Unit 1: Food for Growth.(Brief Article)

Background Bonus.

The concept of healthful eating is by no means new. Students might be interested to know that the graham cracker--a snack popular for decades with the 10-and-under set--was created with nutritious eating in mind.

American Sylvester Graham, the developer of the graham cracker, was a Presbyterian minister who lived from 1794 to 1851. He believed that refined flour was the source of a number of society's ills, from moral and spiritual problems to physical ruin. His cures included the use of cold showers and hard mattresses.

Most important, Graham believed that fresh fruits and vegetables and whole-grain breads were vital additions to the daily diet that could remedy social and physical problems. He created the graham cracker as a tasty alternative to the plain cracker. Almost 150 years later, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are at the forefront of the healthful-eating campaign summarized in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.

Unit Objectives

Students learn to

* use the food pyramid as a guide for healthful food selection;