March 14th, 2025 By: Megan McDonough
My Outreach
My outreach was out of this world amazing! My goal was to educate the 3rd-grade class on the importance of healthy eating habits and exercise. My main point was that not all healthy food is gross or scary! I was very nervous at first, but these third graders were so kind and curious that it really encouraged me. I presented to around thirty kids during two different class periods. I discussed the importance of a balanced diet, including fruits, grains, vegetables, proteins, and carbohydrates. I emphasized the importance of making healthy everyday eating choices, which I turned into eating a rainbow. This makes eating more enjoyable and encourages more diversity. My main goal was to encourage the students to try new foods and explore different food options, aiming to create a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.
Eating a Rainbow
Eating a rainbow encourages a diverse food palette at every meal.
Red fruits and vegetables contain lycopene. This improves heart health and brain function, while also decreasing the risk for a multitude of different cancers. A good source of lycopene includes tomatoes, beets, radishes, cherries, and strawberries.
Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables contain carotenoids. These reduce the risk of heart disease and inflammation. They also strengthen the immune system and encourage healthy skin and vision. These include carrots, winter squash, yellow pepper, sweet potatoes, bananas, and pineapples.
Green fruits and vegetables contain indoles and isothiocyanates. These help prevent cancer and are also high in vitamin K, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants. Good sources include spinach, broccoli, kiwis, and green tea.
Blue and purple fruits and vegetables contain anthocyanins. These are also associated with improved brain health and memory. They help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease. Some good sources of these are blueberries, blackberries, eggplant, figs, purple cabbage, concord grapes, and plums.
White and brown fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids and allicin, which have anti-tumor properties. They also can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, improve bone strength, and decrease the risk of stomach cancer. Good sources include onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, garlic, and leeks.
My Activity
My activity was like these kids' own personal Costco free sample tables. I provided a variety of different foods from different color groups. These foods were, hopefully, more diverse than they had ever tried before. I hoped to encourage them to try new foods and show them that these types of foods aren’t as scary as they seem. I brought pomegranate seeds, sliced pickled beets, butternut squash spirals, dried mango, dried pineapple, fresh honeydew chunks, snap pea crisps, blueberry blackberry acai juice, dragonfruit, dried coconut pieces, and crumbled cauliflower. This allowed them to visually see that not all healthy food is just yucky broccoli and encouraged them to try new foods. Overall it was very successful and they all tried almost all of the food!
This was so much fun for me! These 3rd Graders were so curious and tried almost all the food that I brought! They also had questions about things like potassium, muscle cramps, and the effects of certain foods. It was so much fun to be able to talk about something I am passionate about while someone was actually invested in what I was saying. My favorite part was when I finally finished, a little boy came up to me and said this was his favorite science class ever. I hope they learned something and are now more open to trying new things.
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