Kids Page: Food Science
Here at Port Discover we are big fans of science and we love to explore the world of science around us on a daily bases. We know that science plays a big role in our classrooms, hospitals, veterinarian office and our ecosystems, but what about the meals we eat throughout the day?
The foods that we eat every day are the building blocks for our bodies. You body is on a constant recycling mission to rebuild new cells and eliminate waste. That being said, you really are what you eat! You may think of mealtime and snack time as just another part of your day, you may view mealtime as a chore, or if you’re anything like some of Port Discover’s staff members, you may rejoice in new and yummy foods. Either way, if you want your engine (body) to run smoothly you need to know exactly what your engine needs and what you’re putting in it. 
One important step is learning to read food labels. Some key things to look for when reading a label are no trans fats, low sugar, and low sodium. Healthy meals are made up of fewer ingredients and are listed from largest portions to the smaller portions on food packages. [Example of ingredients - Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt: Cultured Grade A Reduced Fat Milk, Sugar, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Pectin.]
Don’t forget the brighter the food item the more vitamins and nutrients you will receive. As you cook food, the good stuff is cooked out, so try to lightly cook veggies or eat them raw with a yummy dip. Check out Nutrition Pair's website to get some healthy (and yummy) recipes!
Try this activity!
There are good fats like avocado (monounsaturated fats) and there are bad fats (trans-fats) or bad cholesterol (LDLs). These trans-fats clog your arteries and overtime make it hard for your body pump blood to create new cells and deliver oxygen. Try this experiment at home to see how much fats you consume over one weeks’ time. Remember, fats are okay for your body in small amounts and moderation but this experiment will give you real visual of fats that are hidden in our meals.
Materials:
• Rubber Maid or Mason Jar – with top!
• Large can of Crisco
• Calculator
• Teaspoon
• Food Journal
Instructions: Every time you eat something with a label (if you are eating out at a restaurant or a fast-food location many of those labels can be found online - Example: McDonalds chicken nuggets) write down the grams in fat from that label in you "food journal." At the end of the day, Add the total grams of fat that you wrote in your "food journal" that you consumed that day. Then Divide that total by 4.2 - so you'll know how many teaspoons of fat you've consumed. Take that final number of teaspoons of fat and place that amount of teaspoons of Crisco into your jar.
What's happening? If you keep this experiment up over a weeklong time-period (or even just a few days), you will get an idea of how much fat you have eaten during that time-period.