A weekly school in Jefferson County (TAPP: Teenage Parenting Program) participated in the University of Kentucky’s Nutrition Education Program using the Healthy Choices for Everybody curriculum. The lesson that made the difference was called Know the Limits. The pregnant teens were eating a lot of processed foods, and drinking lots of soda, and were not getting the nutrients that were needed for their body. Know the Limits is about how we need to limit the intake of calories per day from added sugars, saturated fats and sodium to prevent obesity , heart disease, as well as other health issues.

The pregnant teens did an icebreaker called “What’s On Your Plate?” The Assistant asked the participants to think about their last meal. The Assistant gave them a paper plate, markers, and ask them to draw their meal on the plate. After the icebreaker, the Assistant taught the lesson on saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, sugar, and added sugars. The Assistant showed the pregnant teens the average American intake of sodium we take in daily, as well sodium in a pack of ramen noodles, ham, and chicken noodle soup. The Assistant also showed the pregnant teens how much fat is in a fast food cheeseburger, skim milk and whole milk. The Nutrition Assistant also showed the pregnant teens how much sugar is in a 12 oz. can of soda, 1 pop tart and 1 cup of vanilla ice cream. The Assistant forewarned the pregnant teens that if they continued to go over the limit with sodium and sugar, there could be serious complications in pregnancy, such as cause gestational diabetes or preeclampsia.

The Assistant gave out samples of the Apple Nachos recipes to the pregnant teens to taste. The Assistant informed the pregnant teens that not only are the apples a fruit, but they also have fiber and will help with bowel issues, the peanut butter and yogurt are a source of protein, milk is the dairy and the honey is an added sugar. All the pregnant teens loved the Apple Nachos and stated that they would replace their junk foods with this recipe. One pregnant teen came back to the next lesson with her apple nachos and stated “I no longer eat all those chips and candy no more, I eat more fruit with the dip from the apple nachos when I am craving something sweet.” An improvement in diet quality was also seen in the group upon their completion of the program with a 57% of participants showing improvement in drinking sugar sweetened beverages less often and 71% showing an improvement in eating vegetables more often each day and cooking dinner at home more times a week.