Nutrition Label Creator

Each trimester, I teach my sixth graders how to read food labels as part of our nutrition unit. Students usually are assigned to bring in a label from any food product, and then we engage in a lesson where we examine the food labels to determine the positive and negatives of each food item. This is also a great way to review the positive and negatives of nutrients that are listed on food labels.

I always try to have some extra food labels lying around. I've also noticed that although food labels are cut off of the packaging they come from, students are sometimes able to guess on the food item based on the look or feel of the packaging. In order to combat this, I looked for easy ways to create food labels online in order to promote a standard look among the food labels we use in class.

Many options exist, some of which cost money. A quick Google search provided me with a free, easy to use tool from the website Shop 'N Cook. Their Food Nutrition Facts Label Creator is easy to use and allows the user to print off each label as a PDF. Simply enter the nutrient information and the label creator will create a nutrition label. This may be a little time intensive at first, but once you figure out the interface, it's easy to whip up a few different labels.

While some people aren't as uptight as me about making sure everything looks the same, I find that for continuity purposes it makes sense to have a uniform look among food labels I use in class. Students are then able to examine the nutrition facts without any prior judgement as to what the food item may be, and are called on to use their nutrition knowledge (as opposed to any personal bias) when evaluating the nutrition information about a particular food item.

You can access the nutrition label creator at the Shop 'N Cook website by clicking here.

No Sugar Added: 30 Day Challenge

For the month of March, my good friend Matt Germain and I will be attempting to eliminate processed sugar from our diets. Back this summer, Matt went thirty days without buying food from a grocery store, making purchases at farmer's markets, local bakeries, etc. Matt wanted to do something similar again. This was the idea he came up with, and due to my deadly sweet tooth, I figured I would join him! Out of both of us, Matt arguably has a head start based on his superb diet, but we are both expecting this to be difficult! We both know that any healthy eating pattern allows foods in moderation. Sugar in small amounts isn't entirely bad. We don't want to come off as presenting opinions or unproven facts as scientific evidence, so we want to be clear that we don't have an agenda. We're not trying to stick it to the man by taking on the sugar industry. We're simply trying to become more aware of what exactly we're putting into our bodies, for food is fuel and clean fuel is the best fuel. This is about self awareness, and about being proactive with what we are putting into our bodies. Adding more nutrient dense foods to our diet is never a bad thing.

As of right now, we are still ironing out a few details of how exactly we are going to implement this, but we are going to strive for daily updates as time allows. We will have a blog solely for this, although Matt will also be posting on his own blog, Positive Eating. I may post some posts relating to our 30 Day Challenge here if it has to do with teaching about nutrition, but I don't want to get away from why I started Middle School Health Esteem in the first place.

With work/grad classes/coaching going on for me, and work/running/coaching going on for Matt, it will be tough, but doable, to attempt this 30 Day Challenge. We are hoping to add some video posts, too. Analyzing various snack food items from my middle school cafeteria and maybe even my own cabinets might take place, too. I can't make any promises or speak for Matt, but hopefully we can enrich our own updates with some extra things, too. I am taking a lot of inspiration from Mrs. Q, who blogs at Fed Up With Lunch. Basically, the sky is the limit and I'm sure that this will be more of an undertaking than we thought! There are already some excellent resources out there, and we don't want to rip anyone else off. By no means are we medical or science experts, so we're hoping to showcase these resources to our readers. Ultimately, we'll have to wait to see exactly how much time we want to devote to blogging in addition to everything else going on in our lives.

Matt is more of the nutrition authority, and I'm more of the rambling type. We hope to find a balance between our strengths to bring you some serious information regarding sugar and your health. It is also our hope to document how our bodies initially handle this change, and the challenges of accommodating our eating habits to eliminate processed sugar. Heck, even ketchup has sugar in it!

We'll still load up on fruits and vegetables, of course. Honey and agave nectar are also allowed. Any plant or animal products are allowed. But, any processed white sugar is out. So cookies, cupcakes, white breads, etc.

Posts will most likely be taking place on a unique blog. We do have our own separate blogs, and this new blog is how we hope to link our interests together. The idea to co-write a blog with both of us goes back a while, and we have thought of both serious and goofy ideas.

