Celebrate MyPlate with Dairy – Strawberry Sunrise Breakfast Smoothie

A cool story – I challenged my Lego-loving son to create a MyPlate visual out of Legos. I gave him an actual MyPlate to draw ideas from and here’s what he came up with:

20130602-214147.jpg

What I thought was so great is that even though the plate I gave him did not have a spot for dairy, he knew to include this on the plate. In our family, dairy makes an appearance at each meal, so it was an automatic for him, of which I am proud!

This week is the second birthday of MyPlate and it’s June Dairy Month (not to mention the end of the school year), so it’s the perfect time to teach kids about MyPlate. Why not give the kids some educational games and activities to help them with their health this summer?

4 Ways to Teach MyPlate to Your Kids:

1. Here are some great activity sheets for kids to learn more about MyPlate.
2. MyPlate games for the computer.
3. Choose MyPlate songs and videos.
4. Challenge your kids to a MyPlate creation – whether it’s out of Legos, drawing or painting on paper or even chalk on the sidewalk – it all counts!

Whether we want to admit it or not, what happens in childhood makes a tremendous impact on our adulthood. How often do you hear people referring to “when I was a kid…” stories? In the nutrition profession, those childhood habits can die hard. Why not make the most of the time you have with your kids by teaching them healthy habits that will last a lifetime?

Start the MyPlate celebration at breakfast with this delicious dairy-filled smoothie: It’s simple and easy – as all smoothies are!

20130603-064358.jpg

Strawberry Breakfast Sunrise Smoothie
Adapted from www.thebreakfastproject.com
Makes 1 serving.

Ingredients:
1 cup fat-free or low fat milk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
4 ounces low fat strawberry Greek yogurt (you will find twice the protein in Greek yogurt)

20130603-064619.jpg

Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth.

20130603-064719.jpg

As parents, we hold the power of helping our kids create healthy lifestyles. Don’t waste any more time.

Happy Birthday MyPlate and Happy June Dairy Month!

How will you celebrate?

3 Comments

  1. Melissa Joy Dobbins on June 3, 2013 at 7:39 am

    Great post Jen! My son would love the lego challenge 🙂 Our whole family would love the smoothies as we’ve really been getting into them lately. The kids like to create their own concoctions but we’ll have to try this one, too!

    • connie on June 3, 2013 at 8:37 am

      Looks delicious.. made them before and they taste wonderful.. great for a quick
      pick me up snack or with any meal.. Connie

  2. Celebrate Dairy Month & A ‘DIY Dairy Bar’ on June 14, 2013 at 10:47 am

    […] are so very popular and so easy to demo. This smoothie recipe is courtesy of Jen Haugen, RD with Hy-Vee. I utilized the washi tape around the glass again. The […]

Leave a Comment





Similar Posts