt.
- Using the foods from each of the groups, ask him/her to guess what parts of the body each food group nourishes.
- Every time an “other” food item is selected, explain that it doesn’t perform a healthy function.