Growers and Grocers

When it comes to ensuring that my family is eating the correct number of servings from each of the food groups, I try to keep track of it all in my head.  We all need 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables, which is often where I think we are lacking.  How do people keep track of the types foods they are eating and teach their children to eat the proper amounts of each food group?

Enter an interesting idea from Chickinfeed.  What is Chickinfeed?  The idea behind Chickenfeed began when Leslie Smith Grant wanted to find a way to teach her children about nutrition and what they need to eat each day to be healthy.  The Chickenfeed Nutrition Board is a simple way to track what should be eaten each day versus what has already been consumed. 

The board is made of galvanized metal and is about the size of a piece of legal sized paper.  It has a magnet on the back so it can attach to the refrigerator or it can be hung on a wall using the holes at the top.  There are cute little chicken magnets that can be moved from the side of the board where it says “what they need” to the side where it says “what they had.”  It’s simple enough for a child to keep track with the help of an adult.  The magnets are rather small, and they do come with a warning not to allow the younger kids (think toddlers and smaller) handle them as they are a choking hazard.

We tried a tracking board out for about 1 week.  I found it helpful to track the things that I know we can often fall short of on a daily basis.  It served as a great reminder of what we might need to include in dinner if we didn’t have enough during the earlier part of the day.  As with any type of tracking, it all depends on your commitment to it.  I liked the idea of it, but found that I was not consistent with checking it or moving over the magnets.  My boys thought it was cool and it complimented what they have been learning in school about healthy eating. 

The tracking boards are available in multiple colors and cost $30 each. 

Photo courtesy Chickinfeed.