Brown Bag It!

Lately, we?ve had a few requests for ways to present healthful strategies for packing delicious lunches. To start, check out a few of the resources that we stock in our Nutrition Education Store. We have the Brown Bag It Poster and Handout, along with an entertaining and compelling Brown Bag PowerPoint Presentation. From there, it?s easy to put together an engaging presentation or colorful bulletin board.If you simply want to display a few options to inspire your clients, we recommend that you pin the Brown Bag It poster to a bulletin board and surround it with healthful recipes and pictures of the foods that the recipes prepare. Think about portability, ease of preparation, and safe strategies for food storage as you put the board together. A picture of MyPlate that includes healthful options from each food group is another great way to encourage healthful and balanced brown bag lunches.For an activity that you can do with a group, try filling a few traditional brown bags with plastic food models and/or photos of a variety of foods. Make sure that some bags contain only healthful ingredients, while others contain only foods that are bad for you. Include some bags that are filled with a mix of healthful and unhealthful ingredients. Number and seal the bags, then divide your participants into even groups. Give each group several bags and have them evaluate the healthfulness of each, presenting their ?best bag? to the rest of the class. Once everyone has presented their best bags, discuss the components of a healthful lunch (especially as they relate to MyPlate) and tips and tricks for safely packing and storing a tasty lunch. You can also work in a recipe demonstration so that participants will know how to pack at least one new healthful lunch.