D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

Healthier Eating Everywhere: School, Restaurants, Events and On the Go

D3.1 A1.6 A1.4About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can name ways to make healthier food choices at school, at restaurants, at events and when I'm on the go.
I can use the % Daily Value on a Nutrition Facts table to see if a food has a little or a lot of something.
I can suggest ways to help my family, class or team eat in healthier ways.

Words to know

setting
A place or situation, like school, a restaurant, an arena or a birthday party.

Nutrition Facts table
The box on a food package that tells how much of each nutrient is in one serving.

% Daily Value (% DV)
A number on the Nutrition Facts table that shows if one serving has a little or a lot of a nutrient.

serving size
The amount of food that the Nutrition Facts table is talking about.

promote
To help or encourage something to happen.

sodium
Part of salt. Many packaged and restaurant foods have a lot of it.

Healthy eating doesn't stay home

You don't only eat at your kitchen table. You eat at school, at restaurants, at the arena or pool, at birthday parties, on road trips and at community festivals. Each place has different choices. Today you'll learn tricks for making healthier choices anywhere, and how to help others eat well too.

A packed lunch with a whole grain sandwich, cucumber and carrot sticks, grapes, an apple and yogurt next to a metal water bottle on a picnic table. — A healthy lunch you can take anywhere: vegetables and fruit, a whole grain sandwich, a protein food and water to drink. AI-generated image

Setting	Ideas for healthier eating
School	Help pack your lunch the night before. Bring a reusable water bottle. Include a vegetable or fruit. For class celebrations, suggest fruit kebabs or a non-food celebration like an extra game.
Restaurants and fast food	Choose water or milk instead of pop. Ask for vegetables or salad as a side. Pick grilled instead of fried sometimes. Choose a smaller size. Share a big portion or take half home.
Arena, pool or sports events	Pack snacks from home, like cheese and crackers, fruit, or trail mix (if nuts are allowed). Bring water. Canteens often sell mostly highly processed foods.
Parties and celebrations	Enjoy special foods! Fill up first on the healthier choices on the table. Listen to your fullness cues.
Grocery store	Help make a list. Compare labels. Look for local and in-season foods. Notice that sweet treats are often placed at kids' eye level.
On the go and road trips	Plan ahead: pack water, fruit, vegetables and whole grain snacks so you're not stuck with only chips at a gas station.

The same smart ideas work in many places: plan ahead, choose water, add vegetables and fruits, and listen to your body.

Celebrations matter

Special foods at holidays like Thanksgiving, Diwali, Eid, Lunar New Year or Christmas are part of family and culture. Healthy eating doesn't mean never having treats. It means most of the time making choices that help your body, and enjoying special foods at special times.

Reading the Nutrition Facts table

Packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts table. Use the % Daily Value (% DV) to see if a serving has a little or a lot of a nutrient:

5% DV or less is a little.
15% DV or more is a lot.

Try to get more of things like fibre, calcium and iron, and less of things like sodium, sugars and saturated fat.

Always check the serving size at the top, and compare foods with similar serving sizes.

5% DV or less is a little. 15% DV or more is a lot.

Worked example

Let's compare two cereals

Two cereals have the same serving size. Which one is the healthier choice?

Cereal A: Fibre 15% DV, Sugars 5% DV, Sodium 5% DV.
Cereal B: Fibre 2% DV, Sugars 20% DV, Sodium 10% DV.
Fibre: we want more. A has 15% (a lot). B has 2% (a little). A wins.
Sugars: we want less. A has 5% (a little). B has 20% (a lot). A wins.
Sodium: we want less. A has 5%, B has 10%. A wins again.

Cereal A is the healthier choice: more fibre, less sugar and less sodium.

Cereal A has more fibre and less sugar and sodium than Cereal B, so it is the healthier choice.

Worked example

Let's plan for a hockey tournament

Your team has a tournament all day Saturday at an arena. The canteen sells pop, fries, hot dogs and candy. How can the team eat in a healthier way?

Think ahead: the canteen has few healthy choices, so plan.
Each family: pack water bottles and snacks like fruit, cheese, whole grain crackers and vegetables with dip.
Promote it: the team could make a snack schedule where families take turns bringing cut fruit for everyone.
Speak up kindly: a coach or parent could ask the arena if they could sell water, fruit or yogurt.

Plan ahead, pack healthy snacks and water, and work together as a team to promote healthier eating.

Hands-on activity

Restaurant menu challenge

You need: a takeout menu from home or one your grown-up finds online, paper and a pencil.

Look at the menu with your grown-up.
Pretend you're ordering lunch. Find a meal that has at least two parts of the Food Guide plate (vegetables and fruits, whole grains, protein).
Choose a drink: is water or milk on the menu?
Find one change that would make a meal healthier, like a side salad instead of fries, or a smaller size.
Then look at two packaged snacks in your kitchen. Compare the % DV for sodium or sugars. Which has less? Use the 5% / 15% rule.

Just for fun

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

Nacho cheese! (If it's on the arena menu, pack some veggies too.)

Your turn

On a Nutrition Facts table, what does 5% DV or less mean?

What does 15% DV or more mean?

Name two nutrients you want more of.

Name two things you want less of.

Give one way to eat healthier at a restaurant.

Why is planning ahead helpful for a road trip or sports day?

Name one way to help your class eat in healthier ways.

More practice: warm-up

What should you bring to school to make water easy to drink?

True or false: healthy eating means you can never have a treat at a party.

Which drink is a better choice with a restaurant meal: water or pop?

What should you check first on a Nutrition Facts table?

Name a healthy snack you could pack for the pool.

More practice: on your own

Granola bar A has Sugars 18% DV. Granola bar B has Sugars 6% DV. Same serving size. Which has less sugar, and is A "a little" or "a lot"?

Soup A has Sodium 30% DV and soup B has Sodium 12% DV. Which is the better choice for sodium? Explain.

You're at a fast-food restaurant with your family. Plan a healthier order.

Why are sweet treats often on low shelves in grocery stores?

At a birthday party there's pizza, a veggie tray, fruit and cake. How can you make a healthy plan without missing out?

Challenge

Cracker A: serving size 4 crackers, sodium 10% DV. Cracker B: serving size 20 crackers, sodium 10% DV. Are they equal for sodium? Explain.

Your school's fundraiser sells chocolate bars. Suggest a healthier fundraiser and explain why it promotes healthy eating.

A friend's family doesn't have much money for food. Is it fair to say they should only buy fresh local food? What healthy choices could still work?

Check your understanding

Quiz

On a Nutrition Facts table, 15% DV or more means...

You want more of which nutrient?

Which is a healthier change at a restaurant?

Your team has an all-day tournament at an arena. What's the best plan?

Which idea promotes healthier eating for a whole class?

What should you always check when comparing two packaged foods?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Grade 4 expectation to identify ways of promoting healthier eating habits in a variety of settings and situations (D3.1). It also introduces the % Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts table (5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot), which is Health Canada's guidance.

How to help at home:

Let your child compare two similar products at the store using % DV.
Before outings, involve your child in packing snacks and water.
At restaurants, let your child find one healthier option on the menu.

Common difficulties: comparing % DV without checking serving size; thinking healthy eating means never having treats. Respect that food costs and access differ between families; frozen, canned and dried foods are healthy, budget-friendly choices.

This lesson also builds critical and creative thinking (A1.6) and relationship skills (A1.4) as your child plans ways to help a group eat well.