H is for Health - Part 3 Nutrition

H is for Health

Part 3 - Nutrition

Here is a hard topic for me. I'm all about exercise but eating healthy... not so much! Green is my FAVORITE color but green food, not so much. Even though I have to make myself eat my greens I do know that it is important. 

There are several ways to include nutrition into your 4-H projects. 

1. Learning to safely prepare healthy foods is a great place to start. In just the last year or so I have learned to enjoy cooking and have found that I like healthier food if I make it myself. I'm using this time working in my kitchen every day to cook more but baking still isn't my friend. Here is a 4-H Fun with Food guide that will help you get started. 

2. Reading nutrition labels isn't the fun part but it is important to know, not just calories, but vitamins, minerals, and protein that is in our food. You can make this a project but showing other 4-Hers how to compare nutrition labels to make good choices when shopping. My Plate has lots of resources you can check out. 

3. Back to the fun stuff, gardening! Eating food that you have grown yourself is amazing! Ok... I can only imagine what this is like but I have heard it's just better. I love growing flowers but I just haven't found the time or help to have a vegetable garden. I think a container garden will be best for me and I have found a perfect place for it at the barn. Here is a 4- H gardening project book you might want to try using. Here is a guide to 4-H container gardening. 

Nutrition is so important and more now than ever when our schedules and routines have changed so much. Most have heard about how there are families that are struggling to fill their fridge during this time. Lets see how we can use our skills to help those families. You could plant a little extra in your garden and share it with someone that might be struggling or when cooking meals think about someone that could use a meals and share what you have made with them. 

If that isn't something you can do maybe you can participate in 4-H Feeding Missouri. 

Here is how... follow the link https://feedingmissouri.org/4h/ OR text 4HFM2020 to 44-321 to give.