florida 4-h consumer choices after school...

Florida 4-H Consumer Choices After School Snack

Goal:

The goal is for youth

to make informed,

responsible choices

when selecting a

healthy after school

snack.

Consumer Skill:

Youth will gain

knowledge of the fol-

lowing key concepts:

Selecting a

healthy snack by

comparing

ingredients on a

food label,

understanding

dietary guidelines,

and choosing a

smart beverage.

Life Skill:

Youth will learn

decision making

skills as they

investigate the

key concepts and

make the best

choice.

Suggested Activities:

Choosing the Best

healthy Snack

(worksheet) pg. 7

CONSUMER CHOICES TEACHER GUIDE

Situation

Behaviors of children and adolescents are said to be influenced by many

factors. It is essential that children and teens choose healthy snack options

when given the opportunity. It is important to keep young people energized

and focused by providing them with a healthy after-school snack, packed

with essential nutrients. One compelling argument from the Disease

Control and Prevention center reports overweight and obesity are

increasingly associated with school age children and young adults,

specifically. These target groups face dietary risk factors leading to many

types of diseases which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, ADHD,

and other.

Wise lifestyle choices, including healthy eating and snacking, active and

savvy routines, can save these at risk groups from becoming obese,

developing heart diseases, and loosing self-confidence and self-esteem due

to poor choices. Researchers say that confidence is a learned trait and that

it is based on knowing the facts and differentiating them from an opinion.

By knowing the facts, children and young adults could be more confident

through the total elimination of the dependency upon the opinion of others,

in this manner improving their ability to make better choices in general.

This guide will provide hints and tips for making informed decision when

selecting a healthy after school snack.

Key Concepts to Teach:

Dietary Guideline Principles

Reading a Food Label

Beverage Choices

Snack Tips for Parents

References and Sources See Appendix A.

The use of trade names or images in the publication is solely for educational purposed of providing specific information. UF/IFAS Extension does not guarantee or

warranty the products named, and references to them in this publication do not signify our endorsement of or approval to the exclusion of other products of

suitable composition.


Dietary Guideline Principles

Healthy Snack Elements Defined

Eating healthy has to do with choosing lots of different types of food throughout the day to satisfy hunger

and receive all the nutrients you need. When we talk about nutrients, we speak of vitamins, minerals,

carbohydrates, fiber, and fat. Now, how do we figure it all out? First, we must start with food labels!

Your Mini Guide to Nutritious Eating!

The bottom line is who decides what information goes on a food label? In the United States, it's the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). These agencies require that all

food labels show the same nutrition and health information. This allows people like you and I, called

consumers, to compare different foods and make the choices that are right for them.

The FDA and USDA regulate any health claims that companies make on their food labels. When a food says

"light" ("lite") or "low fat" on the label, it must meet strict government definitions in order to make that

claim. Foods that are labeled "USDA organic" are required to have at least 95% organic ingredients.

The following are the Dietary Guidelines for School Age children mandated by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA):

The use of trade names or images in the publication is solely for educational purposed of providing specific information. UF/IFAS Extension does not guarantee or warranty the products

named, and references to them in this publication do not signify our endorsement of or approval to the exclusion of other products of suitable composition.

Dietary guidelines for school age children

Vegetables 3-5 servings per day. A serving might be one cup of raw leafy vegetables, 3/4 cup of vegetable

juice, or 1/2 cup of other vegetables, raw or cooked.

Fruits 2-4 servings per day. A serving may consist of 1/2 cup of sliced fruit, 3/4 cup of fruit juice, or a

medium-size whole fruit, such as an apple, banana or pear.

Whole Grains 6-11 servings per day. Each serving should equal one slice of bread, 1/2 cup of rice or 1 ounce

of cereal.

Protein 2-3 servings of 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish per day. A serving in this group

may also consist of 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, one egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

for each ounce of lean meat.

