Hobbies And Interests
Terminology Balderdash
Balderdash is game that requires participants to make up definitions for words. The real definition is then mixed in with the fabricated definitions, and players vote on what they think is the real definition. To help with common and obscure nutritional terms, play a form of Balderdash that uses only nutritional words. For instance, give players the term "Vitamin D." As part of the definition, each player should name fake foods that contain vitamin D and also describe fake benefits of vitamin D on the body. Collect players' definitions and combine them with a real list of benefits of vitamin D and foods high in vitamin D. After players vote on the proper definition, reveal the right answer. Before you move on to the next term, review the true definition and spend some time going over important properties and facts about the specific term.
Nutritional Facts Game
If you look on the side of any commercially packaged food, you will find a label that has nutritional facts about the food. This label contains the food's serving size, calories, total fat, sodium, protein and more. To play the nutritional facts trivia game, take 10 food items from your refrigerator or shelf. One person will act as the host and read off the various categories mentioned on the nutritional label. Participants will try to guess the amount of various nutritional categories such as fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and carbs present in each serving. In addition, players will guess what percent of their recommended daily values the food contains for each nutritional category.
After each round, reveal the answers. This will help players gauge the ranges of nutritional values for future rounds. After you finish the game, go through all the food items and discuss which items surprised people most in terms of their positive or negative nutritional values. In the future, try to avoid any foods that you discover are particularly unhealthy.
Nutritional Data of Restaurant Foods Game
For a twist on the nutritional fact game, play with restaurant food items instead of household food items. The website Nutrition Data offers info on many foods including fast-food restaurants' meals. Pick some of you and your friends' favorite items at restaurants such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Burger King. Try to guess as much of the various foods' nutritional data as you can. Use the Nutrition Data website to check your answers.
For a second round, try to come up with food items that are higher or lower in fat, calories or sodium content than your first-round items. Let's say you tried to guess the fat content of a Big Mac in the first round. Once you find the Big Mac's nutritional information, attempt to guess what other burgers have more or less fat than the Big Mac. Continue to play this over/under game with as many food items as you wish. This game will not only help you learn the nutritional content of popular foods, but it will also help you make healthier eating choices in the future as you decide which restaurants contain the most nutritious food options.