Family Nutrition - Nutrition for Families

Families will learn to plan meals to fulfill their nutritional requirements.

 

Objective

Families will plan good meals for family members.

Lesson Preparation

Before the lesson find foods to use to plan meals around, for example, cornmeal, a growth food like eggs or meat, and a protection food which could be a fruit or vegetable.

Concepts to be Taught

We need to plan in advance to eat good meals. We should eat adequate amounts of each food daily according to our personal needs. There are many customs that interfere with good nutrition.

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Introduction:

When we have a goal we want to achieve, we need a plan (#1). For example, if we want to build a house, we need to have a plan of where to build the house on the lot, how close to put it to the road, well, fields, etc., where to put the windows to take advantage of the winds, and other important details. The same is true for our daily meals. We need to plan ahead so our bodies and health will be as we want them to be.

Concept #1:

We need to plan in advance to eat balanced meals.

A family needs to make many preparations to be sure they are able to get balanced meals for all family members (#2). The preparations include things that must planned far ahead of time for meals as well as arrangements that must be made the day of the meal. Some of the plans that must be made ahead of time include:

• earning enough money to buy food

• planting and harvesting a garden (#3)

• buying and caring for animals, chickens or other sources of food (#4)

• shopping for food

• storing food properly

Some of the plans to be made the day of the meal include:

• arranging for water (#5)

• getting fuel to cook the food (#5)

• preparing the food (#6)

• serving the food

• cleaning up after the meal and properly taking care of extra food (#7)

As we learned in the last lesson, we should eat foods from the basic three food groups every day (#8). By way of review, the three food groups are: energy foods, growth foods, and protection foods. Ask: What is the most commonly eaten food in your area? (Probably corn, or corn and beans). Whatever food(s) people eat a lot of (such as corn, rice or what or other grain) is called a "basic" of "foundation" food. Basic foods like corn are good foods but we also need other foods with it to stay healthy. What food group is corn in? Energy group. Which other food groups do we need? Growth and protection. What foods available here are in these groups? (Name some growth foods such as eggs, meats, fish, dairy products, and protection foods such as fruits and vegetables.)

Ask: Does your family usually eat from the three food groups each day? What foods do you commonly eat?

Learning Activity #1

Put out various foods, one at a time, and ask: What kinds of foods could you add to this to make a complete meal? (Possible foods could be cornmeal, eggs, or tomatoes or other common foods from the three groups) Ask: What kind of planning is necessary to include these foods in the family diet? (The discussion should reinforce the ideas of planning such as earn extra money so more foods could be purchased, grow a garden with a greater variety of fruits and vegetables, buy animals or chickens and learn to take care of them, etc.)

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Concept #2

We should eat adequate amounts of each food daily according to our personal needs.

When we plan for meals, one of the difficult things to do is to determine how much to prepare so that each person gets sufficient for their needs (#9). The first thing to do is to be sure that three is enough of each kind of food so that everyone can have at least several bites. For example, for a family of six people, a dozen tortillas, three eggs and three tomatoes would not be a proper balance. This may be enough tortillas, but it would only mean ½ egg and ½ tomato per person. Each person should get at least the equivalent of one egg and one tomato or other vegetable. Some members of the family may need more food than others. For example, children who are growing and a mother who is pregnant or lactating may need more food than other family members (#10). However, if the family can't provide the total proper amount of food immediately, even a small increase is good.

Learning Activity #2

Have family plan out the ideal amount of food necessary for the number of people in their family and the amounts of food needed by each family member. Pick some food combinations that are liked by the family with foods that are available locally. Have them plan three appropriate means.

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Concept #3

There are many customs that interfere with good nutrition.

Tell story: In s small mountain village, a traveler stropped to stay for the night. He arrived at dinner time and was invited by a family to eat with the This was the first food the family members had eaten in the day. The traveler was seated with the men in the family who were given a large plate of food, including lots of meat and tortillas. They were given more food when they were finished. He wondered why there were no vegetables with the meal and heard the men say that vegetables were only food for animals. The women and children of the family got the food that was left over. The children ate next and the women ate last. There was no meat left for them after the men had eaten but they said children and women shouldn't eat that kind of food because it is harmful to them. What kinds of customs had developed in this family that could be harmful to the health of certain family members? (They didn't eat vegetables, the children and women had no meat, the children and women who need more food ate less, they only ate once a day, etc.) In some families and is some cultures, some unhealthy habits or customs have developed about foods. We need to recognize what is not healthy about our eating habits and change them. What is there about your current eating habits that could be changed to be more healthy? A common custom is to eat nothing or very little food in the morning. This may be because it is difficult to fix food at that time of the day or family members are in a hurry to leave the house and go to work or school. It is especially important to eat in the morning. Children, particularly, need some nourishing food to keep them alert and energetic at school and in their other activities (#11). They should also have some food while they are at school depending on their age and the amount of time they spend in school. They can bring food from home to eat.

The exact number of meals that people eat during the day is not important.

Learning Activity #3

Ask: How can your family change the eating habits you have that are not very healthy? How can everyone work together to help the family?

Family Activity

Family will write goals to work on any of the areas they found lacking during the lesson. The goals should be small and reachable rather than large and overwhelming.

List of figures for lesson 4.2

(Click on the numbered links below to view and print full-sized figures)

1. Just like you make a plan to build a house of plant a field, a family needs to make a plan for their daily meals.

2. One way to plan for good food is to earn enough money to buy good food.

3. A family can grow a garden to get good food.

4. A family can raise animals to get some growth foods in their diet.

5. Before each meals some preparations need to be made, such as getting water and building a fire or getting fuel.

6. Food needs to be prepared daily.

7. We need to clean up food after a meal to keep the family healthy.

8. We need food from the three food groups every day.

9. Some meals have lots of the basic food, like corn, but do not have enough of the growth or protection foods.

10. Children and pregnant women need more food than they will need at other times in their lives.

11. The morning is an important time to eat good food, especially for children.