INSTRUCTOR BACKGROUND:

Vegetables are power packed with many nutrients including carbohydrates, fiber, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, calcium, magnesium and health-promoting phytochemicals. (Phytochemicals are substances found in foods that protect against disease.) The combination of nutrients found in vegetables aids in a healthy immune system, healthy eyes and skin, and helps heal cuts and bruises. Long-term benefits of eating vegetables may be a reduced risk for stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, reduced risk of developing kidney stones and may help to decrease bone loss. Children who eat vegetables typically grow up to be adults who eat vegetables.

At the beginning of the lesson draw a circle on a piece of white paper and section it off into four quarters. Color the lower left section with a green marker or crayon and place it on the wall. If you still have the plate you used from the grains lesson you can use that one. You will color in the section on the opposite corner to the grain group green.

DISCUSSION GUIDE:

Vegetables grow across the United States and are parts of plants that you can eat. We should eat vegetables everyday. They come in a rainbow of different colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple and white.

🍅 Red: tomatoes, red peppers, beets, radish, red onion, red potatoes, rhubarb

🥕 Orange/Yellow: carrots, orange & yellow peppers, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, orange and yellow tomatoes, corn, yellow summer squash, yellow winter squash

🧅 White: onion, corn, cauliflower, mushrooms, garlic, jicama, white potatoes, parsnips, turnips

🥦 Green: broccoli, spinach, green leafy lettuce, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, bok choy, green peppers, green peas, green beans, celery, snow peas, asparagus, okra, zucchini, green cabbage, green onions

🍆 Blue/Purple: eggplant, turnips, purple cauliflower, purple cabbage, purple peppers, purple carrots


Question: I have a question for you; have you ever eaten a green or red flower? [Give them a chance to say no, yuck or gross]. Then ask them if they have ever eaten broccoli or tomatoes?

Learning: Vegetables are parts of plants. Broccoli and tomatoes are actually the flowering part of the plant.

Question: What are some other parts of plants? [Gives students opportunity to respond.]
Answer: Parts of the plant include not only the flower, but also leaves, roots, seeds, stems, and even tubers and bulbs. [You can also share some examples of other vegetables, flowers: peppers and eggplants; leaves: lettuce and spinach; roots: carrots and beets; seeds: peas and green beans; stems or stalks: celery; tubers: potatoes; bulbs: onions.]

Learning: Vegetables help keep our bodies healthy. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Vegetables have vitamin A, which helps keep your eyes healthy and helps you see in the dark. Many veggies also have vitamin C which can help heal cuts and bruises. Vegetables also give our body fiber which is important for healthy digestion. Vitamin C can help their body fight infections, like colds.