Nutrition Archives - Root for Kids

Amria Farnsworth is from Northern Utah and is currently a Dietetics Intern at Utah State University (USU) graduating this spring. In the past few years, Amria has been heavily involved with the Val. R. Christensen Service Center at USU, especially with the various food programs. These experiences have allowed her to connect with and help people. She’s worked primarily with reducing food insecurity on campus and in the community. She grew up in a multicultural family and developed a passion for learning about people, their cultures and their stories and finding ways to help them. She also is a self-proclaimed foodie so becoming a registered dietitian is her way of combining her passions.

This coming year she will continue completing her 1000-hour Dietetic Internship at various facilities in Utah and Arizona. She is currently interning at Root For Kids in Southern Utah. This is an Early Head Start and Early Intervention program serving 600 families per month. Amria has been working on bolstering the nutrition screening information, providing updated nutrition information for employees to share with enrolled families, researching effective interventions for children with feeding issues, and updating facility menus among other things.

Upon completion of her hours, Amria will take the exam to become a registered dietitian. Afterwards she plans on pursuing a Master of Public Health. She hopes to work in a hospital treating patients for the first few years of her career. Eventually, she wants to advance her career in public health to increase and improve the efforts of chronic disease prevention. She’s excited to become a registered dietitian and use her experiences to develop a career improving the health and lives of others.

Follow her on Instagram for everything nutrition: @foodwithamria.rd2be

It can be hard a lot of times to know what we as adults need in our diets, but it only gets more complicated trying to figure that out for kids. Have you ever wondered how much food that tiny preschooler body really needs? Are they lacking essential nutrients or eating too much? Worry not! There are a lot of awesome resources about child nutrition. So check out this helpful information from the USDA that we gathered for you, including a daily food plan for preschoolers.

Food Groups and Healthy Eating

Before going into the food plan, meet the food groups! A balanced diet is important for kids health so let’s see a few examples of food from the food groups they need.

Fruit: banana, apple, grapes, orange, cantaloupe, strawberry
Vegetables: spinach, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, corn, tomatoes
Grains: bread, crackers, oatmeal, pancakes, rice, pasta, tortillas (at least 50% of grains should be 100% wheat)
Protein: meat, eggs, seafood, poultry, beans and peas, nuts and seeds
Dairy: milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese (choose fat free or low-fat dairy products)

Daily Food Plan

Now let’s translate all that into everyday life. Here are some ideas of patterns and menus! It’s also a good idea to involve kids in the cooking process when appropriate. On top of stimulating their senses and practicing coordination, kids are most likely to enjoy the meal if they are part of making it happen. Check out the KidsCreate website for kid-friendly recipes and more resources.

To download the PDFs and printable versions of the graphics, please visit ChooseMyPlate.org.

Category: Nutrition

Root for Kids Welcomes New Dietetics Intern

Daily Food Plan for Preschoolers

Food Groups and Healthy Eating

Daily Food Plan