Healthy foods give young children the energy and building blocks they need to play, learn, and grow. A healthy plate helps early learners see that different foods do different jobs in the body. Fruits and vegetables add color, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Grains and protein foods help with energy, strong muscles, and feeling full.
Key Facts
- 1/2 plate = fruits + vegetables.
- 1/4 plate = grains, such as rice, bread, pasta, or oats.
- 1/4 plate = protein foods, such as beans, eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, or nuts if safe.
- Fruits and vegetables help the body grow and stay healthy.
- Water and milk are everyday drinks, while sugary drinks are sometimes drinks.
- Treats are sometimes foods, not foods for every meal.
Vocabulary
- Fruit
- A fruit is a sweet or colorful plant food, such as an apple, banana, berries, or orange slices.
- Vegetable
- A vegetable is a plant food, such as a carrot, broccoli, peas, spinach, or potato.
- Grain
- A grain is a food made from seeds of grass plants, such as rice, bread, pasta, oats, or cereal.
- Protein
- Protein is a nutrient that helps build and repair the body, and it is found in foods like beans, eggs, fish, chicken, tofu, and nuts.
- Sometimes Food
- A sometimes food is a treat that can be enjoyed once in a while, such as candy, cookies, chips, or cake.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Calling all snacks unhealthy is wrong because snacks like fruit, yogurt, vegetables, or whole-grain crackers can help the body between meals.
- Filling the whole plate with one food is wrong because the body needs a mix of fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein foods.
- Thinking treats are everyday foods is wrong because treats often have lots of sugar, salt, or fat and do not give the same nutrients as healthy foods.
- Choosing juice instead of whole fruit every time is wrong because whole fruit has fiber that helps the body feel full and supports digestion.
Practice Questions
- 1 Mia has 3 apple slices, 2 carrot sticks, and 1 cookie on her plate. How many healthy fruit and vegetable pieces does she have altogether?
- 2 A healthy plate has 4 sections: fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein. If Sam fills 1 section with fruit and 1 section with vegetables, how many sections are filled with fruits and vegetables?
- 3 Look at this meal: a cupcake, candy, and soda. Explain why this meal is not a balanced healthy plate and name two foods that could make it healthier.