An activity in which group members create imaginary meals to highlight the importance of a balanced diet in proper nutrition.

HOW?

• The group leader starts off by telling the story of the group lunches, in which each person makes one part of the meal but all end up preparing the same dish (the story is on pages 18-19).
• The leader then asks the group to reflect on what went wrong with the meal - why it was unbalanced, boring, etc.
• The leader explains about food groups. He/she asks group members to call out names of foods and writes them on the board in their food groups. There are some foods listed on pages 14-16 which can be used to add to the lists. Only foods which are found locally should be used however.
• To get the group to understand the idea of a balanced meal, the leader divides the participants into five smaller groups, one for each of the basic food types, i.e., cereals and grains; roots and tubers; legumes and oil seeds; animal foods and fish: fruits and vegetables. To make the concept clearer, the leader gives each group a set of pie-shaped cards containing pictures of foods of this type. Each of the participants selects a specific food from his or her group.
• Then the groups come together and regroup to form balanced meals. In each "balanced meal", each group member states what food he has "prepared" and what its contribution is to a balanced diet.
• The leader asks the other groups if anything is missing from each meal and comments on whether or not it is well balanced. (Check for fats and oils which are especially important in the diet of small children to provide energy.) He/she reminds the group members that a balanced meal must do three things: provide the essential nutrients our body needs, satisfy our hunger and satisfy our taste.
• Finally, the group discusses the reasons why meals are not always well balanced (taste, customs, time to prepare foods, costs, difficulty in obtaining foods, etc.).

FOR WHAT? / WHY?

So that group members will be able to:

• Understand that different foods have different nutritional value.
• Recognize that a combination of food types is required for a balanced, nutritious diet.

WITH WHAT?

• The introductory story on pages 18-19.
• The food lists on pages 14-16.
• Participation of the group.
• The food cards which combine to make balanced meals (included in the population kit).

Some background information for the group leader

What do we mean by nutrition and why is it important? By nutrition we mean the process by which living things, in this case people, obtain the substances they need to keep working properly. People obtain nearly all of their nourishment through the food they eat. Health and physical and mental development are all directly related to the quantity and quality of our diet. We depend on the food we eat to provide the nutrients our body needs for: Growth. As young people grow, their bodies require high levels of nutrients. The rate of growth is most rapid during the first five years of life and creates a high demand for all nutrients. For example, a well fed, healthy baby's weight often doubles in its first six months. Nutritional requirements for growth continue at high levels through youth and gradually decrease as we reach adulthood. It is important to remember that young men and young women have the same nutritional requirements. Physical activity. The more active a person is, the more energy he or she needs. In rural communities, there are often big differences in the amount of energy people use at different times of the year. When the land is being cleared and prepared for planting, energy needs are high. This may also be a time when little food is available - the hungry season - so that people may not have enough nourishment at the time when they need it most. This may result in weakness or sickness. Repair. When we become sick or suffer a physical accident, the bopy needs extra energy to combat the problem. Unfortunately, many conditions or diseases reduce our appetite, making it difficult for the body to obtain enough nutrition. Pregnancy. When a woman is pregnant her body works extra hard and need for food increases. If the mother does not get enough nourishment before and during the time she is pregnant, her baby is much more likely to be horn small and at a greater risk of dying young. The mother's health also may suffer. A woman who does not get enough nourishment and has many children, one after another, is at very high risk. During pregnancy, a woman should eat less salt and fats and each day she should have at least the following: a) Some meat, an egg, or fish b) Fresh or cooked vegetables c) Fresh fruit d) Milk A women with his child Breast-Feeding. When a mother is breast-feeding her locale, she needs to have a balanced diet and drink plenty of liquids especially milk, otherwise her health and that of her baby will suffer. The mother's milk is very important to ensure proper nutrition for the baby. Extending the breast-feeding period can improve the baby's nutrition, and also helps to increase the length of time between pregnancies. However, after the fourth month, breast milk is not enough by itself to meet all the baby's nutritional needs and solid foods should be added. This process of gradually adding solid foods and reducing mother's milk, is called weaning. What nutrition does the body get from the various types of foods we eat? 1. Cereals and coarse grains. Cereals and coarse grains (wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, etc.) are a basic part of the diet for most people in developing countries. Which are the most important cereal crops in your area? Cereals and coarse grains Cereals are good sources of energy for physical activity and they also contain some protein for body building and growth. However, the protein in cereals is not enough to ensure good growth by itself. 2. Roots and tubers. Roots and tubers such as cassava, potato and yams are widely eaten in many areas because they are easy and inexpensive to produce and give good yields even in periods of drought. Roots and tubers are also good sources of energy, but they contain almost no protein. As a result, they are not enough to provide good nutrition by themselves. For example, someone who eats only cassava will quickly become weak. Roots and tubers 3. Legumes and oil seeds. Legumes, that is beans and plants in the bean family (for example, groundnuts) are very good sources of the protein our bodies need to grow and to recover from sickness and injury. Groundnuts and oil seeds are also good sources of oil (see fats and oils, page 13). Legumes and oil seeds 4. Meat, fish and other animal products. Meat, dairy products, fish and eggs are the foods with the highest supply of protein but many people in developing countries don't eat much of these foods because they are expensive and sometimes unavailable. Even a small amount of these foods can make can make a big difference in our nutritional level. Meat, fish and other animal products 5. Fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables don't provide our bodies with very much energy or protein, and yet they are essential for good nutrition. This is because they supply vitamins and minerals which help the body get the most out of the energy and protein foods. They also contain fibres which are needed for normal digestion of food. Vitamins keep certain special parts of the body functioning properly. For example, Vitamin A, contained in dark green, leafy vegetables, paw paw, and pumpkin, helps to keep our eyesight good and Vitamin C, contained in many fruits is essential for healthy gums. Iodine, one of the most important minerals, is present in all seafoods and some salt called iodised salt. It is not present in fresh water. Lack of iodine causes goitre - an enlargement; of the thyroid gland. The main symptom of goitre is a swollen neck. Fruits and vegetables In many countries now' iodine is added to all salt sold for food. Finally, balanced diets also need to contain fats and oils. Fats and oils are a very concentrated form of energy. They make food easier and tastier to eat and add to the amount of energy in it without increasing its volume. Fats and oils are especially important in the diet of small children. It is difficult for small children to eat enough food to provide them with the energy they need unless the diet contains some fat or oil or oil-rich foods. Good sources of fats and oils are found in food groups 3, 4 and 5 as below: Food Group 3: Groundnuts and oilseeds.. Food Group 4: Milk, butter, ghee, cheese and animal fats. Food Group 5: Avocado. (Avocado is one of the few fruits and vegetables which do contain a high amount of energy.)

