DISCUSSION GUIDE:

🥕 Snacks are important to keep your body energized and fuel your growing body. When talking about snacks, it's important to note snacks are. suppose to be healthy.

🧁 Sometimes we think about snacks as treats, but treats don’t give us the nutrients our bodies need.

🥜 Snacks can come from all of the food groups, grains, vegetables, fruit, milk, and meat & beans.

🍌 Choosing healthy foods from these groups is important. And, we need to remember that snacks should be snack size, not super size.

⏰ When you eat too much at snack time you might not be hungry at the next meal. Snack time should be spaced between meals every couple hours.



LET'S GET MOVING ACTIVITY

Consider a fun group activity! Have all but one child take the chair from their desk and put it in a circle. The seats of the chairs should be facing towards the outside of the circle. Using any form of music, begin playing a song for 5-10 seconds while all the children move in a circle around the chairs. Stop the music after 5-10 seconds. Each child has to find a chair to sit in. The one child that does not find a chair in time has to step away from the circle and give an example of a healthy snack. Remove one more chair and repeat the game until there is only one chair left. You can repeat the game and have the students give examples of unhealthy snacks too.

BAG IT ACTIVITY

Supplies
• Two bags (1 green for anytime snacks and 1 red for sometimes snacks)
• Food images

Using food models, pictures of food from the accompanying support materials or magazines, or empty boxes and bottles, have students separate and bag anytime snacks and sometimes snacks. Remember the red bag contains once in a while foods, remind children that these are “sometimes” foods not every day foods. The anytime snacks in the green bag are every day foods that help them stay healthy.

ANYTIME SNACKS
🍎 Fruit: apples, oranges, kiwi, bananas

🥕 Veggies: carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli plain or with low-fat dip or salad dressing, applesauce

🌾 Grains: popcorn, whole grain cereal with or without milk, mini whole grain bagel, animal crackers, rice cakes, low-fat or baked tortilla chips and salsa

🍗 Meat & Beans: peanuts, peanut butter on whole wheat toast or crackers

🥛 Milk: string cheese, flavored low-fat milk, yogurt,
low-fat pudding


SOMETIMES SNACKS:
🍪 Potato chips, corn chips, candy bars, juice drinks (like Kool-aid, Hi-C, Capri Sun), candy, fruit roll-ups, soft drinks, cake, pie, cookies, ice cream, snack cakes.


CREATE A HEALTH SNACK PLATE ACTIVITY

Give everyone a paper plate or blank piece of white paper cut into a circle and have them draw a healthy snack (encourage them to create their own ideas). Ask them to share their idea with the class.

TASTY TRAIL MIX ACTIVITY

Supplies:
• Snack size plastic baggies
• Spoons/bowls for ingredients
• Pretzels
• Whole grain cereal
• Raisins
• Peanuts (check students for allergies)

Have the class fill snack size plastic baggies. Prior to beginning the food tasting activity, lead the children in washing their hands with soap and water. Explain why it is important to wash our hands before and after eating.


SNACK WISE REVIEW ACTIVITY

Have students interview, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles on their favorite snack. Have them ask why it is their favorite snack, when they usually snack, and if it was a favorite when they were a child. Have student write down these favorites and share with the class. Keep track of any of the same favorites and discuss the differences. Students can also do this during class time by interviewing classmates.

Quick Tips:

1️⃣ Review the Food groups and each discussion point before diving into the classroom activities.

Next Steps:

🍿 Try labeling one side of the room as “anytime snacks” and one side of the room as “sometimes snacks”. Then hand each child a picture of a snack food and have them go to the appropriate side of the room.

🍽 Give each kid a paper plate and let them draw a healthy snack on the plate.