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Nutrition Tools and Resources

Four girls jumping rope

These tools and resources help families and communities better understand nutrition and the important role healthy eating plays in maintaining a healthy weight.

Parent Tips and Handbook

Nutrition Basics

Eat Healthy, Move More Chartpdf document icon (122 KB PDF)

Use this chart to track what your family is doing to eat healthy and move more each week.

Get Started! Eating Healthy and Moving Morepdf document icon (91 KB PDF)

Try these tips from We Can!® to eat well and move more and see how easy taking small steps toward a healthier life can be.

Help Your Kids Eat Healthy and Move Morepdf document icon (1.2 MB PDF)

Find tips for teaching your children to eat healthy and to be more active.

How to Use the Nutrition Facts Labelpdf document icon (107 KB PDF)

Most packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts label. This tip sheet shows you how to use the label to make healthy food choices.

Making Healthier Food Choicespdf document icon (1.3 MB PDF)

Find tips to help you make healthier food choices for your family when eating in or dining out.

U R What U Eatpdf document icon (2.3 MB PDF)

This kid-friendly, easy-to-read chart from We Can! has vibrant colors and graphic images that will help children understand which types of foods are nutritious and can be consumed freely (Go), which ones they need to eat less often (Slow), and which ones they need to eat least often (Whoa).

USDA Food Pattern and the DASH Eating Planpdf document icon (78 KB PDF)

This tip sheet helps you find out what amount of food is healthy for you and your family.

We Can! GO, SLOW, and WHOA Foodspdf document icon (136 KB PDF)

This tip sheet explains the difference between "Go Foods," "Slow Foods," and "Whoa Foods." You can eat Go Foods almost anytime. Eat Slow Foods less often, and eat Whoa Foods only once in a while or on special occasions.

How Much Sugar and Calories Are in Your Favorite Drink?pdf document icon
(306 KB PDF)

Many people don't realize just how much sugar and calories we drink in a day. Use this tip sheet to help your family make smart choices by substituting no- or low-calorie drinks for sugar-sweetened ones.

We Can! Parent Tips: Picky Eaterspdf document icon (1.8 MB PDF)

Turn the picky eater in your family into a healthy eater using these tips.

Portions and Servings

We Can! Healthy Snacks�100 Calories or Lesspdf document icon (81 KB PDF)

Find ideas for tasty and healthy snacks that will help you and your family stay at a healthy weight.

Portion Size Matterspdf document icon (111 KB PDF)

Learn why portion size matters and how you can eat smaller portions.

Grocery Shopping and Budgeting

At the Store - Save Money and Shop Healthypdf document icon (870 KB PDF)

Find tips for saving money and eating better.

Compare and Save: Eat Healthy, Spend Lesspdf document icon (115 KB PDF)

Find examples of how healthy meals and snacks can save you calories and money.

Save Money By Cooking Smarterpdf document icon (125 KB PDF)

This resource offers tips for cooking healthy meals for your family on a tight budget and healthy cooking and baking substitutions.

Healthy Cooking and Meal Planning

Cooking with Healthier Fats and Oilspdf document icon (93 KB PDF)

When you do use fats and oils, choose those with less saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Use this chart to help you choose products with less saturated fat that are healthier for you and your family.

Getting Kids in the Kitchenpdf document icon (85 KB PDF)

Cooking with your children is a good way to build healthy eating habits. Using this tip sheet, learn what kids can do at every age to help you prepare meals!

These videos may also be helpful in getting kids interested in cooking: http://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/children/kids-kitchenexternal disclaimer

Secrets to Making Healthy and Fun School Lunchespdf document icon (85 KB PDF)

Use this tip sheet to learn how to make a healthy lunch that your kids will look forward to eating.

Weekly Meal Plannerpdf document icon (318 KB PDF)

Use this tool to help plan healthier meals for your family. It includes ideas for healthier breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

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Tools

Go, Slow, and Whoa! Flashcardspdf document icon (2.4 MB PDF)

These We Can! flashcards help you and your children learn about GO, SLOW, and WHOA foods to make healthier food choices.

Portion Distortion Quiz

This interactive two-part quiz from the NHLBI tests your knowledge about how today's portions compare to the portions available 20 years ago. It also tests your understanding of the amount of physical activity required to burn off the extra calories provided by today's portions.

Portion Distortion Slide Sets

The NHLBI offers these slide sets for public use. The slides can be downloaded for use in computer slide shows, conventional slide presentations, or for online viewing via the website.

