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Fast Foods, Snacks, and the 5 Food Groups
If you choose to eat fast food with more food groups, you’re taking a step in the right di-
rection with your health. You’ll start to feel better and have more energy. You’ll also thank
yourself later in life, when you’re still fit and healthy from that balanced diet!
SNACKING BETTER
Snacks are a great way to eat some of the food groups you’re missing from the rest of your
meals during the day. You may not eat much fruit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But you
can always add in some fruit for a snack between meals.
Snacks also keep your energy up during the day. As long as you don’t eat too much for
a snack, they’re great ways to get you from meal to meal.
Not all snacks are equal, though. Many snacks are unhealthy and aren’t worth eating.
They just add empty calories to your day, along with lots of fat, sugar, and salt. Cookies,
chips, and candy are not good choices for snacks. None of those snacks really belong to any
food group
—
they’re just junk.
Snacks don’t have to be just about chips and cookies, though. You can make and eat
tasty, healthy snacks too! You’ll find you don’t even miss those junk snacks.
Try to eat snacks that have more than one food group. Be creative and add two or more
food groups together.
Make a smoothie with fruit and milk or 100 percent juice. Add any kind of fruit you
like, such as bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and mango. Add in some yogurt for extra
dairy, or peanut butter for some protein.
It’s okay to snack throughout the day. It might even help to keep you from eating meals that are too big! But
make sure you’re snacking on healthy foods instead of junk foods.