Science Experiments that promote healthy eating (Science in the Kitchen)

We all know eating nutrient-rich foods is important, especially during childhood when kids are still growing! But kids aren't always willing to eat healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. One great way to encourage healthy eating with little ones is to get them in the kitchen and let them play with food! This lets kids explore and become more familiar with different foods, opening kids up to try out new foods or try foods in new ways. Plus it's a great opportunity for them to learn the science behind food to understand why certain foods keep us healthy and strong.  

Science experiments are fun for kids and a great way to keep them engaged! Here are 6 cool science experiments to help your kids learn about health and nutrition in a fun and easy way! 

Experiment 1

What is interesting about sodium is how genetics plays a role in determining how much salt people like! People who love salt are known as “supertasters.” This experiment teaches kids about how much salt is in foods like butter and that certain amounts of salt can taste different! Approximately how 35% of women and 15% of men are supertasters!  

• Materials needed
  • Bread, three sticks of unsalted butter, table salt, toaster, butter knife, measuring spoons, three small mixing bowls, a notebook and pen.
• Procedure
  • Let your butter set to room temperature (this could take a few hours after you remove from the refrigerator)
  • Place a stick of butter in each of the three bowls
  • The first bowl should contain no salt. In the second bowl add ½ teaspoon of salt and in the third bowl add a full teaspoon of salt. Mix the salt thoroughly.
  • Find five volunteers for your experiment
  • Each volunteer will get a piece of toast with butter. Each volunteer will taste each type of butter (meaning each volunteer will have three types of toast).
  • Keep in mind that you will know the saltiness of the butter that each participant tries out but they will have to guess!
  • Write down what type of butter the volunteers will like the most? Why? This will be your hypothesis!
  • After each volunteer trys out their pieces of toast- Ask them to report which piece of toast they enjoyed the most. Record these results and compare them to your hypothesis.
• To check out more about this salty experiment and the disclaimer and safety precautions click here!

Experiment 2

In this experiment children will explore foods that help kids build strong bones! 
Yogurt has the most calcium per serving of any food! You can eat it with fruit or you can make a vegetable dip out of it. Other foods that contain similar nutrients are yogurt, cabbage and radishes. 

• Materials
  • 1 Cup plain yogurt (unsweetened)
  • 1 clove of garlic mashed
  • You can add parsley, green onion, dill, and lemon if you want.
• Procedure
  • Dip these high-calcium veggies in it:
    • Cabbage (red and green)
    •  Romaine Lettuce
    • Radish
    • Raw Turnip
  • Let children cut and serve veggies.
  • Mix yogurt into dip and pour out equal amounts for everyone to try.

Here's a quick and easy recipe for Kale Chips! These are super delicious and full of Vitamin K. 
Materials

• 1 Bunch of kale
• 1 T olive oil
• 1-2 T lemon juice or vinegar (optional)
• Sprinkling of seasoning ( salt, cayenne, chili powder, or any other seasoning you like!)

Procedure

• Preheat the oven @ 250 degrees.
•  Wash kale and remove thick stems.
• Cut into bite size pieces and toss into a large bowl with olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar.
• Coat the kale by tossing it with your hands, wringing the leaves, bruising them slightly
• Lay the kale in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle with seasonings you've selected
• Bake until crisp (about an hour).

Experiment 3

A difficult concept for kids to grasp is how the food we eat can be turned back into soil and this soil can be used to grow more food. This experiment helps kids explore how composting works and the natural process that goes along with itl.

• Materials
  
  • Fruits and vegetables of your choice
    
  • Ziplock bags
    
  • Straws
    
  • Journal for notes
    
• Procedure
  

• Place chopped up fruits and veggies into a plastic zip bag.
  
• Add a few spoons of water.
  
• Zip the bag up with a straw in the corner for air.
  
• Mush the bag up for a couple weeks, and wait for it to turn into soil.
  
• Keep a journal each day like a real scientist.
  

Experiment 4 

Do you know that feeling when you eat a sugary snack and you start to get a headache? Many people refer to this as a “sugar buzz”. Typically during this sugar buzz your body goes to work and removes all the sugar from your blood. This science experiment explores the differences in which sugar gets absorbed into the blood compared with starches. When we consume sugar the molecules pass into our blood more quickly and leave us feeling hungry again soon after. 

• Materials
  • 2 glasses, corn syrup, red food coloring, measuring spoon, sugar and flour.
• Procedure
  • Fill the glasses halfway with corn syrup. 
  • Now add two drops of the red food coloring to each of the glasses (this will act as the artificial blood!)
  • Then place 1 tablespoon of sugar on top of the liquid in one glass. Now do the same with the second glass but use flour instead of sugar!
  • Observe how long it takes for the liquid to absorb the sugar and flour!
  • Note the difference!
• This experiment comes from the website howstuffworks! 

Experiment 5

Approximately 1.3 billion tons of food products are wasted each year! One way to help the planet is to put your food scraps to good use! This experiment allows you to take your leftover food scraps and turn them into new foods!

• Green onions, lemongrass, leeks, fennel, & spring onions
  • Step 1: place the ends of the roots in water and be prepared to change the water daily
  • Step 2: In 3-5 days you will begin to see growth! You can harvest the greens when they are large and then repeat the process!
  • Step 3 (for lemongrass only): harvest the lemon grass once it grows to be 12 inches tall. You can snip off the amount that you need without uplifting the whole plant
• Similar procedures can be done with Celery, Cabbage, Romaine Lettuce & Bok Choy, Ginger, Onion, Garlic, Mushroom, Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes, and Pineapple. Check out all the details here!

Experiment 6

This experiment will teach kids about the amount of water that is in their favorite fruits and vegetables and what kind of nutritious value they hold!

• Does the water content in a single serving of produce relate to the overall nutrition in a serving of that food?
  • Materials
    • Orange, pineapple, watermelon, fresh peas, tomato or broccoli
    • Dehydrator or an oven!
    • Good scale that measures in mg. 
    • Calculator 
    • Access to the internet
  • Procedure
    • Find the weight of each fruit and vegetable and record the results
    • Cut the fruits and vegetables into thin slices and place them in the dehydrator.
    • Next you want to weigh the dried fruits and veggies again
    • Now subtract the dehydrated weight from the hydrated weight. Now divide this value by the entire weight of the fruit and multiple this number by 100. This is how you find the percentage water in each fruit and vegetable.
    • If you want you can draw out a chart that compares the water contents of the fruits and vegetables. 
    • USDA website will tell you the nutritious value of each fruit and vegetable! 

 







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References

• https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-food-for-kids.htm
• https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/facts.htm
• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html
• https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/water-content-fruits-vegetables/
• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/355854808032425805/
• https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/science-projects/science-projects-for-kids-nutrition-and-health.htm#pt1
• https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/FoodSci_p077/cooking-food-science/how-much-fat-is-in-your-food#summary
• https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/how-much-fat-potato-chips/
• https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/too-much-sodium/
• https://foodtank.com/news/2015/06/world-environment-day-10-facts-about-food-waste-from-bcfn/​