The eatwell plate floor mat activity

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Your eatwell plate floor mat can have a variety of uses. One suggestion is to use the floor mat in group work with a selection of foods from each food section.

These can be plastic foods, photographs of foods from magazines or clean empty packets of the foods depicted on the plate. In groups:

1. Place the eatwell plate floor mat on the floor / table, within the group.
2. Provide each group member/pair a selection of foods.
3. Introduce the eatwell plate. Background information can be found via the link below.
4. In turns, group members place a food item in their chosen food group and discuss why the particular food belongs to that section.
   Group discussion can take place on whether it is more appropriate to place it in a different food group. Consider how much of the food group should be consumed as part of a balanced diet. Please note that the eatwell plate does not include references to frequency of serving and recommended portion sizes, other than in relation to fruit and vegetables (at least five portions of a variety a day) or fish (eat two portions a week, one of which should be oily). This is in accordance with the available evidence, and is advice aimed at the population level.
5. Some foods may fit in more than one food section, for example pulses in the meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein, as well as contributing to 5-a-day in the fruit and vegetable section. Discuss why this is the case.
6. For composite foods/meals, for example chicken stir fry, discuss how the chicken would fit in the meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein section, the vegetables in the fruit and vegetables section, and rice in the bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods section, and so on.
7. Discuss why it is important to eat a variety of foods, which could include discussing what group members consume.
8. Consider how to choose foods lower in fat, sugar and salt by checking the label, see the links below for more information.