We're going to try to promote this through a variety of means: Facebook, Twitter, word of mouth, maybe guest blogging on other sites, etc. It is our hope that we can motivate other people to undertake a similar change to what they put in their bodies, whatever that me be for them. Maybe someone stops drinking soda, or adds fruit to every meal. We are all capable of such changes, and if people see some normal twenty-something year old guys do it, well then maybe they will be motivated to change, too. We do want to get our message out there; Matt with his nutrition information and myself with information about health education.

I'm working on a teaching activity about sugar right now that I am hoping to eventually have published in the AAHE Teaching Techniques Journal. I'm not sure if time will allow myself to finish this before the end of the month, but we shall see!

Stay tuned for updated information on our 30 Day Challenge!

Sixth Grade Menu Project

EDIT: This is an assignment from one point in time and I have since changed the requirements for this assignment twice since I posted! I'm always trying to make work more challenging or thought provoking. Please keep that in mind as you read this post!

I apologize for not posting in a few weeks! I was busier than anticipated, and we're in the middle of some project work at middle school. Recently my hits have increased a lot; I'm averaging about ten unique visits a day now from Google searches! Please keep checking back! 

When I originally started this blog during my first year of teaching, I posted about a menu project assignment that my sixth graders had completed as an assessment for part of their nutrition unit. I deleted that post when I returned to the blog, so I am posting about the updated lesson here.

I love this project, especially the creative aspect of it, but I think in the future I will be moving a little away from this as the only summative assessment for the nutrition unit. Ultimately, I also want to make sure the students are able to show me they have the skills needed to make healthy food choices, and there are so many ways to do this that I could do almost anything. Also, I mention that we use a nutrition unit out of the Michigan Model, which is true; however, we do take some lessons and teach them in eighth grade.

Below you will find a Jing video with a brief explanation of the menu project. Other assessments I include during the nutrition unit include a three-day food log and a "Shop 'til You Drop" activity I found online (a post on that should happen soon!). I didn't want to take too much time explaining the project in this video (my Jing account only allows for five minutes to be recorded) but I think I get the point across. In the past, I have taken "oils" out of the picture but decided to include it again this year. Many menus have unique themes to them and my students usually create them around a theme that interests them.

If you see anyway I could improve upon this, please let me know! Check out the Jing video below for a brief overview of our menu project.

MyPyramid Blast Off! Review Game

MyPyramid is the current food pyramid that is used in our sixth grade nutrition unit. I do try to incorporate other food pyramids if we have time (the Healthy Eating Pyramid and the Mediterranean Food Pyramid are two) for comparison purposes, but time is usually not a luxury afforded to a sixth grade classroom!

The USDA created MyPyramid in 2005 as an update to the old food guide pyramid that I learned about in middle school. When it was created there was a fair amount of criticism which led to the creation of other food pyramids. My sixth graders come into class with basic knowledge of MyPyramid from their fifth grade health class in elementary school. So, I go into more detail about how they can individualize their eating habits using MyPyramid, among other topics relating to nutrition. I usually begin with a review so I can make adjustments in case some students have more knowledge than others.

The MyPyramid Blast Off! game is a great review for students relating to the food groups, serving sizes, and incorporating moderation and variety into their diet. Students must fuel their rocket ship with food from all food groups and physical activity to reach Planet Power. I make this activity interactive by allowing students to come up and use the Smart Board to help play the game. When I use it this year I'm going to try to have some sort of companion activity so students don't become bored or overly excited. You do need Flash 7 or greater to play the game. Click here to launch the game and try it out!

Infographics: Nutrition Related (From A Great Blog!)

Using infographics is a great way to present information or data in a unique, visual way. Instead of presenting information using many numbers or a block of text, an infograph can convey information in way that can be quickly understood and absorbed. They are also great in order to emphasize certain points from a lesson or to allow content to "hit home" when students see it visually. They're also great for visual learners.

While scrolling through my Google Reader account, I came upon an entry from one of my favorite blogs, Free Technology for Teachers. If you've read my posts before, I've linked this blog on a few occasions. You MUST visit this website!


Richard Byrne, who created the blog, posted a few links with infographics relating to obesity and eating out. I checked a few of them out and I'll definitely be using them during our nutrition units this school year. These graphics will allow me to expand upon content we're covering and I'll be tying in some critical thinking skills with them, too. There is no point in re-posting the links he created, so below is a link to his blog. Plus, I want you to check out his website! I have another post about something I'm using after I read about it on his blog, too.

