Eating Well
  Being Active
  Getting Good Sleep
  Taking Care of Your Changing Body
  Seeing Your Doctor

Eating Well

Eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including your life circumstances, age, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions you make over time. All your food and beverage choices count.

MyPlate Basics

From ChooseMyPlate.gov

MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you create a healthier eating style that meets your individual needs and improves your health.

MyPlate is a reminder to find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime. Everything you eat and drink matters. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. This means:

• Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition.
• Choose foods and beverages with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
• Start with small changes to build healthier eating styles.
• Support healthy eating for everyone.

Choose A Colorful Well-Balanced Plate. What goes in each section of your plate? No matter what you are served, you can still choose to make your meal well-balanced by following the MyPlate guidelines. 

• Start Small. 
  Start with small changes in your food choices, don’t expect to be perfect, and find someone who will make a small change with you. Check out these tips on making small changes that will help you feel better.
  

• Create Personalized Plates. 
  Can you create your own dinner plate that meets the MyPlate guidelines? Try using the MyPlate, MyState menu tool to test out your ideas.

• Vegetarian? 
  Learn how to combine plant protein sources to make complete proteins so that you are getting all your amino acids and B vitamins. Make your own MyPlate with Tips for Vegetarians.

• Need Energy? 
  Make smart choices for your plate for fueling up with these Tips for Active Lifestyles.

• Competing in Sports? 
  Eating to reach your peak performance level likely doesn't require a special diet or supplements. It's all about working the right foods into your fitness plan in the right amounts. Learn how to Eat Extra for Excellence in the TeensHealth.org’s Guide to Eat for Sports.

• Need Some Quick Breakfasts? 
  Here is a week’s worth of healthy breakfasts you can make in less than 5 minutes from HealthyTeens.org. Each meal has about 350 calories and is packed with morning energy!

Know Your Rights

School Breakfast and Lunch Programs

Every child in foster care is automatically eligible to receive free meals at school through the federal School Breakfast and School Lunch programs. If you don’t receive free meals at school, talk to your social worker or probation officer. You can also contact the Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson for help.

Get Cooking

Cooking Tip and Recipes
The secret to cooking is knowing some kitchen basics, learning where to find recipes, and being creative in the kitchen. These ideas from TeensHealth can help. Also, be sure to check out the site’s hundreds of teen-friendly recipes – easy to fix smoothies, soups, salads, dips and wraps, and much more.

What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl
This interactive tool helps with healthy meal planning, cooking, and grocery shopping. The site features a searchable database of healthy recipes, options to build a cookbook, print recipe cards, and share recipes via social media. This tip sheet will help you get started. You also might want to take a look at these youth friendly recipes on the site:

• The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge: Kids’ State Dinner Cookbook: Top Recipes from Future Chefs of America
  Award winning recipes of kids from 56 states and territories in 2016. All the recipes are based on MyPlate guidelines, and the winners were invited to a State Dinner at the White House

• Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Homes
  Award winning recipes by teams of students and chefs. Try out the recipes for porcupine sliders (grand prize winner) and tasty tots (popular choice winner).

• Healthy, Tasty and Affordable Latin Cooking
  10 authentic meals from Mexico, Central America and South America at a cost of $2-$4 per plate.

• A Harvest of Recipes
  Regional and traditional recipes created by and for tribal members.