Design a Tastier Healthy Meal

Changing the menu at a school cafeteria can be tricky. We know how hard it can be to introduce new and different types of food to children. Students may find it hard to adjust to a more balanced meal which consists of a higher proportion of vegetables, fruit and healthier carbohydrate options. This may lead to a lot of food waste.

However, a healthier nutritional meal plan at school is important as it helps to build good eating habits in the future. Perhaps we could ask our kids how they think we can make their school meals healthier and also tastier?

This creative printable worksheet set encourages your students and children to think about healthier food alternatives, how we can improve lunches at school and reduce food waste.

Enjoy!

Printable & Activity Objectives

In this activity, your student/child will learn about what makes a healthy meal and think about what can make these meals tastier to reduce food waste. They will observe what they are served in school and try to imagine healthier and tastier alternatives.

It will help your child or student:

• Learn about the importance of good eating habits and what makes a healthy meal i.e. (types of food, recommended proportions, quality of produce, variety of food groups, preparation etc)
• Develop an openness to new and healthier meal options.
• Develop their observational and data collecting skills through surveying their weekly school lunches.
• Improve their artistic and creative skills by drawing and colouring their idea of healthy but tasty meals.

Let's get to it!

How to Get Started

Simple steps to start:

• Research and find out more about food groups and healthy meals. Here's a great visual guide by Harvard University:

Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate

The Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate is a visual guide to help educate and encourage children to eat well and keep moving. At a glance, the graphic features examples of best-choice foods to inspire the s…

The Nutrition Source

Here's a video about how the different types of food affects your brain:

Here's a video showcasing different meals typically served in schools around the world:

Here's a video about food wastage issues arising from the introduction of healthier food options in schools in the U.S. :

• Get started on the printable worksheets!

Share this Teaching Resource

What's in the Printable Worksheet Pack

This printable creative design challenge consists of 4 printable worksheets for your students or children to find out more about the healthier school meals, how to make them tastier and reduce food waste. Here's what it consists of:

• 1 healthy food proportion and ingredient chart.
• 1 weekly school lunch/meal survey data collection sheet.
• 1 healthy meal design and creation sheet.
• 1 healthy meal dish recipe sheet.

The big question here is ask your students: How can we make healthier food options tastier and more appealing for school students?

Click on the download link below to get started. Please note that this printable pack is only for paid members.