Marvelous Menus

Have your child pretend she is a chef at a great restaurant, where she has to make up her own menu of foods to serve.

Marvelous Menus

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Drawing supplies
Food pyramid diagram

We have some good news—your child has just been hired as a chef at a world-famous restaurant. Now the bad news—the patrons are tired of the outdated menu and are demanding that your child overhaul it from top to bottom.

Your child's task is to create a menu that incorporates his or her knowledge of good nutrition. Also, he or she must include a variety of foods sure to please everybody's palate. Review the food pyramid with your child, and be sure he or she offers balanced meals featuring plenty of fruits and vegetables, ample grains, enough protein, and so on.

Once your chef has a variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas, he or she can create a menu. Younger children can draw pictures; older kids can write out names and descriptions of the meals.

Ask your child to compare his or her masterpiece with the menus found at various restaurants the family frequents. What could the local eating establishments learn from your child's nutrition sense and good taste?