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| - Fruits and vegetables with the brightest colors are usually high in vitamins. Fruits and vegetables with the brightest colors are usually high in vitamins. Calories are a measure of how much fuel is in a food. Most kids need to eat about 1,600-2,200 calories per day to be able to run, grow and learn. It takes about 400 calories to walk for an hour. It takes about 75 calories to sit and watch TV for an hour. When you eat more calories than you need, the rest is stored as fat. There are 60 calories in an apple and 411 calories in a piece of apple pie . A serving of protein should be about as big as the palm of your hand. There are 142 calories in 4 oz of baked chicken and 467 calories in a Big Mac. Our bodies are made mostly of water – 65% of your weight is water! Most of the rest is protein (about 20%) and bone (about 15%). Most of the protein in your body is in your muscles. Some foods with a lot of protein are meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt and beans. Try to eat protein at every meal to keep your body strong. Carbohydrates or carbs give you the energy you need to move. Foods with a lot of carbohydrate are bread, cereal, macaroni, spaghetti, potatoes and fruit. There are 100 calories in ½ cup of mashed potatoes and 160 calories in a small bag of potato chips. Breads, cereals, rice and pasta are made from seeds called grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel and are very good for you – they help keep your heart strong, and seem to help prevent high blood pressure and diabetes. Half the grains (breads, cereal, rice) you eat should be whole grains. Some whole grain foods are whole wheat bread and pasta, popcorn, oatmeal, and brown rice. You need about 3 servings every day. A serving is 1 slice of bread, a small pancake, 3 cups of popcorn, a cup of whole cereal (about the size of your fist) or ½ cup of oatmeal, rice, spaghetti or macaroni (the size of a computer mouse) Sweet treats and pop are “empty” calories. We call them empty because they aren’t very nutritious, but add a lot of calories. Eating a lot of sugar – pop, cookies, candy and other sweet treats – is not good for your body. Vitamins and minerals in foods help give you energy and make you stronger. They are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein foods and dairy products. * Healthy sugars are found in fruits. Fruits are not “empty” – they have a lot of vitamins and minerals. A 12-oz can of pop has about 9 teaspoons of sugar. That is more sugar than most people should eat in a whole day. You can find out if a food has sugar by reading its ingredients. Some other names for sugar are “high fructose corn syrup," dextrose, fructose and malt syrup. Dairy foods are great sources of calcium. Calcium makes your bones strong and helps you grow. You need 3 servings of dairy foods every day. Some dairy foods are milk, cheese, and yogurt . A serving is a cup of milk, an 8-oz container of yogurt, a cup of frozen yogurt or 1 ½ oz of cheese (about 1 ½ times the size of your thumb). MyPlate is an image of what a healthy diet looks like. MyPlate shows a lunch or dinner plate that is filled with foods that are good for you. Half the plate is covered by fruits and vegetables, to show that half the food you eat should be fruits and vegetables. Kids your age should eat about 1 ½ cups of fruit every day. Fruits are high in Vitamin C, which helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps your teeth and gums healthy. Vegetables are important sources of vitamins and minerals. They are high in vitamin A, which helps keep your eyes and skin healthy. Girls need two cups of vegetables every day. Boys should have more, two-and-a-half cups every day. Kids who eat breakfast every day do better in school. They have better focus and energy.
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