4-H Cloverbuds – Healthy Foods

This months Cloverbud meeting topic was Health Foods.   The main activities at our library meeting were matching up pictures to the food groups according to the current My Plate recommendations…

and doing a relay where they carried plastic foods with a spoon (or on their heads for the older kids) and dropped them into the proper bag.

Neither activity was a big hit.  Georgie’s behavior was pretty bad but the whole group was giggly and wiggly.   Our creative activity was the biggest hit, using play-doh and molds to make foods.

The field trip for this month was a tour of our local Whole Foods.  This was an amazing field trip but probably not the best choice for a group of very active young children.  Whole Foods isn’t that local for me so while I was aware they existed, I hadn’t ever shopped there.  I think that may change (especially given the big packet of information and coupons we received at the end of the tour). 

Our tour guide started by talking about Whole Foods policies.  They feature foods that are free of artificial colors, preservatives, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.  Meats are anti-biotic free and free of added hormones.

Since we’ve been considering trying to eliminate some of the artificial ingredients from Georgie’s diet to see if it helps his behavior issues, this could certainly make shopping easier.

The tour began in the produce department with a discussion about why it’s beneficial to eat mainly local produce (less use of resources, better flavor, fresher food).  The blueberries were from South Jersey and we’ve probably passed the field a ton of times.  :-)

They has a wide variety of candies, grains, nuts, etc. that could be bought by the pound.  A terrific way to be able to try something without having to buy a full package.

They also had a station where you could prepare your own nut butters.

We visited the seafood department and meat departments and learned about the rating scale to buy the freshest, most unadulterated products.  They had a great prepared food/deli bar, a pizza bar, soup bar, a bakery and seating up front to sit down and eat (with composting areas in the garbage cans).

The kids enjoyed the stickers and snack bars they received in their goody bags.  What I found most interesting was the try-before-you-buy policy.   Any employee can open a package, peel a fruit and let you try it so you can decide if you want to purchase some.