Healthy Eating to Fuel an Active Lifestyle

Kids need to eat nutritious foods to fuel an active life, but healthy eating doesn’t have to be hard or expensive!  Learn about healthy eating habits in and out of the home, portion size, and get ideas for healthy and affordable meals and snacks.

Healthy Eating Tips

  • Be a role model! Make it a priority to eat with your children whenever possible and eat a variety of fruits, veggies, and other healthy foods.
  • Plan your meals ahead of time to make it easier to eat healthy meals at home.
  • Let your children help you prepare food and talk to them about the different items.
  • Make sure foods from all food groups are served each day. Include a wide variety of healthy choices to ensure there are foods that everyone likes.
  • If your children are not interested in some foods, start with smaller serving sizes.  Use snack time to add another half serving of fruit, vegetables, milk, bread or meat.
  • Serve whole grain breads, rice, and pastas.  It’s an easy switch and if your family doesn’t already eat them, they’ll adjust.
  • Look on the internet for nutritional information prior to eating out.  If you’re already out, try to eat at a familiar place.

Understanding Nutrition Information

Nutrition can be complicated, and what different people need varies.  Learn about food items, their vitamin and mineral daily values, what constitutes a serving size, and what your family needs everyday!

Basic Food Vocabulary

Try this simple food glossary to help you make informed choices.

Fat: Fat is a wide range of animal and plant compounds that tend to have a greasy feel to them.  Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and are very heart unhealthy; fatty meat cuts, butter, and vegetable shortening are high in these fats.  Unsaturated fats, such as those found in many fish, olive oil, and avocados, are better choices.

Fiber: Fiber is the indigestable part of a plant food.  It aids in digestion and makes you feel full.  Fruits, veggies, and whole grains are all good sources of fiber.

Fruit: A fruit is an edible part of the plant that leans toward the sweet or tangy, and is often good in desserts.  Pears, plums, peaches, apples, berries, melons, and mangos are all fruits.

Veggie: A veggie is also an edible part of a plant, but leans toward the savory or salty dish.  By tradition, fungi like mushrooms are considered veggies, but edible plant parts like nuts, seeds, and grains are not.  Onions, carrots, potatoes, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and eggplants are all veggies.

Whole Grain: A whole grain is a grain that has some of the bran and germ.  Refined grains, like white flour, have these removed, and thus removes fiber and nutrients.  Popcorn, whole wheat bread, and brown rice are all whole grains.

Portion Size

Here are our no-nonsense, no measuring cup guides to portion. Read labels of packaged foods so you know exactly what you are your family are consuming.

  • 3 oz of meat or fish = 1 deck of playing cards or the size of a tape cassette case
  • 1 medium apple or peach = tennis ball
  • 1 oz of cheese = 4 dice stacked
  • 1 oz of nuts = 1 palmful
  • ½ cup = tennis ball
  • 1 cup = an average adult fist
  • 1 tsp = the tip of an average adult thumb from the top knuckle

Appropriate portion size depends on age, gender, and physical activity level.  Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid for specific guidelines.