Major Energy Sources

(needed for energy, for work and body maintenance)

Maize

Sorghum

Millet

Rice

Wheat

Cassava

Potatoes

Yams

Taro

Sugar & sugar products

Bananas & plantains

Avocado

Oils & fats

Groundnuts

Soybean, sesame & other oilseeds

Beans & peas

Major Protein Sources

(needed to form healthy skin, bone, muscles, blood, hair)

Meat

Fish

Groundnuts

Soybean

Beans & peas

Insects

Rodents

Eggs

Milk

Cheese

Yoghurt

Poultry

Important Vitamin Sources

Important Mineral Sources

(needed for control of body processes)

The group meal

The story to start the activity

The members of the Newtown Young Farmers Club were allocated a plot of land to cultivate by the chief but it was far away from the village and needed to be cleared and prepared. So the group members agreed that for three days they would all go together to their plot and work on it all day. This meant that they would not be able to return to the village for their noontime meal, so they agreed that each person would bring some kind of food and that they would all eat together.

The first day, when it got to be time to eat, each member of the group opened up his package and they found - surprise - everyone had brought the same thing - a big bowl of maize meal. There was so much food that everyone felt very full, but the meal was rather dull, because everything tasted exactly the same.

The second day, at mealtime, only two or three people had brought packages, and they were all maize meal again. One of the group members said, "I forgot," and one said, "There was so much food yesterday that I thought we wouldn't need mine." One person who had brought maize meal said, "That's all we had at home." So the group members divided up the maize meal between them, but it wasn't enough and they all went hack to work feeling very hungry.

The third day, when it was time to eat, each one opened his package and - oh no! - everyone had brought maize meal again. The group members looked at each other and said, "Well, I was sure that you wouldn't make the same thing again, so I did." After the meal, everyone was full, but not very happy. "You know," said one of the group members, "The way we are eating is not very satisfying, and I bet it isn't very healthy either."