FOODcents® Teachers Guide and
Activities Year 5 to 8
For more information on FOODcents® including on-line training,
visit www.foodcentsprogram.com.au
FOODcents® Objectives
The main objectives of the FOODcents® schools program are to:
• Provide students with skills that assist with making healthy food choices.
• Help students identify the best value-for-money choices, within and between specific food product
groups.
• Increase students' knowledge of the information provided on food labels and how to apply this
knowledge when making food choices.
• Increase students' awareness of the additional costs of processing, packaging and advertising
foods.
• Promote increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, breads and low-cost cereals from an
economic as well as a nutritional point of view.
FOODcents® Activities Curriculum Links
The following table details the links to the curriculum framework.
Learning Area
Aspect
Health & Physical Education
English
Mathematics
Activity/Concept Name
•
Knowledge & Understandings
•
Self Management Skills
•
Speaking & Listening
•
Writing
•
Reading
•
Viewing
•
Working Mathematically
•
Number
Health & Physical
Education
English
Mathematics
Healthy Eating Pyramid
KILOcents Counter
Food Label Reading
1
FOODcents® Activities Overview
Concept One: Healthy Eating Pyramid - Page 3
The Healthy Eating Pyramid shows which foods should be eaten in which proportions for a healthy diet.
The student activities consist of:
• Reading a background information text
• Filling in a blank Healthy Eating Pyramid
• Applying concepts to own diet
Additional materials (optional) – Free copies of the FOODcents® Healthy Eating Pyramid poster (A2)
are available for Western Australian schools by ordering on-line at www.dohpackcentre.com.au/doh.
Quote resource number OA4250.
Concept Two: KILOcents Counter - comparing foods on a cost per kilogram basis - Page 8
The KILOcents Counter allows students to calculate the cost per kilogram of the foods illustrated in the
FOODcents® Curriculum Activities. Students should find that when they compare prices per kilogram,
highly processed, packaged and advertised foods are more expensive than less processed, healthier
foods. Students can compare the prices of foods between and within food and Healthy Eating Pyramid
groups.
The student activities consist of:
• Reading a background information text and becoming familiar with the KILOcents Counter
• Working out the price per kilogram of common breakfast cereals and snack foods
• Drawing conclusions from answers, i.e. determining which foods are the best value.
Additional information required (optional) – The activities include the price and weight of common
breakfast cereals and snack foods. The price and weight of other food products can also be used,
particularly those commonly consumed by students.
Concept Three: Food Label Reading - comparing foods nutritionally - Page 14
Many food packets claim that the product it contains is ‘healthy’ in some way and foods are often
advertised to parents and children as being ‘good for you’. Healthy foods are those that are low in
sugar, fat and salt and high in nutrients such as fibre. Students use the Nutrition Information Panel to
determine healthy options for breakfast cereals and snack foods commonly found in lunchboxes.
The student activities consist of:
• Reading a background information text
• Locating and ranking the nutrition information of breakfast cereals and snack foods
• Drawing conclusions from answers, i.e. determining which foods are healthier.
Additional materials required – Students investigate the nutrition information panel of breakfast
cereals and snack foods. The activity requires approximately five food labels/packets of:
• Breakfast cereals (include healthier options such as rolled oats/wheat biscuits as well as
sweetened, highly advertised cereals)
• Snack foods (nutrition information for apples has been provided. Other snacks may include
muesli bars, cheese spread and cracker packs etc)
2
FOODcents® CONCEPT ONE
Healthy Eating Pyramid
Suggested activities
1. Provide students with the Healthy Eating Pyramid
background information and copy of the Healthy
Eating Pyramid (free posters are available for
Western Australian schools from the WA
Department of Health. Order on-line at
www.dohpackcentre.com.au/doh and quote
resource number OA4250. Alternatively, copy the
Healthy Eating Pyramid provided on page 6).
2. Conduct a guided reading lesson using the Healthy
Eating Pyramid background information. Set a focus
question before reading such as what are Eat Most,
Eat Moderately and Eat Least foods and how should
© The Australian Nutrition Foundation Inc.
they align with our daily food intake? Students can
predict the answers before reading, read and then discuss.
3. Generic questions for discussing the text could include: What is the text about? What is the main
message of the text? Who could have written the text? Why was it written? How does it
compare to what you already know about healthy eating?
4. Students could identify and clarify unknown words and terms from the text (e.g. ‘phytochemicals’,
‘saturated fat’, ‘meat alternatives’, ‘arteries’ etc.)
