Unit 4

Eating well

Find out the jobs that different foods do in your body, and build a balanced plate from foods you really eat.

1. Read

   Food has jobs to do

   Imran ran the whole way home from school. At the gate he stopped, puffing. "I'm so hungry I could eat an elephant!"

   His mother laughed. "I only have roti, dal and some cucumber. Will that do?"

   Imran ate every bite. Soon the tired feeling went away and he was running again. Why? Because the food did some jobs inside him.

   

   Three kinds of jobs

   Your body is always busy. It moves, it grows taller, and it fights off tummy bugs and colds. Different foods help with different jobs. Here is an easy way to remember them.

   Group	Foods like these	Their job
   Go foods	roti, rice, bread, millets, potato, oats	Give you energy to run, play and think
   Grow foods	dal, beans, egg, fish, chicken, paneer, milk, curd, nuts	Help your muscles, bones and body grow strong
   Glow foods	fruits and vegetables of every colour	Help you stay well and keep your tummy happy

   Dal, milk and eggs help you grow because your body uses them to build and mend itself. Many glow foods are full of tiny things your body needs to stay healthy, and the stringy part helps your tummy work smoothly.

   Some foods are treats: sweets, chips, biscuits and fizzy drinks. They taste nice, and it is fine to have a little now and then. But they do not do many jobs in your body, so they should not fill most of your plate.

   Try it: Look at your last meal. Which jobs did it do? Did it have a go food, a grow food and a glow food?

   Build a balanced plate

   A balanced plate has a bit of everything. Here is a picture to guide you.

   

   Use foods from where you live. A plate in Kerala might have rice, fish curry and thoran (a vegetable dish). In Punjab it might be roti, dal and saag. In Nigeria it might be jollof rice, beans and fried plantain. Different places, same jobs.

   Example. Dev's tiffin has a paratha and a packet of chips. Go food: yes. Grow food: no. Glow food: no. To balance it, Dev could swap the chips for a boiled egg and a few carrot sticks, and add a banana.

   Why water matters

   Water is not a food group, but your body is mostly water! Water helps you cool down when you sweat, helps your body use the food you eat, and stops you feeling tired and headachy.

   Drink some water through the whole day, and more when it is hot or after you have been playing hard. Water is the best drink. Fizzy drinks and packaged juice have a lot of sugar, so they are treats, not water.

   Mix-ups to watch for

   • "My favourite food is enough." Even a good food cannot do all the jobs alone. Variety is the secret.
   • "Treats are bad." No food is "bad" to taste now and then. It is just that treats should be small, and the other groups should fill most of the plate.

   For the grown-up helping

   Keep the language of jobs, not rules: "What job is this food doing?" is more fun than "Eat your vegetables." Let your child help wash, sort and serve food, because children try new foods more readily when they have helped make them. It can take ten tries or more for a new taste to be liked. Never use food as a reward or punishment. If you are worried about a child's growth, eating or allergies, talk to a doctor.

2. Lab

   Sort and build

   First sort ten foods into go, grow, glow and treat. Then build a balanced plate and check it.

   Your goals

   • Sort all ten foods into the right group (you can try again after a wrong answer).
   • Build a plate with at least one go food, one grow food and two glow foods, and no more than one treat.

   🔒 The interactive lab opens once you register. Register to do this.

3. Activity

   Build a plate from home foods

   Your child helps choose and sort real foods from your kitchen, then builds a balanced plate for the next meal. About 20 minutes.

   You'll need

   • Real foods or food packets from the kitchen, or pictures cut from a magazine or flyer
   • Three bowls or sheets of paper labelled GO, GROW and GLOW
   • One plate
   • A glass of water

   Steps

   1. Together, pick eight to ten foods your family eats. Include at least one fruit, one vegetable, one grain and one dal, egg, milk or paneer item.
   2. Your child puts each food in the right bowl. If a food fits two groups (dal with spinach, for example), that is fine; ask why they chose where they did.
   3. Ask "Which of these is a treat?" Put treats to one side.
   4. Your child builds a plate for the next meal, with a big share of glow foods, a go food and a grow food. A grown-up does any cutting or cooking.
   5. Look at the plate together. Ask "What jobs will this meal do for your body?"
   6. Share the meal. Offer water to drink with it.

   Safety

   • A grown-up does all cutting, peeling and cooking.
   • Check for food allergies before handling nuts, eggs, milk or fish. Use pictures instead if anyone is allergic.
   • Wash hands before touching food. Cut round foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes in half for small children.

   🔒 Keeping a log of the activity is for registered learners. Register to do this.

4. Quick check

   Eating well check

   Seven questions about food, plates and water.

   1. 1.Which of these is a "go" food that gives you energy to run and play?

      • Roti
      • Apple
      • Egg

      Choose one

   2. 2.Dal, eggs and paneer are "grow" foods. What do they help your body do?

      • Build muscles and bones and grow strong
      • Make you sleepy
      • Only taste nice

      Choose one

   3. 3.Match each food to its group.

      • Banana
      • Rice
      • Egg
      • Packet of chips

      Match each to: Grow · Go · Glow · Treat

   4. 4.Which of these belong on a balanced plate? Pick all that apply.

      • Roti, rice or another grain
      • Colourful vegetables
      • Dal, egg, fish or paneer
      • Only sweets
      • Only chips

      Choose all that apply

   5. 5.You have played outside on a hot day and you are sweating. What is best for your body?

      • Drink water
      • Drink nothing until night
      • Drink only a fizzy drink

      Choose one

   6. 6.Look at the plate. Which part is the biggest?

      
      • Fruits and vegetables
      • Roti and rice
      • Dal and egg

      Choose one

   7. 7.Sweets and chips are treats. What is a good way to think about treats?

      • A little now and then, not most of the plate
      • They should fill most of the plate
      • You must never taste them, ever

      Choose one

   🔒 Answering and checking are for registered learners. Register to do this.

5. Quick check

   New puzzles

   Use what you know about food jobs in some new places.

   1. 1.Arjun's tiffin has a paratha and a packet of chips. He wants to balance it. What should he add?

      • A banana and a boiled egg
      • More chips
      • A second paratha

      Choose one

   2. 2.Zaid drinks 1 glass of water at breakfast, 2 glasses at school, and 3 more after games and at home. How many glasses of water is that in all?

      Answer with a number

   3. 3.Sam says, "I'll only eat my favourite food, because it is yummy." Why is that not a good plan?

      • Different foods do different jobs, so we need a mix
      • Favourite foods are always bad for you
      • There is no reason

      Choose one

   4. 4.Kavya eats a bowl of dal and a glass of milk. Which job are these mostly helping her body with?

      • Only energy to run, like a go food
      • Growing strong muscles and bones
      • Nothing, they are treats

      Choose one

   🔒 Answering and checking are for registered learners. Register to do this.

6. Activity

   Tell it back

   Your child explains, in their own words, why we eat different foods. Three minutes.

   Steps

   1. Show your child a plate with only chips on it. Ask "Is this a good plate for a whole day? Why or why not?"
   2. Ask "What would you add, and what job would it do?" Let them use the words go, grow or glow if they like, or their own words.
   3. Ask "Why do we drink water, especially when we play hard?"
   4. Write down what your child says, in their words. Do not correct them. Just ask "Tell me more."

   🔒 Keeping a log of the activity is for registered learners. Register to do this.