In Wellness I grew the most in understanding healthy foods and meal planning. I did this through the healthy eating unit we did. In this we learned about the food groups and how much of each we need daily. We also learned about what types of vegetables and fruits we should eat and what they were good for.

 

First, we took notes on nutrients about what they are and what they do and whether there are types we should eat more of. Next, we were given a homework assignment where we were given a paper with different foods on them and we had to identify what nutrients we thought they contained. Then, we went over it the next day to see what we got wrong. Then, we took notes on food groups about how much we need and amounts of foods that equal part of the needed total. Next, we categorized fruits and vegetables by their color because different colors have different nutrients. Also, we learned what we should not eat daily, how food should be prepared to be healthier, and how we should buy fruits and vegetables. Lastly, we were put into groups and made a healthy meal that would actually be eaten and that was to show our understanding of healthy foods.

 

Something that helped me understand healthy eating and foods was the paper where we said what nutrients we thought were in foods. We needed to know many things to be able to do this. One of them was protein. Protein is something that helps with tissue growth and repair and is found in foods such as chicken, eggs, and dairy products. Another is fat which is what gives your body energy, it is a building material, and helps body use vitamins. There are two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Examples of unsaturated fat would be olive oil, nuts, and avocado which are good fats. Examples of saturated fats are meat, butter, and cheese which are bad fats. Saturated fats are usually foods that are in solid form at room temperature. This helped me because when choosing which nutrients I thought were in it I had to think of what kind of food it was and what food group would it be. I really had to use my notes as a reference so that I could remember what type it would be.

 

Something else that helped me understand healthy foods were the Nutrient Chart notes. This has all of the nutrients in rows and gives the function, important information, and examples of each. We learned many terms through this paper including vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Vitamins have lots of functions including to help the body fight infection and help using other nutrients. Some examples of vitamins are C, D, and biotin. Minerals help body process and form healthy teeth and bones. Some examples of minerals are calcium, fluoride, and iron. Fiber is indigestible plant material that pushes food through your digestive system, absorb cholesterol, and fights some types of cancer. Examples of fiber are fruits and whole grain breads and cereals. This helped me because it told me what nutrients are and how they help your body and why you should eat them to stay healthy.

 

In this I talked about the healthy eating unit and why we should eat healthy foods and how they keep us healthy.