Eat more fruit and vegetables, remember this when preparing lunchboxes

By April Speck, Coordinator,

Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coalition

Eating more fruit and vegetables will help your child to reach and maintain a healthy weight – as well as helping prevent heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in later life

Did you know that a good way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight is to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables that you eat?

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is essential for a balanced diet, and getting your kids used to eating these essential foods will help them avoid a range of serious illnesses (including heart disease and certain cancers) in later life.

Fruits and vegetables are a natural addition to your child’s lunchbox – they’re an ideal healthy snack, they don’t make a mess, they don’t need much packaging and they’re cheap! There are lots of different varieties to choose from so you don’t have to pack the same thing every day.

Fruit

Most types of fruit are ideal fillers for lunchboxes, although you may want to avoid using ones that younger children will find difficult to peel on their own. It’s worth leaving the peel on where possible, as there are lots of fiber and other nutrients in the skin – don’t forget to wash fruit that is going to be eaten with the skin on.

Some of our favorite lunchbox fruit includes:

• Apples – try chopping into interesting shapes

• Bananas – you can cut a small slit at the top if your kids have difficulty peeling them

• Mandarins/Clementines– easier to peel than regular oranges

• Grapes – one handful counts as a portion

• Pears – if your child only eats apples, try widening their horizons with a pear!

• Berries – strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, buy frozen to save money

• Kiwis – slice in half and your kids can eat them the same way as a boiled egg

Vegetables

Raw vegetables can be just as tasty and versatile as fruit, and they are also great additions for lunchboxes. Some of the best kinds of vegetables to be eaten raw include:

• Tomatoes

• Carrots

• Cucumbers

• Peppers

• Celery

• Cauliflower

Upcoming Healthy Hometown Coalition Events:

AES Walking Buddies

AES Walking Buddies is going strong, but we still need CCHS students to be positive role models to our younger students. If you are interested, please go to AES Monday-Friday between 7:15 am-7:35 am. CCHS students will receive volunteer hours!

CCHS Take 101

CCHS students will be teaching and facilitating the Take 10! curriculum with ECC students every Tuesday during 2nd period intervention. CCHS students will focus on small 10 minute exercises to get the students physically active and to help stimulate learning. We still need more CCHS students to volunteer.

CCMS Athletic Training program

CCMS Athletic Training Program will be starting soon. If you would like for your 8th grade student to be involved, please contact April Speck.

Healthy Hometown Coalition to meet February 27

Healthy Hometown Coalition will meet Thursday, February 27th 11 am at Monticello Bank.

For more information contact Healthy Hometown Coordinator, April Speck at april.speck@clinton.kyschools

Healthy Hometown is working toward a “healthy” Clinton County.