NUTRITION, HEALTH AND LEARNING GO HAND-IN-HAND

As you continue to expand your students’ minds, it is im-portant to remember that when students eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, research shows that they may have improved short-term auditory memory, mood and overall academic performance. This newsletter from Peyton Manning Children’s Hospi-tal at St.Vincent strives to link the classroom, cafeteria, home and community together to motivate and support students to make good, healthy food choices and to be physically ac-tive every day.

Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent is here to help you, your school and your students reach whatever health and well-ness goals you may have. Please don’t hesitate to let us know how we can help. For information or resources, please contact Karen Terrell, School Wellness Coordinator, at klterrel@stvincent.org or 317-338-2336.

POsTER PROmOTIONs & FUN FAcTsTo reinforce the message of good nutrition and provide fun and interesting facts to your students, consider decorat-ing the cafeteria or hallways with whimsical posters about the month’s selected fruit and vegetable. You might wish to hang posters from the ceiling or post flyers in the hallway or as table tents in the cafeteria. For January, here are

some quirky facts about broccoli and grapefruit…

• Did you know that grapefruit got its name because of the way it grows in clusters

(like grapes) on the tree?

• Grapefruit is a cross between a sweet orange and a pummelo, and was introduced to Florida from the Bahamas by Count Odette Phillippe in 1823.

• The average person eats four pounds of broccoli every year!

• The son of a Roman emperor loved broccoli so much that he refused to eat all other foods for an entire month.WHY EAT BROccOLI AND GRAPEFRUIT?

• Broccoli is a good source of calcium for those who cannot consume dairy products.

• The fiber content in broccoli is excellent – it has both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.

• As with most citrus fruits, grapefruit are an excellent source of Vitamin C.

• Grapefruit contains potassium, which helps keep your heart and brain healthy.

EDUCATOR NUTRITION

NEWSLETTER• JANUARY 2012 EDITION •

The featured produce of the month are BROCCOLI and GRAPEFRUIT!

GETTING PHYsIcAL…I’m A sTUDENT AND YOU’RE A sTUDENT, TOO!

Because physical activity has been shown to help enhance brain activity and development in children, give them the opportunity throughout the day for short bursts of move-ment. Take a few minutes at the beginning or end of class to give them the opportunity to work out some of those ants in their pants!

Directions:

1.Students stand at their desks and begin to march in place.

2.Teacher selects a student to begin the game by tossing a small beanbag or ball to the student.

3.The student begins the line with “I’m a student and you’re a student, too, if…

4.The student fills in the end of the statement with some-thing characteristic of them that other students may have in common. For example “I’m a student and you’re a student, too, if you have on tennis shoes” or “I’m a student and you’re a student, too, if you like grapefruit.”

5.All students who share this characteristic perform an activity such as doing three jumping jacks or hopping on one foot, while all the other students continue to march in place.

6.The teacher then selects another student to continue the game.

Variation: Instead of using the word “student” in the phrase, insert the name of your school’s mascot, e.g. “I’m a Pirate and you’re a Pirate, too, if…”

Broccoli

COOKING IN CLASS

Fizzy Berries + GrapefruitSparkling cider turns this fresh fruit cup into a fizzy soda fountain-style treat. For the best results, chill all the ingredients.

InGredIenTs:1 cup sugar1 cup water1 cup lemon juice3-4 cups cold water to dilute

- At home, make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.- Once at school, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4-6 lemons, or enough lemons to make one cup of juice.- Add the juice and simple syrup to a pitcher. Add cold water, ad-justing to your desired strength. If the lemonade is a little too sweet, add more lemon juice.- This recipe serves 6 – adjust as needed for your classroom size. (Recipe from Simply Recipes)

Grapefruit

Detective WorkFor students who like to research or for the teacher who would like his/her students to practice their writing skills, consider asking them to write about the following issues related to either broccoli or grapefruit.

1.Broccoli contains natural sodium. What is the benefit of natural sodium and how is it different from table salt?

2.What does the dark green color of broccoli indicate?

3.What are antioxidants and how do antioxidants that are found in grapefruit help your body?

4.How are grapefruit, tangelos, pummelos and oranges related?