Dairy products 2-3 servings (cups) per day of low-fat milk or yogurt, or natural cheese (1.5 ounces=one

serving).

Zinc Studies indicate that zinc may improve memory and school performance, especially in boys.

Good sources of zinc are oysters, beef, pork, liver, dried beans and peas, whole grains, fortified

cereals, nuts, milk, cocoa, and poultry.


Reading the Label

Labels provide information to help us decide if an item is nutritious and edible. Checking the labels on foods

is an essential part of making wise and healthy choices. By reading labels of food you may find that the food

is high in an ingredient like sugar and wish to make a tradeoff on the next food choice (Gavin, 2011). Food

labels provide more than just nutrition facts. They also tell you what's in a packaged food (i.e., the

ingredients).

Don't just look at the fat and calories:

Yes, it is helpful to look at how many calories are in the items you are about to eat or buy. But there are

others factors that indicate if a food is healthy. Many packaged foods have large amounts of sugar or

sodium. A rough guide to follow is to look for less than 20 grams of fat and less than 10 grams of sugar

(especially for snack bars and cereals). For sodium, anything above 480 milligrams is high. If you can, keep it

in the 120-300 milligram range (Bauer, 2013). Counting carbs? That's another aspect to take notice of when

you're looking at a label, consider choosing items with lower net carbs, the FDA recommends about 300

grams per day (Bauer,2013).

Shorter is better:

When talking about ingredients, shorter is better! Not having as many ingredients in snacks and basic foods

insures a lower chance of artificial additives. If you can, look for foods that have fewer than 10 ingredients. If

you can get it down to five or six, that's even better!

Compare claims to facts:

Companies can easily label a product with a health claim, so make sure you flip the box over and read the

entire label (not just the attractive words on the front!). A food item may say it’s a good source of fiber, but

if there is only 3 grams you will want to consider other ways to receive the daily recommended amount of

fiber in your diet.

Aim low:

With fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, you should be looking for lower numbers. We all need fat to

keep our bodies running smoothly, but I think it's best to limit intake to about 60 grams per day, so keep

your "calories from fat" low if you can.

Serving size is key:

Checking the serving size is important, come to find out a bag of chips has 100 calories? Oh wait.. That’s for

one serving, there is actually three serving sizes with this one bag of chips. Make sure you look closely at

serving sizes and compare them to calorie counts before you buy or consume a product.






Re-Think your Drink

Many times our afterschool snack choice is to grab a soda or at least have a

drink along with the snack you choose. If you play afterschool sports you

may think that a sports drink such as Gatorade is a good alternative to soda.

Be sure that you think about the drink you choose to accompany your snack

since it is easy to choose a drink that is 300 calories or more and is very high

in sugar. Consider the following when you choose a drink as part of your

afterschool snack:

Water is the best choice for quenching thirst and staying hydrated. While bottled water or seltzer water

can be costly, tap water has no calories and is free.

Diet drinks have artificial sweeteners and add little or no calories to your diet. They also have very few or

no nutrients and may increase your desire for sweet foods. You want to limit your consumption of

artificially sweetened beverages.

Sports drinks and energy drinks may be costly and are really only necessary for a serious athlete during a

very intense activity. For most high school athletes water is recommended as the best way to rehydrate.

Energy drinks are also very high in caffeine and can have harmful side effects.

100% fruit juice is easy to over-consume, a piece of whole fruit is better because it contains more fiber

and helps you feel full. Remember to read the label on fruit juice to consider the number of calories and

to make sure there is no added sugar.

Sweet drinks can be disguised with ingredients like corn sweetener, syrup or anything with an “-ose” like

dextrose or fructose. Some drinks that typically have added sugar are energy drinks, soda, fruit flavored

drinks, tea, lemonade, and flavored milk. A 20 ounce bottle of cola has about 16 teaspoons of sugar in it.

Consider Milk as a good source of calcium to build strong bones. Experts recommend that children aged

9 and older consume 3 cups of lowfat milk a day.

