Can a cookbook save your life?
We need food to live, but are we making the best choices when it comes to nutrition? A healthy, well-balanced diet can help people achieve optimal health and reduce the risk of illness. In this project, students will learn to make healthier choices by diving deep into the world of nutrition. Students will use their creativity to design and test healthy recipes. They will think like dieticians, using data to improve on their delicious designs. Finally, they’ll present their nutritious dishes to a live audience and create a cookbook to sell for a charitable cause.
Imagine if thousands of students just like yours, all around the country, made small changes to improve their lifestyles. It could add up to an incredible force for good!
What’s included in your project?
Project Plan and Resources
Learning Targets
Lesson 1: Students understand that nutrition is really, really important.
Lesson 2: Students evaluate whether foods are healthy or not.
Lesson 3: Students discuss and debate perspectives on nutrition.
Lesson 4: Students think mathematically to analyze nutrition labels.
Lesson 5: Students use creative thinking to generate multiple recipes.
Lesson 6: Students collaborate to make their healthy recipes.
Lesson 7: Students use data to improve their recipes.
Lesson 8: Students present their food with poise, polish, pizzazz, and also panache.
For lesson descriptions, download the project overview.
For K–8 content connections, download the content correlations.
Online Resources
Interactive Games and Activities
- All That and a Bag of Chips! Activity
- Chef Hat Creation Template
- Fair Testing Activity
- Food Group Sorting Activity
- Virtual Healthy Track
- Virtual “Your Heart or Mine” Game
- “Your Heart or Mine” Game*
Websites and Videos
- Choosemyplate.gov
- Healthyeating.com
- Is it Time to Label GMO Foods? Newsela article
- MyFitnessPal Calculator
- Superhealthykids.com
- Video: Chef Hat Instructional Video
- Video: Eyes of Nye — GMO Foods*
- Video: FIT KIDS MyPlate Food Groups
- Video: Gregory the Terrible Eater Read Aloud
- Video: How to Use Measuring Cups
- Video: Interview with a Toxicologist
- Video: Is Junk Food Really Bad for You?
- Video: Nutrition Facts Labels
- Video: Part I: Kids Nutrition Video-How Much Sugar is Bad for My Body
- Video: The Five Fabulous Food Groups
- Video: The Health Food v Junk Food Song
- Video: Why Kids Should Eat Healthy and Exercise
Additional Resources
- Beyond the Plate Informational Sheet*
- Friends & Family Feast Day Virtual Alternatives
- Friends & Family Feast Day Invitation
- Home Letter
- Pizza: Healthy or Unhealthy? Informational Sheet
- Press Release Template
- Press Release Tips
- Recipe Examples
- Recommended Book List
- Reflection Journal
- Student Self-Assessment Rubric
- Teacher Assessment Rubric
- Too Much Sugar? Informational Sheet
- Virtual Be Safe and Be Healthy Resource
All lessons include:
- In-person, virtual, and hybrid options
- Modifications for primary grade students and/or emerging readers
About the Author
Each Blue Apple Project Includes:
- Engaging lessons designed to make learning memorable, meaningful, and fun
- Curated online resources to save you time searching for content
- In-person, virtual, and hybrid options for all learning environments
- Cross-curricular mini-lessons in English-Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Social-Emotional Learning
- Videos and contact info provided by real-world experts willing to meet with your students
- Opportunities to collaborate with other classrooms doing the same project
- Free project supplies to get you started right away
