Beef Nutrition
What is Beef? Beef is food!! Steaks and hamburger (in many different forms like sloppy joes and tacos) are all beef. Actually, beef is any piece of meat that comes from beef cattle. How many students have eaten beef in the last week? 2
Beef s Benefits Beef helps your mind develop! Beef helps your body grow! Beef tastes good! Beef keeps you looking good! Beef provides many of the nutrients you need to grow up strong and healthy. It can be cooked into many different meals that are good to eat. Best of all, you can feel good about eating the great-tasting nutrition that beef offers. 3
Beef and the Food Pyramid The food pyramid is still relevant and important to demonstrate the different food groups with images. Beef is part of the meat and beans food group on the pyramid. This guide tells us that students need between 3 and 6 ounces of lean, protein-rich foods every day to be healthy, and beef is a great option. 4
How does Beef fit on My Plate? Beef is a Protein You should eat about 3-6oz. of protein each day There are lots of ways to eat beef! When you eat your plate should look like this. Where does BEEF fit on my plate? Beef is a protein. Protein fuels your body to have energy to think and exercise. You should each 3-6 oz. of beef a day. 3 oz. of beef is about the size of a deck of cards. 5
Quiz! What food group does beef belong in? Meats and beans! Beef is in the Meats & Beans Group. Beef is an important protein source and is part of a healthy active lifestyle. 6
Beef Power! Beef can help everyone, from superman to you, get and stay physically fit and ready to play sports, run fast and maybe to be a superhero!! 7
Beef- the Best-Tasting Vitamin Iron Niacin Protein! B 12 Phosphoru s B 6 Selenium Riboflavin Zinc! Beef is an excellent or good source (as defined by the US Department of Agriculture) of each of these essential nutrients. Nutrients have their own special jobs in our body. For example, protein builds and repairs muscles, iron supports our immune system and aids in brain development, and selenium helps get rid of bad things in your body. Who knew you could get so much from beef! 8
Would you rather eat A 3 oz. steak? or 6 ½ cups of raw spinach? How many of you love spinach? How many of you like beef? Well, I have good news for you: just three ounces of cooked lean beef contains as Vitamin B6 as 6 ½ cups of raw spinach! Vitamin B6 is important in your body because helps you use the energy from other foods that you eat. This is just one example of how beef is nutrient dense, which means there are a lot of good things in a small amount of beef. 9
Why Beef is Better! Other important nutrients found in beef include zinc, iron, riboflavin, and protein. These help you grow up strong and healthy by keeping you from getting sick, developing muscles and producing energy. As you can see, it takes a lot of many other foods- and a lot more calories- to get you the same amount of these important nutrients. Beef s advantage is that it packs a lot of goodness into a small package! 10
Importance of Iron Iron helps your brain develop which means beef makes you smarter! Beef provides people with a special kind of iron called heme iron. This type is easily absorbed into the body, and even help smaller amounts of iron from vegetables and grains be used! Getting enough iron is especially important for young people because it aids in brain development. Iron deficiency anemia causes developmental challenges, and research has shown that even short-term iron deficiency negatively affects academic performance. 11
Importance of Iron Lean beef = Healthy Minds! Iron is especially important in children. It contributes to muscle function- which lets kids run, play and even walk down the halls- by carrying oxygen to muscles. 12
Quiz! What kind of iron does beef give us? Heme iron!
The Fat Factor + = Beef helps everyone stay fit. How many students have heard that eating beef or red meat will make them fat? The studies show, beef does the opposite! The protein in beef contributes to building healthy muscles with fewer calories, and those muscles zap fat! Eating beef and other protein-rich foods helps kids feel more full, and therefore consume fewer calories. Teacher notes study source BOLD Diet Study 14
Heart Healthy Beef Beef keeps me strong & healthy! In addition, the fat that is in lean beef is half monounsaturated fat, which increases good cholesterol in your body and makes your heart healthy! 15
Quiz! What is one nutrient that you get from beef? Zinc, Iron, Protein, B-Vitamins and more!
Ways to eat Beef Another great thing about beef is that it is never boring! There are 29 different cuts of beef- including lean hamburger!- that the US Department of Agriculture classifies as lean, and many ways to prepare each of those. Check it out! 17
Beefy Meals Breakfast: Steak and Eggs Hamburger Scramble Lunch French Dip Sandwich Tacos with Ground Beef Dinner Steak Roast Beef with Vegetables Stew
Beef Powers your brain Provides energy for your body Keeps you strong Beef Tastes Great and Is Good For You Too! What have we learned about beef today? Firstly that beef is an important protein that helps your brain stay strong. Beef is a good source of energy for your body and keeps you strong the longest of any protein because it is the most nutritious source of protein. 19
Brought to you by the Idaho Beef Council
Outside Resources for Lesson Lower Elementary Ask students what does a car run on? Relate that just like cars run on fuel, humans need fuel too in the form of food. Beef is one of the best fuels for the human body because of how nutritious it is. Ask students where they think different things come from: like milk, or hamburgers and then talk about the farm source. Upper Elementary Classroom activity sheet My Pyramid & My Plate Exercises Talk about the process of where a cheeseburger comes from (ie. produce from farms, bun from wheat from farms, cheese from dairy cows and beef from cattle)