Try this activity as you teach youth about drink choices.

Select several different popular drinks and empty out the contents. Have a bag of granulated sugar on hand

and allow youth to measure out the amount of sugar into a bowl that is in each of the drinks according to

the label. Then compare serving sizes of drinks so they can visualize a typical 8 ounce container versus a 1

cup serving. For full instructions see the Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness activity in Lesson 1 devel-

oped by Cornell University. You can locate this resource and other from the Eat4Health page of the Florida

4-H website. http://florida4h.org/programsandevents_/eat-4-health/


After School Snack Decision

Deciding on what snack you want to eat can be difficult at times and may take a little time and research.

Know how much sugar is in the snack, along with sodium, calories, etc. How full will this snack make you,

and will you be hungry when it is time for your next meal? It is important to understand the ingredients within

the snack and how it will affect you. Compare ingredients along with satisfaction and identify the health

benefits of each snack.

When making your final consumer decision, you may find it helpful to use a chart similar to the one below to

help you make your final decision.

After filling in the columns for each of the factors for various products, consider any additional

factors you would like to consider when choosing a snack.



Snack Satisfaction Meet dietary

guidelines?

Ingredients Prepare

time

Miscellaneous

factors


Activity: Choosing the Best Snack

Miranda just got home from school and she feels a sense of hunger. She wants something that will satisfy

her hunger until dinner without spoiling her dinner. Miranda is hungry for anything although she is allergic to

peanuts. She has to go to cheerleading practice soon, therefore she is kind of in a hurry and needs a snack

that will give her energy. Which quick snack do you think would be best?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________



Snack Sugars, calories Meet dietary

guidelines?

Ingredients Prepare time

Quaker Choco-

late Chip Chewy

Granola Bar

7g, 100 calories Whole Grain Oats CONTAINS WHEAT, COCONUT, SOY

AND MILK, SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE

CHIPS, CORN SYRUP, BROWN RICE

CRISP.

None

Nabisco Oreo

Chocolate (4

cookies)

13g, 160 calories No Sugar, Unbleached Enriched Flour,

High Oleic Canola and/or Palm and/or

Canola Oil , Cocoa , High Fructose

Corn Syrup, Leavening , Cornstarch,

Salt , Soy Lecithin , Vanillin-artificial

flavor, and Chocolate.

None

Carrots and

Hummus

3g, 60 calories Vegetables and

Chickpeas (protein)

Carrots, hummus( chickpeas blended

with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt

and garlic.)

60secs

Pretzels (24

pretzels)

0.8g, 120 Calories No Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin,

reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate,

riboflavin, folic acid), water, malt,

canola oil, salt, yeast, soda.

None


Activity: Choosing the Best Snack

Miranda just got home from school and she feels a sense of hunger. She wants something that will satisfy

her hunger until dinner without spoiling her dinner. Miranda is hungry for anything although she is allergic to

peanuts or any kind of nuts. She has to go to cheerleading practice soon, therefore she is kind of in a hurry

and needs a snack that will give her energy. Which quick snack do you think would be best?

Answer Key: 3,4,2,1



Snack Sugars, calories Meet dietary

guidelines?

Ingredients Prepare time

Quaker

Chocolate Chip

Chewy Granola

Bar

7g, 100 calories Whole Grain Oats CONTAINS WHEAT, COCONUT, SOY

AND MILK, SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE

CHIPS, CORN SYRUP, BROWN RICE

CRISP. INVERTSUGAR, SUGAR, CORN

SYRUP SOLIDS.

None

Nabisco Oreo

Chocolate (4

cookies)

13g, 160 calories No Sugar, Unbleached Enriched Flour,

High Oleic Canola and/or Palm and/

or Canola Oil , Cocoa , High Fructose

Corn Syrup, Leavening , Cornstarch,

Salt , Soy Lecithin , Vanillin-artificial

flavor, and Chocolate.

