Project F.E.E.D.

 

 

What is Project FEED?||Goals||Unit Overview||Snack Ideas||Recipes||Links 

 

What is Project FEED?

F.E.E.D. stands for Food Education Every Day. This project is a collaboration between the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, Shelburne Farms, Food Works, and the Vermont Agriculture in Classroom Partners. Participating school staff are involved in professional development coursework and create standards-based units related to farm, food, and nutrition.

The goals of Project FEED in the preschool setting.

Our goal is to give children hands-on, multisensory experiences with a variety of nutritious foods. The foods that children eat and the experiences they have with food play major roles in shaping health and well-being throughout life. In other words, it is easier to establish healthy eating habits early in life than to undo unhealthy habits later on. In preschool, we will are learning about the food guide pyramid and its parts and we have many opportunities to try new and nutritious foods, prepare simple snacks, and increase awareness of healthy food choices. We have also planted an indoor garden using a grow lab to grow a variety of lettuces, radishes, carrots, and herbs. The children have enjoyed the experience of planting these items, caring for the plants, and are eager to havest the foods, and eat them!

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An overview of our units

The Food Guide Pyramid (September)
Fruits (October)
Vegetables (December)
Breads and Grains (January)
Dairy (November)
Meats and Proteins (March)
Fats and Sweets (April)

 

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Snack Ideas

•  fresh fruit
• raw vegetables with dip or cottage cheese
• cooked whole wheat pasta and sauce
• whole wheat bread (toasted or not)
• potatoes
• rice and beans
• plain or vanilla yogurt and fruit
• rice cakes with peanut butter or jam
• whole wheat crackers with cheese
• bagels with peanut butter/jam/cream cheese
• celery and cream cheese/cottage cheese/peanut butter
• granola
• oatmeal with fresh or dried fruit
• salad
• whole wheat english muffin pizzas

Simple Recipes
 Snack Mix

• 1 cup unsalted pretzels
• 1 cup unsalted nuts
• 1 cup dried fruit (such as raisins, apples, dates, cranberries)
• ½ cup sunflower seeds

 1. Break pretzels into bite-sized pieces.

2. Mix ingredients together.

3. Store in airtight container.

(Makes 12 servings, ¼ cup each)

Nutty Rice Cake

•  12 rice cakes
• soy or peanut butter
• 6 bananas

1. Spread rice cake with soy or peanut butter.

2. Slice a banana.

3. Place banana slices on rice cake and enjoy!

(Makes 12 individual servings)

Celery Boats

• celery
• cottage cheese
• raisins
• diced pineapple (or apple, dates, tomato, etc,)

1. Cut celery into 4-inch pieces.

2. Add cottage cheese to curved hollow.

3. Add other chosen ingredients and eat!

Fruit Smoothies

•  2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
• 1 banana
• ¼ cup of honey
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup orange juice

1. Place berries in blender.

2. Blend on high for 1 minute.

3. Add each remaining ingredient one at a time, blending on medium for 30 seconds.

4. When all ingredients are added, blend on medium until mixture is smooth.

(Makes 8 servings, ½ cup each)

 Bright Pink Fruit Dip

•  10 ounce package of sweetened raspberries (defrosted)
• ½ cup softened cream cheese
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1. Place raspberries (and their liquid) and cream cheese in blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

2. Put mixture in a bowl, add yogurt and lemon juice, and whisk together.

3. Serve with chunks of fresh fruit (cantaloupe, apples, pears, honeydew).

(Makes 5 snack-sized portions)

Here are some photos of us working in our classroom

Some helpful links to other websites

"Nutrition for the Preschool Child" by the National Network for Child Care

Preschool nutrition information at Keep Kids Healthy

Dole 5 A Day

Vegetarian recipes

Kid recipes

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