Free Technology for Teachers: Infographics on Eating out and Obesity.

Jamie Oliver TED Speech & School Lunch Links

I have heard snippets from Jamie Oliver's TED speech, but had never watched the whole thing. Jamie has his critics, but he is tackling a huge issue that has long term implications. Check out his speech below and you will NOT be disappointed.

Also, two blogs to point out, which I may have mentioned earlier. I follow both blogs through my Blogger account and my RSS feed.

Mrs. Q blogs over at http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/, and has built up an extensive following of readers. She has appeared (anonymously) on Good Morning America, and her blog chronicles her mission to eat school lunch every school day for a year. She is bringing a lot of attention to the need for change, and her pictures are always a treat! Featuring guest bloggers from a diversity of interests, this blog is a must see!

Ali, over at http://bravenewlunch.blogspot.com/, is a food service director in Massachusetts who calls herself "the next generation lunch lady." She brings her college education and chef experience to the lunch room in an attempt to improve the quality of school lunch. Read it and hear from someone on the front lines! Seeing as she is also from MA, maybe the future will see us collaborate with other teachers, school food service workers, and districts to help create change within our lunchrooms.

Here is Jamie Oliver's speech:

A Better Action Plan

As part of my brief commentary on school lunches, I came up with a quick, four step game plan for people who wish to begin creating change within their school districts. I didn't think too much about it (although you could argue a lot has to do with common sense) and I'm not an expert...yet. I knew someone out there with a few letters after their name (M.D., R.D., PhD, etc) would have something, I just needed to find it.

So, in reading the comments on Mrs. Q's blog I came across a comment by the founder of Better School Food, Susan Rubin (she's an expert). Her organization has an action plan with many of the similar concepts as the one I created. I read it, liked it, and now I want you to read it too!

Check out the action plan here, and put it to work!!

On a side note, I'm not really digging the color scheme of this blog anymore. I'm going to try to spice it up soon. I've been receiving a lot of hits from Google searches (30+ a week), and I'm also going to try to get back to why I started this in the first place: spreading teaching ideas to other health teachers. My formative assessment post, HIV simulation post, and ATOD activities are my most frequently viewed pages. If you see something and you like it, please post a comment!! I know there's almost 300 of you who have been reading! :)

School Lunches: The Saga Continues...

Ah, school lunches. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about them. I'm starting nutrition with my sixth graders this week, so I'll post how I'm incorporating this into our curriculum at a later date. For now, I'm pretty positive that school lunch is the teenage pregnancy of 2010, as far as hot health topics go. And while there was a lot of hype in in 08-09 about teenage pregnancy (specifically after what happened in Gloucester) it seems like the dialogue on that issue has faded. It did resurface a little bit during the health care debate, but the media let that fade too. Now, something new has surfaced.

School nutrition is even appearing in commercials! The American Beverage Association recently aired a commercial patting themselves on the back for eliminating full calorie soft drinks from schools across the country. Full calorie soft drinks? Are people still really concerned only with calories? What about sugar? What about high fructose corn syrup? Why should we be satisfied with less-calorie drinks in our schools when they are still serving drinks loaded with other junk?!? I laughed at this commercial. Way to go, corporate America.

And now, the media blitz of our new hot topic. I've posted on this before, and I'm not the only one. Mrs. Q is chronicling her experience eating only school lunches on her blog, Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do! Then there are the countless news articles that have appeared recently. USA Today has an ongoing section on school lunch safety, which is eye opening in itself: many cafeterias are not passing health and safety inspections, food of a poor quality is making its way onto the trays of students, etc. This week an article appeared in the Boston Globe about struggling families and their reliance on school lunches. This effect is two fold: one being on the students eating the lunches, and two being on the districts who have to serve them without a reimbursement rate that is inadequate. For a comprehensive round up of what's going on in the news relating to school lunches, check out the school lunch roundup posted on Mrs. Q's blog by Brandon Smith.

Because my blog is rather young, there have only been a few posts about school lunches. This will definitely be an ongoing discussion (I have more posts in draft mode) and I hope this conversation continues. It's being hit from many angles: the First Lady, Jamie Oliver, national newspapers, and young, blogging teachers, to name a few.

