Nutrition Resources

The Choose MyPlate website has information on all of the food groups, as well as physical activity, healthy eating tips, printables, and more. (MyPlate also has a recipe library on Pinterest! Check it out!)

The Team Nutrition site has a lot of resources for schools that want to improve their overall health. Make sure you take a look at the Resources for Schools page, which has links to websites, curriculum, and reference materials for teachers and school staff.

Have a Plant encourages people to get more fruit and vegetables into their diets through nutrition education.  They have a large recipe section on their website that includes the ability to sort by specialty diets and medical needs, cooking styles, and the meal being prepared.

The Fuel Up website has lots of great information on providing access to good nutrition and advocating for overall wellness in schools. Their Resources page contains lesson plans, classroom resources, games, initiative, and nutrition information to get youth excited about healthy living.

Let’s Move! was launched by First Lady Michelle Obama as an initiative to get students moving and eating healthy.  This site is no longer being updated, but is still a great resource.

Our friends at Oregon State University have created Food Hero, an excellent place to find new recipes, gardening tips, physical activity information, and other resources for living a healthy lifestyle.  The site also features Cultural Toolkits that feature a range of recipes, lessons, kids activities, publications, and videos specific to food traditions in different diverse communities.

MyPlate Kids includes resources for teachers, too!  Take a look at the full “Serving Up MyPlate: A Yummy Curriculum” –you can use the curriculum in its entirety or use the particular lessons that with integrate best into your classroom. There are also printable posters, activity sheets, songs, and games that your students will love.

The US Department of Agriculture publishes a printable Food Safe Families Activity Book (PDF) aimed to teach kids about safe food handling and storage.  Featuring word searches, crosswords and more, this resource makes learning about food safety fun!

CDC Coloring Book Printable
One Health:  We’re All Connected! (PDF)
From the coloring book introduction
Note to Parents, Guardians, and Educators:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created this coloring book to offer parents, guardians, and educators an interactive way to talk to kids about how the health of people, animals, and the environment is all connected—known as One Health. It’s important for children to know that being in nature, seeing animals, and interacting with the environment brings many benefits. It’s also important for children to know that harmful germs can sometimes spread between people, animals, and our environment, but there are ways to stay healthy while enjoying animals and exploring nature. We hope you will encourage this book’s use in your schools, communities, and at home to help children learn about the connection between human, animal, and environmental health.

The Food Hero Cooking Show helps youth and adults learn to prepare recipes and to adjust them to individual needs.  If you are cooking for kids, they even have a page for Kid Approved Recipes!

Maryland Families Engage has published this short list of children’s picture books about healthy food!  Early exposure to healthy eating can help kids see fruits and vegetables as a fun part of their diet while also learning how their food gets from the farm to their plate.

SNAP-Ed Recipes includes links to recipes used in SNAP-Ed programs, as well as recipes from partner organizations, recipe video collections, recipes for special occasions, and seasonal recipes.

The USDA recipe collection features recipes from USDA experts and Cooperative Extension educators.  Recipes can be filtered by the meal type, if they are considered “kid friendly” or if they take 30 minutes or less to prepare, what food groups they fit into, and if they are seasonal.

The MyPlate Kitchen Recipes page includes a wide range of MyPlate approved recipes and the ability for users to register an account to build a personalized virtual cookbook. These recipes are great if you are trying to keep track of your food groups, because they list which food groups are covered right on the recipe!  They also include full nutrition information and the ability for users to leave a review after they’ve tried the recipe.
For more ideas, MyPlate also has a Pinterest presence with dozens of healthy recipes and nutrition information.  MyPlate also includes a page on Healthy Eating on a Budget and a variety of MyPlate Tools to help site visitors find the resources they need for healthy eating.

Fight Bac! contains information from the Partnership for Food Safety Education.  It contains a wealth of information on food safety. They also have a great K-12 education section which includes activities, games, and curriculum.

The US Food & Drug Administration has a site on food safety for youth!
Every day, you handle, cook, and prepare food for you and your family. The steps you take can mean the difference between a good day and bad case of foodborne illness, also known as “food poisoning.” Take a few seconds to learn about food safety whether you’re cooking at home, dining out, or eating ready-made meals on the go.