>IT’S NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH! DINOSAUR TRAIN CELEBRATES WITH NUTRITIOUS ACTIVITIES AND A DINOSAUR TRAIN WORLD TOUR DVD GIVEAWAY!
March is National Nutrition Month®, a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year’s National Nutrition Month theme, “Eat right with Color,” encourages everyone to remember to include a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy on their plates every day.
A healthy diet is important to us all, just as it was to Dinosaurs many years ago. With the month of March focusing on nutrition, it’s the perfect time to look at some great ideas and resources provided by The American Dietetic Association to eat a healthy diet! And, we invite you to to teach your child how to prepare a vegetarian (herbivore) picnic filled with great food and fun by visiting Dinosaur Train.
To help parents, the American Dietetic Association provides many resources available at www.eatright.org/nnm. They even have a downloadable PDF listing 25 healthy snacks for kids, including these five great ideas:
1. Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal and freeze.
2. Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins. Enjoy your “ants on a log.”
3. Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and Granny Smith apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon.
Next, Buddy can help you and your child prepare a vegetarian (herbivore) picnic. The Have A Brachiosaurus Picnic activity helps young children to learn what foods fit into an herbivore’s diet (fruits and vegetables); reminds children about the importance of hand washing before eating; and also creates an opportunity to discuss why all animals need to eliminate waste from their bodies (a.k.a. “poop”).
The downloadable PDF file provides the ingredients to prepare Brachiosaurus Picnic, with fun food items on the menu, including:
o Brachiosaurus Super Salad: The kids will have fun tearing up green leafy veggies into bite-size pieces and mixing ranch dressing with green coloring to make a tasty topping.
o Sauropod Sandwich: With a plastic knife, cut pieces of whole wheat bread in the shape of a favorite dinosaur and spread with cheese spread or peanut butter.
o Herbivore Herb and Spinach Spread: Mix frozen spinach, dried onion soup mix, sour cream, celery sticks and crackers
o Green Juice – fill a child’s plastic cup with apple juice and add green food color to make a green beverage fit for an herbivore.
And as we all know, digestion is a very important part of keeping healthy for both humans…and dinosaurs back in the day! Watch the video clip of the song “Every Dinosaur Poops” and talk about why every animal needs to go, and what would happen if the animal didn’t poop out the parts of the food its body didn’t need.
(I know a sweet little boy named Will who is going to be OVER THE MOON for these picnics- I am publicly promising his mama we’ll do dino picnics soon!!)
One of my readers will win DINOSAUR TRAIN: PTERANODON FAMILY WORLD TOUR ADVENTURE DVD, which will be released on March 15 from Paramount Home Entertainment and PBS Kids.
Mandatory Entry: Leave me a comment with your email and visit Dinosaur Train and tell me your favorite character on the show!
Enter any of my other giveaways- 1 entry/giveaway (up to 5 extra entries allowed!)