There seems to be a general outrage about nutrition, but not much is being done. We can watch Jamie Oliver (I have to catch up on Hulu) all we want, but will we join him? While getting a conversation started is the first step (and a critical one!), action is what is needed. What can concerned parents do in their own communities? Here's my own list that I created, as someone with no expert experience in this type of situations. This is only from my head, and I thought about it over the last day or so. Let me know what you think! Here it is:

1. Organize. A group of fired up parents can do a lot to get something within school districts changed! If you do not like what your child is being served, find others who feel the same way you do. Talk with the administrators and teachers in your district. Most principals I know will at least hear you out, even if they can't (for whatever reason: money, etc) change anything immediately. Plan some meetings, get together, and make a game plan. It's better to have too many ideas than none at all!

2. Connect. Connect with local school officials. Tell them you want to work with them, not against them, in helping create more healthy meals for the student body, aka your kids. Reach out to local community organizations: garden clubs, health departments, community coalitions, etc. Nothing around like that? Start one! Social media has made it very simple to connect with others through e-mail, Twitter, Facebook group/fan pages, etc. There's no need to reinvent the wheel; many people have made changes to school lunches in their districts. Connect with these people and see what worked for them! Contact local representatives or other government officials and see if they can help you, too.

3. Research. Read, read, read about food and academic performance! Read articles like this one describing how one district makes fresh breakfasts, from scratch, for their students everyday. Make sure you research data on topics such as the impact of breakfast on academics (warning: company sponsored website), how food service professionals expand their breakfast offerings and be sure to find up to date information from reliable research publications.

4. Model. Want your kids to eat healthy? Eat healthy too! Many people complain about not having enough family time together, but cooking a homemade meal is one of the easiest ways to accomplish two things at once: family social time and healthy eating. My friend Matt has said this for a long time, and I'm in agreement. Realistically, most people can't eat only fresh, unprocessed foods. However, you can be aware of every food item you put into your body, and YOU can make healthy choices.

Also, please realize that schools are held to budgetary constrictions, and a lot of schools simply don't have the facilities to handle a lot of freshly prepared meals. Both are discussed in my post about what Anthony Geraci has done with the food being served in the Baltimore public schools.

Personally, one of my physical education colleagues and me and teaming up to revamp the bulletin boards in our school cafeteria to highlight different information about nutrition. We're still in the process of figuring out logistics, but once we get rolling I'll be sure to post about it, with pictures too.

Will school lunches change? I hope something about them changes. Our children are our future and if we want to have a healthy population in the future, we cannot continue on the road we are on.

As always, please e-mail me with questions, comments, or concerns.

NOTE: Michelle Obama has launched a contest called Apps for Healthy Kids. The goal is to create "innovative, fun and engaging software tools and games that encourage children directly or through their parents to make more nutritious food choices or be more physically active." Check it out, and if you're knowledgeable about that sort of thing, enter the contest!

Food Revolution!

I just watched the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on Hulu. I'm hooked!

I had no idea this show was going to happen, and I'm glad that school lunches are receiving some media attention. It's very hard to change how school lunches are served, but Jamie seems like the man for the job, filled with passion and a firm resolve to help people change. But, as we know from what's happening in Baltimore, change IS possible if you have the tools, desire, and manpower to accomplish it. On a side note, this is the second time I've seen the word "revolution" associated with school lunches; the first was a company mentioned in an earlier blog post of mine.

I just sent this link to my friend Matt Germain. If Jamie Oliver, Jack Lalanne, and Matt all teamed up, this problem would be solved!

NY Times Article: Making Healthy Lunch, and Making It a Cause

Short post today.

A few days ago an article appeared in The New York Times highlighting a company in California called Revolution Foods.

Revolution Foods seek to switch the paradigm of school lunches into healthy, bountiful servings of quality food (and fuel) for students. The company entered the market at the right time around 2005; in recent years, attempts to revamp school lunch have gained support from Arnold Schwarzenegger (locally in California, where Revolution Foods is based) and Michelle Obama.

Revolution Foods has partnered with the chain Whole Foods, and their lunches contain no high fructose corn syrup. They also make foods available for those who brown bag their lunches. I'd continue on, but the article has all the information you'll need. For more information on Revolution Foods, check out the article here.

