Today, fighting hunger is only half the battle. Getting the younger generation to eat healthy foods is also a critical challenge. In the 1980’s, rates of childhood obesity started rising. From 1976 to 1980, 5% of children were overweight—currently, that figure has risen to nearly 16%.

Here are some helpful food and nutrition tips and facts that can put you on the path to a healthier lifestyle:

Fruits & Vegetables: Fill Your Plate with Color: You’ve been told countless times to eat your fruits and veggies. But do you know why your parents, teachers, and doctors are always pushing peas and peaches?

• "C"ing is Believing: Grapefruit and pineapple are a good source of vitamin C, which is important for our health and disease risk reduction. Also, vitamin C may play an important role in the reduction of heart disease, aiding in the prevention of cancer.

• Closing the Nutrient Gap: A variety of colorful vegetables are important to close the gap for vitamins A and C, potassium, magnesium, and fiber. Choose dark leafy greens, dark orange vegetables, and beans to find these nutrients.

• You Say Tomato: Tomatoes contain lycopene, which may help protect against prostate cancer and heart disease. Research indicates that heat from cooking or canning makes the lycopene in tomatoes more available for your body. As a result, processed tomato products such as canned tomatoes and sauces are among the best food sources of lycopene.

• Go Big on Orange: Orange fruits such as peaches, apricots, and Mandarin oranges are a good source of Vitamin A, which has the potential to reduce the risk of cancer. Vitamin A can also prevent cardiovascular disease and improve your eyesight.

The Truth about Tuna: Health Benefits Galore

• Don’t Forget the Protein: Both the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid recommend frequent consumption of a variety of nutritionally rich protein foods. Put special emphasis on the foods that contain healthy oil like fish (tuna, salmon and trout), nuts, and seeds, instead of meat and poultry.

Links to recipes and information:

Host a healthy dinner party.
Instead of ordering pizza for your next hang-out session, why not make your own? In less than 20 minutes, you can make a tasty AND healthy pizza using simple ingredients. Ask your parents for some help making your way around the kitchen, and follow the recipe below for a delicious Mexican Pizza, created by chef Art Smith:

Quick and Fun Mexican Pizza by Chef Art Smith

More recipes for healthy meals and snacks!

Chef Art Smith’s Peach Pineapple smoothie

Del Monte Nutrition Expert Roberta Duyff, MS, RD’s Snack Pocket