By Kayla Bauer
Did you know that fewer than 15% of school-aged children eat the recommended amount of produce daily? That means 85% of school-aged children aren’t getting the nutrients they need. Eating healthy is important to every child’s growth and development. Not getting the right amount of nutrition can negatively affect concentration and a child’s ability to focus.
Kids who grow their produce are 5 times more likely to eat it. This is why I created Healthy Kids Healthy Choices, a fun cookbook for kids. My name is Kayla Bauer and I am a 2021 high school graduate. This cookbook and website were for my Girl Scout Gold Award project. This Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouts. All the recipes in this book have fruits or vegetables you can grow in a garden. I hope that by giving kids healthy recipes in a fun book, they will eat more produce daily. “The University of Alberta’s study concluded that teaching children how to prepare simple and healthy meals could be an effective strategy for improving their dietary habits” (The Daily Meal). Many kids are picky about what they eat but with inspiration from a cookbook, they may have fun making the food they will eat.
Why does this matter? This matters to me because I want kids to be healthy so they can do well in school and have energy for their favorite activities.
The cookbook link is located on my website. The website also contains coloring pages, games, and fun nutritional facts. Both the cookbook is written in English and Spanish. You can download the cookbook from the website. Please website at https://kaylabauergs.wixsite.com/healthykids