Now that companies are entering this market, will the government step up its support of changing school lunches for the better? Time will tell.

New England (Journal of Medicine) and New York City Agree on Salt

Big news hit headlines this week as the result of a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Big news, yes. Surprising? Not really.

The study, available for personal use on the NEJM website, found that, "Modest reductions in dietary salt could substantially reduce cardiovascular events and medical costs and should be a public health target." There is no doubt that excessive salt in one's diet can lead to a host of medical problems. The study also highlighted the drastic cost savings of $10-$24 BILLION dollars annually, which are sure to gain attention in this economy.

I will admit that I have not yet read the full article, but I plan to as it fits right into what I'm reading about in my current research class. The big thing that sticks out to me is the "modest reduction" of salt intake. It's nothing drastic and certainly doable; this small reduction adds up to big benefits over the course of a lifetime. An editorial in the same issue of the NEJM by Appel and Anderson does mention that this still would not place people within the recommended zone for sodium intake:

"The findings by Bibbins-Domingo and colleagues support a population-wide reduction in salt intake, but is such a reduction achievable? To answer this question, one first needs to understand currentlevels of intake. Mean salt intake in the United States is extremely high in most age groups, including children, and is well above the current daily recommended upper limit of 5.8 g (2300 mg of sodium) (Figure 1).⁶ In several age groups, reducing salt intake by 3 g per day would not achieve the recommended upper limit of intake for U.S. adults, much less the goal of 3.8 g (1500 mg of sodium) per day, which applies to 69% of U.S. adults.^7"

Interestingly, earlier this month New York City announced that it was leading an initiative to assist with companies voluntarily reducing salt levels in both packaged foods and restaurant foods by 25% over five years. Although not finalized yet, similar programs have had success in other countries, notably the United Kingdom. Appel and Anderson also mention similar programs in Ireland and Finland.

New York City seems to be spearheading quite the effort for improving overall health! It first eliminated trans fats from all city restaurants and also implemented a high tax on cigarettes in recent years. They even require calorie information on chain-restaurant menus! Their recent salt effort to reduce is a substantial effort that has gained support from numerous organizations, a full list of which can be found here. The newly published study in the NEJM serves as further evidence to the importance of their initiative.

Also of note is how sodium reduction fits into both Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020, both of which are major health initiatives. For Healthy People 2010, focus area 19-10 was aimed at decreasing total sodium intake. The following was found:

"For the objective aimed at decreasing total sodium intake (19-10), 1999–2000 data suggested that average intake by persons 2 years of age and older remains well above the Dietary Guidelines' recommendation to consume less than 2,300 milligrams daily.² Most of Americans' sodium intake comes from salt added by manufacturers to processed and prepackaged foods rather than from the natural salt content of foods or salt shakers used at the table or in cooking.² With respect to objectives 19-8, 19-9, and 19-10, consumers need access to information about the fat (including saturated fat and trans fat) and sodium content of the foods they eat, both at home and away from home."

Based on this information for Healthy People 2020, objective NWS HP2020-10 is to "reduce consumption of sodium in the population aged 2 years and older." It is a retained, yet modified, version of objective 19-10 from Healthy People 2010.

It's clear that with the original objective, not enough was being done to help accomplish the goal of decreasing total sodium intake. I believe that initiatives such as the one in New York City (aimed at packaged food and restaurant foods, which data found is where most Americans get their sodium) are taking a huge step in the right direction. Access to information is not enough to change behavior. By actually changing the sodium content of foods, we get somewhere. Most people will not want or be able to eat all fresh, natural foods due to convenience or cost, so changing processed foods that the majority of the population consumes makes total sense. The editorial mentioned above notes that:

"In broad terms, there are two complementary strategies that could be used to lower salt intake: a public health approach, in which food manufacturers reduce levels of salt in processed and prepared foods, and an individual approach, which relies on each person to select and prepare foods with little or no salt. Given that approximately 75% of dietary salt comes from processed foods, the individual approach is probably impractical."

I couldn't agree more!

It will be interesting to follow this over the next few months and years. Can people change on a large scale? Will companies comply? If major medical organizations and large corporations can work together, everyone can benefit!

As Appel and Anderson concluded in their editorial:

"As we deliberate health care reform, let us not neglect this inexpensive, yet highly effective public health intervention for the prevention of disease."