5. Students summarise/paraphrase the text by identifying key points, giving an oral summary or
writing a newspaper report.
6. Once familiar with the Healthy Eating Pyramid, students can use a blank pyramid to place food
labels or food pictures in the correct section.
7. Students write a daily or weekly food diary and allocate each food they consumed to the ‘Eat
Most’, ‘Eat Moderately’ or ‘Eat Least’ sections.
8. If students are consuming more than 10% of their diet as ‘Eat Least’ foods, set goals and devise
strategies to swap them for ‘Eat Most’ foods.
9. Direct students to the FOODcents® website www.foodcentsprogram.com.au to complete the
Healthy Eating Pyramid game.
3
Healthy Eating Pyramid – Background information
The FOODcents® food pyramid groups food into three categories
according to the nutrients they provide and how healthy they are.
1. Eat Most
2. Eat Moderately
3. Eat Least
The pyramid shows that we should eat mostly fruits, vegetables and
breads and cereals. We should have smaller amounts of meat and meat
alternatives everyday and we should be eating the least amount of extra
foods, if at all. Remember that some cooking essentials, like margarine,
oil and sugar are in the ‘eat least’ category too.
Let’s look more closely at the food categories.
Eat Most – 60% of your diet
© The Australian Nutrition Foundation Inc.
The Eat Most section of the pyramid includes the foods we should it
eat the greatest quantities.
They should be our main source of energy, fibre, vitamins and
minerals. These include fruit and vegetables, legumes (peas, beans,
lentils) breads and wholegrain cereals. Wholegrain cereals refer to
products such as rice, wheat and oats and only include unrefined
breakfast cereals with no added sugar or salt. Wheat biscuits and
flakes, bran flakes and rolled oats are the healthiest breakfast cereals and fit in Eat Most.
All plain pasta, noodles and rice which do not include flavourings or sauces are also Eat Most foods.
These foods are the cheapest at around $2-$6 per kilo.
Breads and cereals provide lots of carbohydrates as well as fibre, B vitamins, some minerals,
antioxidants and phytochemicals. Wholegrain breads and cereals contain the most nutritious part of the
plants and provide more nutrients.
Fruit and vegetables provide carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals.
Children are encouraged to Go for 2&5® for good health. It is important to eat a variety of fruit and
vegetables every day. Include raw and cooked, and many different colours. The amount of fruit and
vegetables recommended depends on age, appetite and activity levels.
Recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables for children and adolescents
Age of
child
(years)
Fruit
(serves)
Vegetables
(serves)
4-7
1-2
2-4
8-11
1-2
3-5
12-18
3-4
4-9
4
Eat Moderately – about 30% of your diet
The Eat Moderately section of the pyramid includes the foods we
should eat often, but in limited quantities.
These are the high protein foods such as lean meats, poultry,
fish, eggs, nuts, milk, cheese and yoghurt. Reduced-fat dairy
foods are the best choice.
Eat Moderately foods provide essential nutrients which we need
regularly, but in smaller quantities than the Eat Most foods. These
foods also contain some nutrients we should try and limit, such as saturated fat. Eat Moderately foods
usually cost around $5-12 per kilo - sometimes more for expensive cuts of meat or cheese.
Meat, fish, poultry eggs and nuts are good sources of protein, minerals like iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and
niacin. These vitamins and minerals help give use energy and to feel energetic by helping to use the
energy we eat.
Milk, yoghurt and cheese are high in protein for energy and muscle development. They are also high in
calcium and other minerals essential for bone strength.
These foods contain some good fats, like from fish oils and eggs. These good fats are polyunsaturated
fat or monounsaturated fats. These fats provide energy, help carry fat-soluble vitamins and can lower
the bad type of cholesterol (LDL) in the blood.
Saturated fat is a bad fat found in animal products. It is not useful to the body and increases bad
cholesterol (LDL) in the blood. This type of cholesterol can form plaques of fat in arteries, causing them
to narrow.
Eat Least – no more than 10% of your diet
The Eat Least section of the pyramid includes the ‘extra' foods which often aren't
essential for good health but are available for people to buy.
These foods also contribute to the overall enjoyment of eating and in home
cooking and therefore need to be considered in the overall diet.
