Powered by Active

JUST Taste!

ABOUT JUST TASTE

 

Fruits
Click the Banana to view fruit choices

Vegetables
Click the Veggie Bowl to view vegetable choices

Nuts
Click the Nuts to view nut choices

Legumes
Click the assorted Legumes to view legume choices

 

JUST TASTE was developed by the JUST RUN® youth fitness program to introduce children to a wide variety of healthy foods in either a school or home setting. Exercise and eating well go hand in hand! Studies have shown that one of the best ways to improve diet is by expanding nutritional food choices and by exposing children to a wide variety of healthy foods while they are young. (See the reference below on the latest study in this area, quoted from the Wisconsin Medical Journal.)

JUST TASTE lists 100 fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes that provide nutritious alternatives to unhealthy and fast food choices. JUST TASTE is an educational and fun activity and effectively complements the JUST RUN program. Children and parents, as well, are encouraged to study the wealth of information on the website and to “JUST TASTE” as many of the healthy foods as possible.

Students should use the JUST TASTE form, found in the Forms section of the JUST RUN website, to record which of the 100 food choices they have JUST TASTED and studied. When their forms are 70% complete, they are eligible for the JUST TASTE Superstar Certificate of Achievement! Affiliate Leaders can download the Certificate by clicking HERE.  Just type in the child's name and print it out.

STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE...

Take a food from the list
Ask a parent to buy it for you (if possible)
Study your selected food by using the JUST TASTE web links
Tell your class/parents why it is good for you
Eat if by itself or in a recipe                                                    

TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE...

Take a food from the list
Ask your class to report on the selection
Study the selected food by using the JUST TASTE web links
Tell your students why it is good for them
Eat it by itself or in a recipe                                                                     

PARENT'S PERSPECTIVE

Take a food from the list
Ask your child to shop for it with you 
Study the selected food with your child using JUST TASTE web links
Tell your child why it is good for them
Eat if by itself or in a recipe

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Before you taste, particularly with nut and soy products, make sure that you have no allergies.  Also, with mushrooms, make sure they are store purchased and NOT picked in the wild.

Peanut                    Mushrooms

"Early Exposure to Fruits, Vegetables Shapes Future Dietary Habits, Study Finds

A study published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal suggests that regularly exposing children to fresh fruits and vegetables can encourage them to try more of these foods. Led by a research team at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the study compared data on two groups of fourth-, seventh- and ninth-grade students.. Half of the schools participated in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides funding to help schools offer fruit and vegetable snacks; the other half did not participate. After three months, the researchers found that the 784 students at schools in the program were more likely to try new vegetables at school, and twice as likely to try new fruits at school, as were students at the other schools. They suggest the findings affirm the importance of introducing children to fruits and vegetables as early as possible to increase the likelihood that they will select produce over other, less healthy options and the benefits could extend to the home after longer exposure to the program. (August 2008)."