None

Carrots and

Hummus

3g, 60 calories Veggies, chickpeas Carrots, hummus( chickpeas blended

with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt

and garlic.)

60secs

Pretzels (24

pretzels)

0.8g, 120Calories No Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin,

reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate,

riboflavin, folic acid), water, malt,

canola oil, salt, yeast, soda.

None

1. Carrots and Hummus have

the least number of calories

and the sugar amount is not

bad. This is a fast and healthy

snack and by looking at the

ingredients there are not too

many therefore no artificial

additives. Provides energy

2. Pretzels are a fast and

healthy snack also , thus with

a little more calories, and

more uncommon ingredient

names. Also these pretzels

do not meet the dietary

guidelines.

3. Nabisco Oreo cookies do

not meet any of the dietary

guidelines, and contain the

more calories.

4. Quaker Granola Bar may

contain traces of peanut and

other tree nuts therefore this

snack is ruled out.




1.

2. http://blog.fooducate.com/2010/05/03/are-

Photo credit: Eat4Health

Quaker Granola Bar

Carrots and Hummus

This Product was made in a

facility with processes

peanuts




3.

4. Photo credit: http://nutritionbeast.com/2013/10/oreo-cookie-ingredients-nutrition-history/

Photo credit: http://www.snydersofhanover.com/

pretzel-snaps.html

Nabisco Oreo Cookies

Pretzels


Key Terms

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: (ADHD) “problem of not being able to focus, being

overactive, not being able control behavior, or a combination of these. “ (http://www.aacap.org/

AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Centers/ADHD_Resource_Center/

ADHD_A_Guide_for_Families/What_is_ADHD.aspx)

Calorie: “ the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 °C,

equal to one thousand small calories and often used to measure the energy value of

foods.” ( https://www.google.com/search?q=dietary+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-

8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=nts#rls=org.mozilla:en-

US:official&channel=nts&q=what+are+calories)

Cardiovascular Disease: “class of diseases that involve the heart, the blood vessels (arteries,

capillaries, and veins) or both. “ (https://www.google.com/search?q=dietary+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-


US:official&channel=nts&q=what+is+cardiovascular+disease)

Diabetes: “a metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce any or enough insulin

causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood. “ (https://www.google.com/search?

q=dietary+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-

a&channel=nts#rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=nts&q=what+is+diabetes+)

Dietary: “ of or relating to diets or dieting. ” (https://www.google.com/search?q=dietary+&ie=utf

-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=nts)

Elements: “a part or aspect of something abstract, especially one that is essential or character-

istic. “ (https://www.google.com/search?q=dietary+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en

-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=nts#rls=org.mozilla)

Food and drug Administration (FDA): “is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services. “ ( https://www.google.com/search?q=dietary+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-


US:official&channel=nts&q=what+is+the+FDA)

Obese: “Overweight” (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/)

The U.S department of Agriculture (USDA): “is a cabinet-level agency that oversees the

American farming industry. USDA duties range from helping farmers with price support subsi-

dies, to inspecting food to ensure the safety of the American public..”



CONSUMER CHOICES TEACHER GUIDE Page 13

Appendix A

Resources

http://www.snydersofhanover.com/pretzel-snaps.html

http://nutritionbeast.com/2013/10/oreo-cookie-ingredients-nutrition-history/

http://www.quakeroats.com/products/oat-snacks/chewy-granola/chocolate-chip.aspx

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-bauer-rd-cdn/nutrition-labels_b_3981345.html

USDA, Center for nutrition policy and promotion. March 2013, 10 tips Nutrition Education Series, Snack tips for par-

ents.

Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness youth curriculum. 2013. https://fnec.cornell.edu/Our_Initiatives/CHFFF.cfm

Florida 4-H Consumer Choices: After School Snack. Prepared by Katherine Marin, Family and Consumer

Sciences Agent Duval County and Sara Knollinger, Student Assistant Florida 4-H Eat4Health project.



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