I also suggest that using garden based learning programs is a fantastic way for the kids to learn while also establishing great eating habits. There are lots of garden based school resources available.

I work as a grounds person at a day care center and the kids greet me by hollering “Richard, Richard! Can we have some ONIONS!?” They chew on green onion stems like they were honey sticks. I took a short video of about 8 preschoolers nearly rioting to get at 3 ripe black berries. It was hilarious.

I am working on setting up Farmers Markets as Public Forums on Nutrition and Exercise. Locally there is a group of us working to extablish garden based learning in the schools and integrate salad bars in the school lunch program. The really sad thing about it is that – as bad as the school lunch programs are – the rate of overweight gain INCREASES! when school is out. As bad as the cafeteria food is – the food and exercise the kids get a home is worse. And it is not uncommon to hear a parent make a comment like “Cheeze curles are a healthy snack because they have cheeze in them.”

I cobbled together a formula to indicate “nutrient density” of foods – that is – how much nutrition per calorie of food. On a scale of 0 (sodas & sugar candy) to 100 (leafy green vegetables) a plain steamed potato rates a .26 -(a POINT! 26) out of a possible 100. The really sad thing is that the average American diet ranks around .1. If we could raise the average American diet to a .26 we could probably eliminate child onset diabetes and cut our disease rates for cancer, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes in half.

We eat garbage and then we don’t feel or do so well.

Whole plant foods are the way to go. I find that making lots of different foods available works for picky eaters. Two neighbor girls are real picky eaters, but if I have a bowl full of nuts, they will spend a lot of time cracking and eating them.

Eartha, the sprout lady at the farmers market, put it this way.
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It is possible to live a long and productive life and eat meat, smoke, and do drugs.

It is not possible to live a long and productive life and not eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
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There is lots of research that points to the dramatic differences that a good diet makes on mood, behavior, and health. It isn’t being recognized cause there is a lot of money to be made selling highly processed “foods”.

OK – I’ll shut up.

Keep up the good work.