Eating for Beauty Badge

1. Know how good nutrition helps your body stay healthy.

Make your own food pyramid.

We took a print out of the FDA food pyramid and drew in what was in our pantry and fridge, using FDA guidelines. It turns out that we had a lot of produce, dairy, and fish/chicken in the fridge and oatmeal, pasta, rice, quinoa, beans, canned roasted tomatoes, and baking ingredients in the pantry. Those ingredients can be combined to make many healthy recipes like chili, and homemade bread.

2. Find out how what you eat affects your skin.

Get enough water.
I drink water throughout the day and after being outside. I always take water bottles to my after school activities, and we take plenty of extra water for hikes. I also drink water when I am hanging out at home or in my room. To make sure I am getting enough water every day, I have a water bottle with me or a glass of water and take a drink before, during, and after activities.

3. Explore how your diet affects your stress level.

Chemical detective.

We researched food additives and chemicals believed to contribute to anxiety and stress. There are a lot of them! Sometimes we are unaware that they are contained in so many processed foods. The key is to stay away from processed foods and eat whole foods.

4. Investigate how what you eat affects your sleep.

REM it up.
I understand the importance of uninterrupted sleep. My parents make sleep a priority in our house! To make sure I stop drinking water early enough before bedtime, I have water at dinner and then not too much after that, except when I have dance. This helps me sleep better because I am not waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

5. Look at how your diet affects your energy.

Do an exercise/energy experiment.

Here is my list of 20 (21) healthy foods that can be made and eaten quickly:

organic nachos
peanut butter crackers
oyster crackers
Luna bars (energy bars)
peanut butter and banana
apple and peanut butter
peanut butter sandwich
tortilla and cheese
peanut butter (on a spoon)
yogurt
almonds
fig bars
carrots
cheddar crackers
cheese quesadilla
glass of milk
orange juice
apple juice
lots of water
dark chocolate covered blueberries
other dried fruit