We’ve been loving our SuperNoots! My kids and I have been playing/doing/moving the SuperNoots for a week now and it’s been a fantastic learning experience for all of us. We have two boys and they are flippin crazy people. If you follow me on Twitter, you will know that I am constantly breaking up train fights, car tosses- anything and everything that one has that the other MUST HAVE as well. So, thankfully, Lori sent us two sets of SuperNoots even though the youngest is too young for it. His (Ryan’s) idea of SuperNoots is to take all of Benjamin’s and put them on his chart.
SuperNoots is a way to teach your kids about healthy eating habits. It puts the power in their hands on how to chose healthy foods as snacks, lunch, dinner or breakfast. It usually goes like this “what magnets will I get if I eat that?” For each day, your child starts the day with an empty chart and as they eat, they fill up their charts. You get 6 whole grains, 2 dairy, 2 protein, 2 vegetables, 1 treat and 3 fruits. Now people do not freak out yet. (HOLY COW!!???) I thought the same thing (that I know you’re thinking), but, it’s more about teaching your child to make healthy choices, not necessarily how many servings of each that they get. I asked Lori about this because my kid drinks tons of milk and fruit and needs to be prompted to eat his protein. Here’s her answer:
I chose the quantities of ’servings’ based on 4 criteria. The first was the old food pyramid that you and I most likely grew up learning about, very heavy on the grains. The second criteria was the new FDA pyramid, which requires less grains and more vegetables. The third was a recent Harvard study claiming that our diets should be heaviest on the fruit and vegetable side. I actually agree with this one, but I chose the numbers for SuperNoots mostly based on the fourth criteria… I wanted kids to succeed and feel good about their healthy eating. I realized early on that the majority of kids using the chart were using it because they were struggling in the first place. Whether they were trying new vegetables or even the first vegetable, I knew it would be unrealistic to ask kids to eat three, possibly four vegetables in one day.
When I had the chart right there in front of him, Benjamin was more than willing to eat the Salmon if he could get a magnet in the circle. One other thing was that even though some foods could be used for more than one food group, the idea is only one magnet per food eaten. Honestly, my kid rarely filled up his chart! 6 grains is a lot of grain to fill up- but he always got his fruit, dairy servings and usually a few carrots and since I told him walnuts counted for protein, he was willing to eat that as well (Like 1).
I’m very excited about SuperNoots and the momprenuer of SuperNoots, Lori Liakonis. She is incredibly passionate about her product and I’m thrilled she was willing to share a set with us. You, readers, are equally lucky because she has decided to sponsor a contest as well! Please take a minute and check out her website, come back and post a comment and you will be entered to win. Winner must reply to email within 24 hours and provide a US Mailing address. Yes, you may enter if you are not a mom yet! I think any kid under the age of 6 or 8 could benefit from it, so if you win, please use a fantastic gift.