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Kids Eat Right Campaign

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on September 16, 2014

Written by Claire Allen, Dietetic Graduate Student at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

This past August marked the nation-wide Kids Eat Right Month launched by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and its Kids Eat Right program.   The campaigned aimed to mobilize members of the Academy to participate in community and childhood obesity prevention by providing nutrition education and promoting an active lifestyle.  

 As a dietetic graduate student, I contributed to this campaign by spreading healthy eating advice via social media and by participating in community service through the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND).   This past weekend, I co-hosted a CAND nutrition booth at the Lawndale YMCA back-to-school event in Chicago with fellow registered dieticians and nutrition graduate students.  Our mission was to provide parents with advice on how to prepare healthy bag lunches for their children, as well as tips on how to keep their children active on a daily basis.  We handed out nutritious recipes for after school snacks and birthday parties, as well as easy “no-stove required” recipes that all members of the family could participate in making.   The following are some of the suggestions provided for snacks after school or at a party that parents can try at home.

• Baked sweet potato strips
• Fruit smoothies in small cups
• Peel-and-eat edamame
• Whole wheat pita triangles with hummus
• Baked tortilla chips with bean dip and salsa
• Watermelon slices
• Tangerines
• Baby carrots and low fat ranch dip