The Kid’s Re-generation Detective

The Kid's Re-generation Detective
You now know what processed foods are (See Step 6), and you know how to read the packaging and the label of a food product. What’s next? Learning a few tips to keep the food you buy and prepare as fresh as possible, to benefit from all the good nutrients in it.

Here are activities to help you detect more fruits and veggies in your daily life.
Food can lose important nutrients during preparation. Here are some tips to keep those losses down, so you’ll keep as many nutrients as possible.

• Wash raw fruits and vegetables before you store, cook, or eat them to remove any germs or synthetic chemicals.
• Do NOT soak fruits or vegetables. Nutrients are lost whenever fruits or vegetables are put in water.
• If you are cutting vegetables, cut them into large pieces. The more surface area exposed, the more nutrients lost.
• Cover vegetables while cooking them to keep nutrients from escaping into the air.

Know that sometimes the longer you store food, the more nutrients will be lost. For example, cantaloupe slices can lose 22% of their vitamin C during 24 hours of refrigeration. Canned fruits and vegetables can lose up to 25% of the B vitamin called thiamine if stored for one year at 80°F. Lettuce can lose 50% of its vitamin C after 24 hours at room temperature or 3 days of refrigeration.


	Invite your teacher and your whole classroom to do an investigation on where the food served in the cafeteria comes from. You can use maps, conduct interviews, do research, read and analyze food labels, etc. You can ask: How long did the food travel to get to our school? What kind of processing did each food go through? How is it cooked (examine the methods–boiling versus steaming, deep-fat ••• •frying versus broiling, etc.)? What can a school do to keep the food as nutritious as possible? Then present your findings to school officials and other classrooms. (And be sure to write to us about it!)


	Some ideas for action: • Find places to shop for fresh, local, and organic food–especially local farms that grow food organically. • Look for a chef, storeowner, or food specialist who would be willing to share his/her knowledge on how to prepare healthy foods with you, your family, or your class. • Gather friends and family for a cooking workshop! • Take a cooking class! Learn everything you can about buying, storing, and preparing whole foods. (Ask at the local health food store or restaurant—they may have some good connections for this activity.)