These foods are high in salt, sugar, fat and/or kilojoules. The Eat Least foods
include ‘junk' foods which might be deep-fried fast food or energy-dense
packaged foods like potato crisps lollies and biscuits. Household cooking
ingredients such as sugar and oil are essential for people to make healthy meals at home, but should be
consumed in limited quantities.
The Eat Least section also includes foods which may not be unhealthy, but do not fit
in Eat Most or Eat Moderately. Such foods may include tea, coffee, herbs and spices.
These foods are not essential to good health, but are often required to be purchased
for home cooking and to enhance the flavour of other foods. These foods are also the
most expensive at $10-$40 a kilo and sometimes more.
5
Healthy Eating
It pays to eat smart
Eat
Least
Eat
Moderately
Eat
Most
Spend
Least
Spend
Moderately
Spend
Most
© The Australian Nutrition Foundation Inc.
6
Blank Healthy Eating Pyramid
Draw, write or attach picture of foods to the correct section of the pyramid.
7
FOODcents® CONCEPT TWO
KILOcents Counter
Suggested activities
1. Students familarise themselves with the KILOcents
Counter. The Counter requires students to round the price
and weight of products and find the corresponding figures
on the grid to find the price per kilogram of the product.
2. Using the common food products – price per kilo sheets
and KILOcents Counter, students can find the price per
kilogram of the products. Each of the products has a
weight and a price allocated which are current metropolitan
Perth supermarket prices. These can be altered to reflect
your local prices.
3. Students may wish to find the price per kilogram of other
food products such as common lunchbox items. Prices and weights can be found on
supermarket websites or using shopping dockets and catalogues.
4. Ask students draw conclusions from their results, comparing the price per kilogram of the
following:
•
Breakfast cereals (sweetened and highly advertised cereals versus unsweetened oats and
less advertised cereals) – higher prices for more highly processed and heavily advertised
products
•
Snack foods – fresh fruit is cheaper and more nutritious than processed snacks. They also
have little packaging. Fruit bread is also a cheaper alternative.
•
Healthy Eating Pyramid – ‘Eat Least’ foods are more expensive than ‘Eat Most’ foods.
5. Students can use information from KILOcents Counter in the Food Label activity.
8
Background information - KILOcents Counter
Comparing foods on a cost per kilogram basis
The KILOcents Counter is a simple ready reckoner to help you calculate the cost per kilogram of
foods. Many supermarkets now have this information but some provide the price per kilogram,
per 100 grams or even per 10 grams, making it difficult to compare products. By using the
KILOcents Counter, you can compare products within and between product groups to identify
good nutritional value for money.
Check the price per kilogram of the food you buy and decide if it is good value for money
compared to alternatives.
To find the price per kilogram:
Step 1 Round off the price to the nearest 50 cents.
Step 2 Round off the weight to the nearest 50 grams. This will give rounded amounts. If the
price or weight is mid-way (e.g. $2.75 or 275g) always round off only one way, either up or
down.
Step 3 Use the KILOcents Counter on the next page. Move across the prices row at the top to
the rounded price of the food item, and then move down this column to the rounded weight of
the food item, shown in the margins.
The square you land on will be the approximate price per kilogram.
For example:
A food item costs $1.20 and weighs 200 grams:
- Round off $1.20 price to $1.00.
- Weight is 200g.
- The price per kilogram will be approximately $5.00 (see table below).
9
KILOcents Counter
10
COMMON FOOD PRODUCTS- PRICE PER KILO
BREAKFAST CEREALS
Use the KILOcents Counter and the price and weight of each product to work out the price per
kilogram of each.
