Nutrition Tools and Resources

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
• Tools
• Recipes
• Healthy Eating and Nutrition News Stories
• Nutrition Related Curricula

Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader®. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®.

Parent Tips and Handbook

Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook (1.5 MB)

Offers practical tips to help parents help their families find the right balance of eating well and being physically active to maintain a healthy weight. Order the handbook online.

• Available in Spanish: ¡Nosotros Podemos! Familias Encontrando el Balance: Manual para Padres (1.9 MB). Order the Spanish-language version online.

Nutrition Basics

Eat Healthy, Move More Chart (122 KB)

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

Get Started! Eating Healthy and Moving More (91 KB)

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 More (1.2 MB)

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

How to Use the Nutrition Facts Label (107 KB)

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 Choices (1.3 MB)

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

U R What U Eat (2.3 MB)

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 Plan (78 KB)

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

We Can! GO, SLOW, and WHOA Foods (136 KB)

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.

• Available in Spanish: We Can! Alimentos para consumir siempre, de vez en cuando y raramente (176 KB)

We Can! How Much Sugar and Calories Are in Your Favorite Drink? Tip Sheet (111 KB)

Many people don't realize just how much sugar and calories beverages contain. Use this tip sheet to help your family make smart beverage choices by substituting no- or low-calorie drinks for sugar-sweetened beverages.

We Can! Parent Tips: Picky Eaters (1.8 MB)

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

Portions and Servings

We Can! Healthy Snacks—100 Calories or Less (81 KB)

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

Portion Size Matters (111 KB)

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

Grocery Shopping and Budgeting

At the Store - Save Money and Shop Healthy (870 KB)

Find tips for saving money and eating better.

Compare and Save: Eat Healthy, Spend Less (115 KB)

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

Save Money By Cooking Smarter (125 KB)

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

Secrets to Making Healthy and Fun School Lunches Tip Sheet (162 KB)

Use this We Can! tip sheet to learn how to create healthy and unique school lunches that your kids will look forward to eating.

We Can! Parent Tips: Cooking With Children (271 KB)

Most children enjoy helping in the kitchen. Find tips for cooking with your children, which is a good way to help them develop healthy eating habits.

We Can! Fats and Oils To Choose (260 KB)

Help your family eat better and balanced meals by choosing fats and oils that are low in saturated fats. Use this tip sheet to learn what products are low in saturated fats‚ trans fats‚ and cholesterol.

We Can! Weekly Meal Planner (124 KB)

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

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Tools

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.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Portion Distortion Slide Sets

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 Web site.

• Slide Set 1 | PowerPoint (708 KB) | PDF (519 KB)
• Slide Set 2 | PowerPoint (1 MB) | PDF (561 KB)

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  (241 KB)

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 (266 KB)

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

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

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

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Recipes

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 Meals (238 KB)

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

Keep the Beat™ Deliciously Healthy Dinners (8.1 MB)

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 Cookbook (2.1 MB)

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 Style (3.4 MB)

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 saludables (2.8 MB)

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 three 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.
• 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.

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