Healthy Snacks | Fast Food | Guidelines | Healthy Eating Tools | Model Programs | Strategies
Healthy Snacks
California Adolescent Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Healthy Snack Guide for your Afterschool Program has information on why you should serve snacks in your afterschool program, nutritional guidelines, where to buy snacks, how to start serving healthy snacks, sample menus, and more.
Examples of multicultural snacks for afterschool programs by California Adolescent Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program.
USDA Recipes for Child Care consists of a booklet and 2 CD-ROMs. The booklet describes how to work with recipes, adjusting recipes, food safety information, and much more. One CD includes the booklet text and a Supplemental Information technical assistance piece that has tips for cooking, preparation, and storage. A bonus CD of the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs is also included.
Fruits and Veggies On the Go by Fruits Veggies More Matters Campaign.
Family guide to healthy eating. Find practical, up-to-date information you can use to balance good nutrition and a busy family schedule, including recipes, expert interviews, snack and meal tips, and more!
Univeresity of Illinois Extension suggests healthy snacks for children and youth.
Delicious Heart-Healthy Latino/a Recipes/Platillos Latinos-sabrosos y saludables!
Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association has links to recipes using farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.
National Institute of Health published Heart-Healthy Home Cooking African American Style
Purchase the Best of Healthy Soul Food Recipes (American Heart Association)
Nutrition Explorations healthy kitchen includes healthy recipes you can prepare with your family, shopping tips, smart snacking, and more.
Fruit and Veggies More Matters Campaign offers a healthy recipe database, recipes that take 30 minutes or less, top ten ways to cook almost anything, and cooking tips.
Fruits and Vegetables matter. Enter in your personal information to learn the number of servings of fruits and vegetables that your body needs. Includes fruit and vegetable of the month, recipes and tips.
School and child care recipes by the United States Department of Agriculture.
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program’s Three Week Healthy Snack Plan.
Fast Food
American Heart Association proposes How to Make Fast Food Friendlier
California Center for Health Improvement published Fast Food in California's High Schools: Popular, Profitable, Contributing to Teen Obesity?
Healthy Fast Food: Healthy Choices at Fast Food Restaurants
Center for Science in the Public Interest published From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Supersizing
Guidelines
Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2005) published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
American Heart Association’s Dietary Recommendations for Children.
Nutrition Guidelines for Afterschool and Summer Programs developed by the Food Research and Action Council (FRAC).
Healthy Eating Tools
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a BMI Calculator for Children and Teens
USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Resource Center at Baylor College of Medicine recommends the Children’s BMI-percentile-for Age Calculator to determine whether a child is at a healthy weight for his/her height, age and gender.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services established MyPyramid, formerly called the Food Pyramid. Many other pyramids exist today including the Asian, Latin American, Mediterranean and Vegetarian diet pyramids. Many pyramids are designed for different populations. This site offers information about the basic principles of all food pyramids, differences in food pyramids, and how to use the food pyramids.
U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration. How to understand and use nutrition facts labels
Nutrition.gov website offers information on meal planning and shopping for fruits and vegetables.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation offers the Healthy Schools Product Calculator to determine if a snack food or side item meets the Alliance's Guidelines for Competitive Foods.
California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program’s Healthy Snack Guide offers tips on how to start serving snacks and sample cycle menus to get you started. Includes recipes for healthy after school snacks.
California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness (CANFit) Program’s Three Week Healthy Snack Plan
The amount of fruits and vegetables your family needs daily depends on caloric needs, which are determined by age, gender and activity level. Find out how much you and your family members need. Fruits and Veggies More Matters Campaign.
Model Programs
USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program documents how amazing things began to happen when 64,000 U.S. students had access to fruits and vegetables.
The California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program conducted PHAT: Promoting Healthy Activities Together to encourage physical activity and healthy eating among African-American adolescents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Enter your email address to sign up and read this report.
California After School Network describes afterschool success stories including one that incorporated a garden.
The National School Lunch Program offers cash reimbursement to help schools serve snacks to children in afterschool activities aimed at promoting the health and well being of children and youth in our communities. A school must provide children with regularly scheduled activities in an organized, structured and supervised environment; include educational or enrichment activities (e.g., mentoring or tutoring programs). Competitive interscholastic sports teams are not an eligible afterschool program. The programs must meet State/local licensing requirements, if available, or State/local health and safety standards. All programs that meet the eligibility requirements can participate in the National School Lunch Program and receive USDA reimbursement for afterschool snacks.
The Produce for Better Health Foundation’s Fruits and Veggies-More Matters campaigns lists the Top Ten Reasons to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables.
Strategies
California Adolescent Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Needs Assessment Guide outlines a process for uncovering the role of culture in nutrition and physical activity habits in multi-ethnic youth so that information may be used in to improve their habits in a multi-culturally appropriate way.
FRAC's Afterschool Resource Center provides a variety of information, best practices, outreach materials, tools and strategies to help afterschool providers and anti-hunger advocates get more healthy snacks and meals to children.
California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program published a policy brief, The Afterschool Landscape in California, Opportunities of the Afterschool Education and Safety Program Act explores the landscape of after school in the state, including the differences between programs run by local education agencies and those run by community-based programs, and how programs are implementing physical activity and nutrition components. The brief also highlights how The California Endowment's Healthy Eating and Active Communities are helping to shape the movement toward intentional physical activity and nutrition in after school, and it provides recommendations for communities interested in expanding after school opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles.
Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition in Afterschool Settings: Strategies for Program Leaders and Policy Makers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Promoting Health and Preventing Obesity in Afterschool Programs: Critical Issues to Consider addresses current afterschool structures, practices, and recommendations. Appendix A consists of California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) guidelines for program content. Appendix B includes CANFit criteria for reviewing physical activity programs.
Policy Recommendations on Nutrition and Physical Activity in Middle Schools, Afterschool Programs, and Communities by California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program.