When eating fruits and vegetables, it’s important to remember to encourage chil-dren to eat a rainbow of colors.

For more information, visit www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov

Help maintain heart health, healthy vision and healthy immune system

Help maintain a healthy heart, memory function and urinary tract health

Strawberries, red pears, red grapes, beets and tomatoes

Oranges, tangerines, grapefruit or apricots

Squash, garlic, jicama, alfalfa sprouts

Cabbage, Chinese and savoy cabbages, kale and broccoli

Blueberries, purple and red cabbages, eggplant, dried plums, figs

Help maintain heart health and cholesterol levels that are already healthy

Help maintain healthy vision and strong bones and teeth

Help maintain healthy aging, memory function and urinary tract health.

RED

ORANGE

BLUE

GREEN

YELLOW

PURPLE

TANWHITE

BROWN

HOW mUcH DO I NEED?

2½ - 5 cups per day

3½ - 6½ cups per day

3½ - 6½ cups per day

Kids, Ages 5-12

Kids, Ages 13-18

Adults, 19+

recommended daily Amounts Of Fruits & Vegetables*

*If you are active, eat the higher number of cups per day.

Visit www.mypyramid.gov to learn more.

This newsletter is brought to you by the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent. Some material in this newsletter is adapted from the California Department of Public Health’s Network for a Healthy California – Harvest of the Month program and from the following web sites:

www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov and www.plants.usda.gov. For additional information or resources, please contact Karen Terrell, School Wellness Coordinator, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent at klterrel@stvincent.org or 338-2336.

cAFETERIA cONNEcTIONsDepending on availability, grapefruit and broc-coli should be relatively easy to incorporate into

some of your cafeteria’s recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1.Offer grapefruit wedges as a break-fast fruit option.

2.Provide broccoli spears with a side of low-fat salad dressing.

3.Using low-fat mayonnaise, create a broccoli + raisin slaw.

LITERATURE LINKsPrimary: Poppelton: Poppelton & Friends by Cynthia rylant

Secondary: The Broccoli Tapes by Jan Slepian

HIsTORYThe grapefruit first appeared in the U.S. in 1823 when Count Odette Phillipe brought the seeds from the Bahamas to an area near Tampa, Florida. Like so many other foods introduced into the United States from distant countries, the grapefruit did not gain immediate popularity. One American gardening encyclopedia referred to grapefruit as “thick-skinned and worthless.”

However, as early as 1910 farmers were growing grapefruit in Texas, Arizona and California. During the 1940’s grapefruit became a household favorite across the U.S. Canned grapefruit sec-tions, grapefruit juice, and fresh grapefruit were not only shipped throughout the country, but also exported.

Thomas Jefferson, who was often called the “farmer president,” was an avid gardener and collector of new seeds and plants of fruits and vegetables to arrive in the United States. In 1766 he began keeping detailed notes in his garden book of any seeds or seedlings planted in his extensive garden at his home, which was called Monticello, located in Virginia. He recorded his planting of broccoli, along with radishes, lettuce and cauliflower on May 27, 1767.

Although broccoli entered the United States more than 200 years ago, it did not become popular until the D’Arrigo brothers came to the United States with their broccoli seeds. The d’Arrigo Brothers Company began with some trial plantings in San Jose, California, in 1922. After harvesting their first crop, they shipped a few crates to Boston. They then went on to establish their broccoli business us-ing the Andy Boy name. By the 1930s most of the country loved broccoli.

scIENcE Is cOOL…LET’s HAvE FUN WITH BROccOLI!

Here are two ideas for a science project that involve broccoli.

Project #1 – Kids love to experiment and they also love food, so why not put them together for a cool project? Capture a beetle, millipede or grasshopper and put it into a bug

house. Prepare two separate water dishes and mix one with sugar and the other with artificial sweetener. Place both in the bug house and observe. Does your

bug like the water with natural sugar or artificial sweetener? You

can also use the same idea to test your bugs’ other preferences such as

using broccoli or another food.

Project #2 – Create a “Plant Parts salad,” which teaches students about the different parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaf, fruit & flower). Use carrots,

tomatoes, celery, broccoli, lettuce, etc. to make your “salad” and have students identify the various plant parts.