Lesson - Get 5 A Day Objectives Students will be able to identify foods in the Fruit and Vegetable Groups. Students will be able to identify barriers to eating fruits and vegetables. Students will be able to identify the nutrients in fruits and vegetables. Students will be able to identify the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables. Students will verbalize interest in trying more fruits and vegetables. Materials Needed Jeopardy questions Five A Day log Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables  (.pdf) Other Jeopardy board and game pieces (or tape cards to the black board) Materials adapted from Frischie, S. and Konzelmann, KL. Exploring the Food Pyramid with Professor Popcorn. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, West Lafayette, IN, 1993. Introduction Vegetables Do you think it is true that kids don’t like to eat vegetables? What are some reasons why some kids do not like vegetables (such as some have a strong taste or smell; may have been cooked too long; was often a battle at the dinner table to eat them; mom, dad or other role models do not eat them). How can we break down these barriers? First it helps to know why it is so important to eat vegetables. Vegetables are store-houses of vitamins and minerals. They are especially high in vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. Some vegetables are also good sources of vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, and iron. These vitamins and minerals are necessary for you to look and feel your best. They help your body use the energy in carbohydrates efficiently. They help you maintain a smooth, healthy complexion and healthy looking hair. They also help you repair injuries faster. Eating enough vitamins and minerals allows you to maximize your sports performance. They help you fight colds and infections and get better quicker. Vegetables provide all of these vitamins and minerals with very few calories and lots of fiber. You may know people who do not eat a lot of vegetables but seem to get by. Although this may be possible, these people are not feeling and functioning the best that they can. Why just get by, when you can be feeling, looking, and performing great. One of the great things about vegetables is they come in lots of colors. Can you think of some vegetables and what color they are (green, orange, yellow, purple, red)?  Color gives you a clue to the amount of vitamins vegetables have. The dark green and deep yellow or orange vegetables have more vitamins than the pale-colored vegetables. We should eat some of each, but try hard to eat a dark green or bright orange/red vegetable at least every other day. What are some dark green or orange/red vegetables? (asparagus, broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, greens {beet, collard, kale, turnip}, okra, squash, sweet potato, red pepper) A serving equals one cup of raw, leafy vegetables, or 1/2 cup cooked leafy and other vegetables (explain that cooked leafy vegetables shrink down and therefore the serving is a half of a cup like other vegetables), or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice. Have students make a fist. Do you remember how your fist looked in the measuring cup or paper cup?  Can you visualize what a cup of leafy spinach or 1/2 cup of carrots would look like? In addition to knowing why it is important to eat vegetables to break down the barriers to eating them, it helps to be adventurous. It was probably quite interesting when people first began exploring and found foods they hadn’t even seen or tasted before. Potatoes were first grown in Peru in South America. When people in Europe saw a potato for the first time, they didn’t even want to try it! They thought it was weird that people ate brown lumpy things that grew underground. Yet, when they did try a few bites, they decided potatoes tasted pretty good. Just think how popular potatoes are now, and how many different ways we eat them... mashed, baked, French-fried, etc. Today, we eat more potatoes than any other vegetable! Are you missing out on any really great food just because you don’t want to try anything new? Be an explorer, and try some new vegetables. Or give a second chance to a vegetable that you think you don’t like, but haven’t tried in awhile. Fruits How about fruits? Have students name some favorite fruits and how they like to eat them. Fruits have a lot in common with vegetables. They supply lots of vitamins for growth and healthy skin, hair and blood; they help us resist infection, heal cuts and sores; they help our digestion system work well; they make us feel full and help control appetite. They are especially high in vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium Some are also high in folate, pantothenic acid, and manganese. They have natural sugar in them which makes them taste good. Citrus fruits are a special group of fruits - can you name some? (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit). They contain lots of vitamin C. Vitamin C is especially important for healing cuts and bruises and helping prevent disease. We eat fruits in different forms. Ask students to name them (fresh, canned, frozen, or dried).  Fresh fruit comes in its own natural packaging - its skin. Some fruits have skin you can eat after washing, like an apple. Other fruits, like an orange, have skins that are usually discarded. Any processing of fruit that cuts it into pieces, removes the skin and seeds, or heats, freezes, or dries it, lowers the nutritive value. To be at our healthiest, we should eat at least 2 servings of fruit each day. A serving of fruit is a medium-sized fresh fruit, a wedge of melon, 1/2 cup canned fruit, and 3/4 cup fruit juice. If you eat canned fruit, it should be packed in water, its own juices, or light syrup, not heavy syrup. Scientists are currently studying many other chemicals in fruits and vegetables, called phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are substances that plants naturally produce to protect themselves against viruses, bacteria, and fungi. They include hundreds of naturally-occurring substances, with fancy names like carotenoids, flavonoids, indoles, isoflavones, capsaicin, and protease inhibitors. These substances are being studied because it is thought they may help people prevent disease and operate at their best. This new information gives us even more reasons to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Activities Fruit and Vegetable Jeopardy There are a lot of nutritious fruits and vegetables to eat. We need to eat fruits and vegetables every day. What are some of your favorites? What do you like better - fresh, frozen, or canned or dried fruits or vegetables? Today we are going to play a game called Fruit and Vegetable Jeopardy to learn about lots of fruits and vegetables that are good to eat. Divide the students into 2 to 4 teams. Put the cards for each of the categories in the clear envelopes based on their assigned points (i.e., all the cards worth 40 points will go in the first clear envelop, all the cards worth 30 points will go in the second clear envelop, etc.) The first card in each of the clear envelopes will show, indicating the categories available at that point level for the teams to choose from. Each team should choose a captain who will give the answers for the team. Team members have to work together to choose the point/category and provide the question for the answer. When the team picks the point/category, the teacher pulls out the card and reads the answer on the back of the card. The team then has to provide the question to go with the answer. If a correct question is given, put the card in the pocket corresponding to the team. The cards and points can be added at the end to finalize the score. If a wrong question is given or if the teams does not give the response worded as a question, the next team has a chance to provide the appropriate question. Play until time is called. Add up scores for each team. Five A Day Log Print out the Five A Day log and have your students fill them in over the course of one week.  You may want to give bonus points for a fruit or vegetable that is unusual. Conclusion Three servings of vegetables a day, and 2 servings of fruit a day equal 5 A Day. Eating 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day is recommended to maximize how you feel and your physical performance, and also to reduce your risk for getting heart disease or cancer when you are older.