Pre-school Students Tour Lewisburg Weis Markets

Recently, the Weis Dietitians Beth Stark and Mandy Rother took a group of preschool students on a 60-minute behind-the-scenes tour of the Lewisburg Weis Markets. The aim of the tour was to spark an interest in how foods get from farm to fork, shopping and cooking to foster a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

Here’s what the kids learned during the hands-on experience:

Color Your Plate

Fill half your plate with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables! In the produce department, students learned the special health benefits of each color and identified different produce items. While preschoolers can be notorious for picky eating, this group was eager to share their favorite fruit or veggie with us and try a sample of pineapple. Do you have a picky eater at home? Expand their palette and make trying foods fun by allowing them to pick out a new produce item each shopping trip. Together, explore the different tastes, textures, shapes and colors. Click http://weis.ly/J0fhew for more tips to please picky eaters.

Get ‘em in the Kitchen

Experts agree that involving your kids in the shopping, cooking and preparation of meals at a young age ignites their interest in food and may promote healthier eating habits. Allow your children to assist with age-appropriate tasks under your supervision. As part of our tour, the children decorated cookies in the bakery and topped a pizza in the deli. For ideas on what to cook with your kids, check out our new Kids Can Cook cookbook: http://weis.ly/I8YDs1

 

 

Go Fish!

Baked, broiled, grilled, steamed or poached fish and shellfish offer a healthful, low-fat source of protein for young children. Offer your kids a variety of low mercury fish and shellfish like canned light tuna,
salmon, tilapia, haddock, flounder and catfish.  During the tour, the students learned about different types of fish and shellfish, where they’re raised and even got to touch a live lobster!

 

 

Milk Your Diet

Did you know that cows eat 90 pounds of hay and grains and drink nearly a bathtub full of water each day? In the dairy department, the kids learned how Weis Quality milk gets from the farm to our stores within 48 hours. Make low-fat and fat-free milk, yogurt and cheese a part of a healthy diet to supply calcium, vitamin D and protein for building strong bones and teeth.

 

 

 

Celebrate with Flowers

Flowers brighten homes, create smiles and bring cheer to any special occasion. In the floral department, students learned the meanings of different colors of flowers and got to choose one to bring home to mom or dad.  Some picked red for love, yellow for friendship and caring or orange for celebration.

 

 

 

Snack Attack

Snacks can help satisfy a growing child’s appetite, improve concentration and help fill nutrient gaps for fiber, calcium and other vitamins and minerals. We know finger foods make great snacks and provided the students with snack-size pizza slices, pineapple wedges and water to refuel after the exciting tour. Fresh cut fruit and veggies, low-fat string cheese, granola bars and baked pita chips with hummus are a few snacks kids love.

 

If you would like to schedule a tour like this, e-mail us at healthybites@weismarkets.com.

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