$5.59 for 450 grams
OWN CHOICE CEREALS
$4.91 for 750 grams
$_____ for _____grams
$6.62 for 560 grams
$2.14 for 900 grams
$_____ for _____grams
$5.61 for 490 grams
$7.19 for 600 grams
$_____ for _____grams
11
$3.20 for 200 grams
$2.45 for 175 grams
SNACK FOODS
$4.91 for 750 grams
$4.27 for 96 grams
$6.61 for 375 grams
$8.99 for 650 grams
$7.98 for 2 kg
$2.59 for 600 grams
$2.78 for 1 kg
12
Answers to Common Food Products – Price per Kilo sheet
Breakfast cereals
Coco Pops
Round to $5.50 for 450 grams
$12.23/kg
Weetbix
Round to $5.00 for 750 grams
$6.67/kg
Nutri-Grain
Round to $6.50 for 550 grams
$11.81/kg
Rolled Oats
Round to $2.00 for 900 grams
$2.22/kg
Rice Bubbles
Round to $5.50 for 500 grams
$11.00/kg
Special K
Round to $7.00 for 600 grams
$11.66/kg
Snack foods
Biscuits
Round to $5.00 for 750 grams
$6.67/kg
Chocolate
Round to $3.00 for 200 grams
$15.00/kg
Dried Apricots
Round to $9.00 for 650 grams
$13.84/kg
Fruit Roll-Ups
Round to $4.50 for 100 grams
$45.00/kg
Oranges
Half $7.98
$3.99/kg
Fruit Bread
Round to $2.50 for 600 grams
$4.17/kg
Potato Crisps
Round to $2.50 for 200 grams
$12.50/kg (round up to 200g to keep
consistency)
Muesli Bars
Round to $6.50 for 350 grams
$18.57/kg(round down to 350g to
keep consistency)
Apples
Stays as $2.78 for 1 kg
$2.78/kg
13
FOODcents® CONCEPT THREE
Food Label Reading
Suggested activities
1. Provide students with the background information
on food label reading.
2. Collect a variety of breakfast cereal boxes and
packets (include highly advertised and sweetened
products as well as rolled oats and wheat biscuits)
and snack food packets.
3. Students complete the Food Label Reading sheet
to locate nutrition information. Foods compared are
breakfast cereals and common lunchbox snack
foods.
4. Give each student (or group of students) a food
label. Students line up in order (e.g. food labels
from highest to lowest sodium, followed by highest
to lowest sugar). Allowing students to visually
compare products helps them to understand how
unhealthy some products are.
5. Once nutrition information has been collected, students draw conclusions from data. These may
include: eating a healthy diet is not necessarily expensive; highly advertised foods are often more
expensive and less nutritious; the nutritional claims on the front of breakfast and cereal boxes can
be misleading.
6. Students may wish to use the ‘Nutrition Information Panel: What to look for’ table in the
background information for their family shopping or to see if items in their lunch box meet the
criteria provided.
14
Background information – Food Labelling
Labels – What should I look for?
Almost all packaged food products have nutrition information on their label, for example:
Strawberry Yoghurt (full fat)
Useful information includes:
Serving Size: This is the average serving size of the product, but this may not be the same as the
serving you have. Use the per 100g column when comparing products.
Per 100g: Per 100g is a useful standard to compare products, for example to check which product is
lower in fat. Use this information when choosing products.
Fat: Use the figure per 100g and pick the product with less fat. Rule of thumb for fat is less than 5g per
100g.
Carbohydrate: Total - this includes both the sugars and starches in food.
Sugars - this tells you how much of the total carbohydrate is sugar and includes natural and added
sugars. Use the figure per 100g and pick the product with less sugar. Rule of thumb for sugar is less
than 10g per 100g.
Dietary Fibre: Use the figure per serve and pick the product with more fibre. Rule of thumb for fibre is
more than 3g per serve. Note: Fibre is the only nutrient for which ‘per serve’ information is used when
comparing food items, instead of ‘per 100g.’ Not all Nutrition Information Panels will have fibre content.
Sodium (salt): Choose, where possible, foods with reduced or no added salt. Use the figure per 100g
and pick the product with less salt. A low salt food has less than 120mg sodium per 100g. The only
15
exception to this is breakfast cereals, where less than 350mg per 100g is considered low in salt.
Ingredients List: This lists a food’s ingredients in order of quantity, from most to least, and is useful for
identifying sources of added fat, sugar and salt.
Alternative Food Names: sometimes fat, sugar and salt are called…
Fat: beef fat, butter, coconut oil, cocoa butter, copha, diglycerides, dripping, hydrogenated vegetable oil,
lard, milk solids, monoglycerides, oven baked, palm oil, shortening, tallow, toasted and vegetable oil.
Sugar: brown/raw sugar, corn syrup, cane sugar, dextrose, disaccharides, fructose, glucose, golden
syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt, malt extract, maltose, molasses, sorbitol and sucrose.
Salt: celery salt, chicken salt, garlic salt, MSG, rock salt, sea salt, sodium (any type), table salt and
vegetable salt.
Nutrition Information Panel: What to look for
Fruit and Vegetables:
• All fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy choices
• When buying canned fruit and vegetables, choose ‘no added salt’ and
‘no added sugar’ varieties
Breads and Cereals:
• More than 3g fibre per serve
–
Choose wholegrain (wholemeal, multigrain).