Healthy Adventure Infographicpdf document icon (572 KB PDF) new item icon

This infographic illustrates some options that parents and caregivers have in the steps they can take to help their families be healthier.

Take Charge of Your Health: A Guide For Teenagers

A booklet from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases that is designed to help teenagers take small and simple steps to keep a healthy weight. It provides basic facts about nutrition and physical activity, and offers practical tools to use in everyday life, from reading food labels and selecting how much and what foods to eat, to replacing TV time with physical activities.

Tips for Teens with Diabetes: Make Healthy Food Choices

This tip sheets provide useful information about diabetes and encourage teens to make healthy food choices in order to better manage their disease for a long and healthy life.

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Healthy Eating and Nutrition News Stories

Do You Know Your GO, SLOW, and WHOA Foods | pdf document icon (241 KB PDF)

This short community news feature explains the difference between "Go Foods," "Slow Foods," and "Whoa Foods." Community news features are great for print media distribution, newsletters, and hand-outs.

Eat Healthy, Save Money | pdf document icon (266 KB PDF)

This short community news feature explains how eating healthy can save your family money.

Larger Portion Sizes Contribute to U.S. Obesity Problem | pdf document icon
(204 KB PDF)

This community news feature explains that larger portion sizes have contributed to the U.S. obesity problem.

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Recipes

Fun Family Recipes

Healthy recipes and downloadable recipe cards from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

Keep the Beat� Deliciously Healthy Eating

This Web page from the NHLBI features recipes from the Keep the Beat� Deliciously Healthy Dinners recipe book, as well as instructional video clips, a food preparation glossary, food safety tips, and more.

Keep the Beat� and We Can! Deliciously Healthy Family Mealspdf document icon (8.7 MB PDF)

Kid-friendly meals made delicious and healthy in a family cookbook from Keep the Beat� and We Can!.

Keep the Beat� Deliciously Healthy Dinnerspdf document icon (8.1 MB PDF)

This cookbook contains 75 recipes influenced by Asian, Latino, Mediterranean, and American cuisine that are good for your heart and taste great too.

A Taste of Five a Day Cookbookpdf document icon (2.1 MB PDF)

This cookbook contains a collection of recipes from church members who participated in the Black Churches United for Better Health Project. This was a campaign that encouraged Americans to eat more fruit and vegetable servings a day to help prevent cancer and other chronic diseases. Recipes that meet all of the guidelines to increase fruits and vegetables, while being low in fat and sodium are included.

Heart Healthy Home Cooking African American Stylepdf document icon (3.4 MB PDF)

Prepare your favorite African American dishes in ways that protect you and your family from heart disease and stroke. This NHLBI cookbook provides recipes for 26 tested and tasty favorite African American dishes. Recipes give nutrient analyses that include carbohydrates and protein. Also covers heart healthy food substitutions and food safety.

Delicious Heart Healthy Latino Recipes/Platillos latinos sabrosos y saludablespdf document icon (2.8 MB PDF)

Provides recipes for 26 popular easy to prepare taste-tested Latino dishes created in a heart healthy style.

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Nutrition-Related Curricula

We Can! offers five curricula that address nutrition.

  • We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program includes a session dedicated to helping parents reduce the screen time and increase the physical activity levels of their families. During the Parent Program, parents are introduced to youth screen time statistics and learn how to use tools like the We Can! Reduce Children's Screen Time Log.
  • Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!� is a 10-lesson curriculum that focuses on helping young people ages 11 to 13 understand the connections between media and health.
  • I Can Do It, You Can Do Itexternal disclaimer (ICDI) is a mentoring program offered by the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutritionexternal disclaimer (PCFSN) that facilitates physical activity and nutrition education opportunities for children and adults with disabilities.
  • CATCH Kids Club is an NHLBI-funded study, created a school health education curriculum designed to motivate heart-healthy behavior in children in grades K-5 in after-school and summer camp settings.
  • EatPlayGrow: Creative Activities for a Healthy Start is a new health educational curriculum for children ages 2-5 and their parents. EatPlayGrow was created through a collaboration between the NIH and the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM). The EatPlayGrow curriculum combines the latest science and research from the NIH with CMOM's creative educational approach to teach kids and their parents how to make healthy nutrition and physical activity choices that are fun and easy to include in daily routines.

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Last Updated: November 8, 2013