To kick off her nutrition programs, Langley taught the youth to Fight BAC(teria)! She spoke to them about hand washing and reminded them when they should wash their hands and for how long. She encouraged them to wash vigorously- scrubbing between fingers, around fingernails, and under watches and jewelry. Langley also discussed food safety and the importance of keeping counters, utensils and equipment, and hands clean. She also talked to the campers about keeping foods separate and using different cutting boards to prevent cross-contamination.

Langley encouraged the use of food thermometers to make sure food is cooked to proper temperatures. She also spoke to the youth about chilling food before storing it and keeping it cold. During the session, several youth were given Glitter Bug Potion on their hands and asked to shake hands with those campers sitting near them. Next, the campers used the special blacklight to see the “pretend” germs glow on their hands. After checking, the campers washed their hands vigorously for 20 seconds and returned to the black light to see if any “germs” remained. The campers prepared Astronaut Pudding by combining dry, instant pudding with milk in a zipper top bag.

For the second session, Langley introduced the campers to the nutrition facts label. She showed them age-appropriate entertaining videos on how to read the nutrition facts labels. Langley told the campers that by eating the right foods, they feed their body and mind with the best nutrients. The campers were placed into groups to practice reading labels. They used a nutrition label from a pack of chocolate sandwich cookies and worked together to find the answers. Langley impressed upon them to watch the serving sizes they eat as compared to the serving sizes on the food packages. After the session was over, the campers made Lemon Velvet Supreme which consisted of a graham cracker crust, yogurt and pudding filling and mandarin orange slices on top.

Langley’s third session was on the Grains Food Group and the importance of whole grains and fiber. She introduced them to the Grains Food Group on the MyPlate and had the campers share their favorites. Langley spoke about whole gains and refined grains and why they should make half their grains whole grains because of fiber. She encouraged the campers to check the ingredient list on food packages to find whole-grain foods. To demonstrate fiber and how fiber helps us, two teams of campers were asked to feed a plastic “intestine” tube. One team fed its tube a snack cake, chips, a chewy candy bar, and water while the other team fed its tube carrots, potatoes, sunflower seeds, and water to see which tube emptied the easiest. This fiber relay demonstrated the value of fiber and the role it plays. The recipe prepared by the campers was Honey Milk Balls- a tasty snack made with peanut butter, honey, dry milk, and cereal.

The last session delivered by LSU AgCenter Area Nutrition Agent, Layne Langley, was Rethink Your Drink. She reminded the campers how to read and use the nutrition facts and told the groups that beverages are important to our bodies. Langley also informed the campers that extra calories provide little nutrition and can lead to unwanted weight gain. Langley divided the group into small teams and gave each team a bag filled with four different beverages and ranking cards. The campers worked together reading the labels to place the beverages in front of the ranking cards from worst beverage option to best beverage option. Many campers were surprised at how unhealthy some of the beverages were. Langley challenged the campers to make good beverage decisions that are healthy choices like water, milk, and 100% juice. To wrap up this session, the campers each made a low-fat smoothie in a bag.

Langley chose the program topics she believed could be something useful for the youth and something they could share with their families. Including a hands-on component with each program is important to her.It’s just another way to reinforce the program topic. The recipes Langley chose for each program were for easy-to-make snacks that are nutritious and require minimal parental supervision. After each session, Langley provided the youth with nutrition resources to bring home and share with family. he resources were about information and topics discussed during the programs.

Thanks to Tayler Hunt with RKM Primary Care for providing the ingredients and supplies for the Be Fit Camp in East Feliciana. Also, thanks to Coach King and Lorie Grezaffi with the West Feliciana Parks & Rec Summer Camp for making sure equipment and ingredients were available for the programs.

For more information about the nutrition programs offered in East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, contact Layne Langley at 225-683-3101 (East Feliciana) 225-635-3614 (West Feliciana), or at lalangley@agcenter.lsu.edu