Breakfast Cereals:
• More than 3g fibre per serve
• Less than 120mg sodium per serve
• Less than 10g sugars per 100g
–
–
If sugar content is high and the product contains fruit, check ingredients. Only choose the
product if fruit is listed before sugar in the ingredient list.
Choose untoasted muesli.
Fats and Oils
• Choose healthy oils and spreads made from olive,
canola, peanut, sunflower, soy or safflower
Dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese):
• Less than 3g total fat per 100g
• Less than 1.5g saturated fat per 100g
• Less than 10g sugars per 100g
–
Cheese products will not meet these criteria. When buying cheese compare products per 100g
and choose the one with the least fat and sodium (reduced-fat cheese is about 15g fat per
100g).
Meat, chicken, fish, nuts, legumes:
• Less than 10g total fat per 100g
• Less than 3g saturated fat per 100g
• Less than 120mg sodium per 100g
–
–
When choosing canned fish and legumes look for ‘no added salt’ varieties.
Choose unsalted, raw nuts.
Extras/Occasional foods
• Energy less than 600kJ per serve
–
Choose extras with the least saturated fat and sodium per 100g.
Remember that some of the healthiest foods are unlabelled – fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts,
legumes, fresh meat and fish.
16
FOOD LABEL READING – How do foods compare?
On some common breakfast cereal packets locate the Nutrition Information Panel.
Compare the price per kilogram using the KILOcents Counter, the sugar per 100grams,
the sodium per 100grams and the fibre per serve for each product and rank each food.
The best breakfast cereal is low in sugar and salt and high in fibre, not necessarily the
most advertised!
Breakfast cereals
Cereal name
Cost per kilogram
Rank (1 is cheapest)
Cereal name
Sugar per 100g
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
Rank (1 has least
sugar)
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
Cereal name
Salt (sodium) per 100g
Cereal name
Fibre per serve
_________________
_______mg
Rank (1 has least
sodium)
______
___Rolled Oats___
___2.9___g
Rank (1 has most
fibre)
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
What do I notice? Which breakfast is the best choice and why?
17
FOOD LABEL READING – How do foods compare? - Continued
Now compare common snack foods that might be found in lunch boxes such as muesli bars, Le Snacks,
LCMs etc. Information for apples has been provided for you.
Compare the price per kilogram using the KILOcents Counter, the sugar per 100grams, the sodium per 100grams and the total fat per
100grams for each product and rank each food.
The best snack food is low in sugar, fat and salt, not necessarily the most advertised.
Snack foods
Snack food name
Cost per kilogram
Rank (1 is cheapest)
Snack food name
Sugar per 100g
____Apples______
$_______/kg
______
____Apples______
__10.4___g
Rank (1 has least
sugar)
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
$_______/kg
______
_________________
_________g
______
Snack food name
Salt (sodium) per 100g
Snack food name
Total fat per 100g
Rank (1 has least fat)
____Apples______
__2.0__mg
Rank (1 has least
sodium)
______
___Apples_____
___0.0___g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
_________________
_______mg
______
_________________
_________g
______
What do I notice? Which lunch box snack is the best choice and why?
18
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge
Make a facts chart about fresh
food and processed food
Make a list of all the fresh
foods and processed foods
used during the activities
Application
Design a marketing strategy for
a fresh food product
Construct a model of a
FOODcents® meal (breakfast,
lunch or dinner). Write an
information card detailing costs
and Healthy Food Pyramid
proportions to put with your
model
Design a board game to teach
your peers about fresh foods vs.
processed foods
Synthesis
Convert an "unhealthy" recipe for
apple pie to a "healthy" recipe by
replacing your choice of
ingredients. Explain the health
benefits of using the ingredients
you chose vs. the original
ones.Write a summary of what
you learned during the activities
How do you feel about healthy
food? Write a song/play/
magazine cover to show your
feelings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Comprehension
Write a summary of what you
learned during the activities
List the differences between
fresh and processed foods
Make a cartoon strip of you
shopping for food
Analysis
Design a questionnaire to
gather information about
shopper’s food preferences.
Present the information to
your peers
Review successful food ads
and present your findings
Write your own ad to sell a
fresh food product
Evaluation
Conduct a debate about value
for money when buying food or if
unhealthy foods should be
advertised to children
Make a booklet that shoppers
can use to educate them about
FOODcents® and present to
parents
19