Lesson 2
Nutritional Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables
Key Lesson Points
- Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins, minerals and plant
chemicals. They also contain fibre.
- There are many varieties of fruit and vegetables available and many ways to prepare, cook and serve them.
- A diet high in fruit and vegetables can help protect you against cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
- Eat 5 kinds of vegetable and 2 kinds of fruit every day for good health.
- Most Australians do not eat enough fruit and vegetables.
- When buying and serving fruit and vegetables, aim for variety to get the most nutrients and appeal.
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Discussion Questions:
• Who ate fruits or vegetables this morning?
• Do you eat fruits and vegetables every morning?
• What makes it difficult to eat fruits and vegetables every morning?
• If you do have fruits/vegetables which ones do you eat?
• What happens when you don’t eat fruits and vegetables?
• Why do you think it’s important for humans to eat fruits and vegetables?
• Does what you eat change how you feel in school or during any day?
SHORT QUIZ (FOR LEARNING)
Prepare ahead of time: Draw fruits, veggies and body parts listed below on construction paper.
› Heart (Yellow + Red + Purple + Brown) – Pineapple, Red Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Almonds ›
Brain (Blue + Purple) – Blueberries and Eggplants ›
Eyes (Green + Orange) – Cabbage and Oranges ›
Skin (Orange) – Oranges or Cantaloupe ›
Bones (White) – Bananas
• In front of the room there will be pictures of different body parts taped to the board (brain, heart, eyes, skin and bones). Each student will have a drawing of a fruit or vegetable in their hand. Each student will be able to go up to the board and match the fruit or vegetable with the body part it helps keep healthy.
• After each fruit is place on the correct body part it protects, the class will discuss the super powers of that food and its color.
Red foods keep our hearts healthy and may protect our bodies from cancer. They also improve our memory so we can remember things better and do better in school.
Orange foods are full of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps us fight a cold and helps to prevent cancer. Orange foods are also full of vitamin A and beta-carotene, which help us see in the dark and keep our skin healthy.
Yellow foods are full of antioxidants that fight off dangerous free radicals that can damage our cells. They also keep our hearts healthy, prevent different types of cancers and keep us from getting sick.
Green foods help our entire body: they keep our nails strong, help us see better, keep us from getting sick, give us strong bones and teeth, and keep away cancer. ›
Blue and Purple foods can help our memory, possibly protect us from cancer. They also contain flavonoids, which are a type of fight-o-chemical (phytochemical) that keeps cancer and heart disease away.
White foods help keep our heart, lungs and blood vessels healthy. They can also lower cholesterol, fight cancer and make our bones strong.
GLOSSARY
Fresh appearance: Appearance of fruit and vegetables displaying the characteristics of recently harvested produce (i.e. colour, texture, firmness, turgescence), including absence of shrivelling, wilting or signs of senescence.
Maturity: Physiological and biochemical changes of fruit. Maturity influences texture, juiciness, sugar-content, sugar-acid-ratio of the fruit. Maturity is dependent on the characteristics of each produce.
Decay: Defect (progressive or not) seriously affecting the edibility and/or keeping quality of the produce.
Satisfactory condition: Absence of defects. These defects can be a lack of firmness, bruises, heavy trim, cuts, cracking, picking damages, chilling, scald, or other defects likely to deteriorate.
Basketball : a game played between two teams of five players in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through a netted hoop fixed above each end of the court.
Dribble : The skill of moving a ball along the ground with repeated small kicks or hits, or (in basketball) of moving a ball by repeatedly hitting it so it bounces off the floor:
- Teacher: Tyler D. Greiling