High School students in health class had the opportunity to sample freshly-made healthy smoothies in class. Health teacher Mr. Cole and Staff Development/Curriculum Coordinator Mrs. Ecklund staffed the improvised juice bar, combining fresh ingredients into some of their favorite nutritious concoctions. Just as the ingredients for each recipe were blended into delicious drinks, this particular class period blended their unit on nutrition in with a focus on mental health - including a tie-in to the self-care portion of the NYS education mandate for social-emotional learning.
As part of their nutritional unit, each student researched or created their own recipe for a smoothie. In addition to being tasty, smoothies can be nutrient-dense options for meals or snacks. In addition, they can be tailor-made to incorporate food preferences and nutritional needs. Nearly 80 recipes from students in all sections of the course were compiled into a digital recipe book.
Physical health, though, is entwined with mental and emotional health. This point was recently highlighted for Mr. Cole as he researched how students are – or are not - coping with COVID-19 life changes. As mental health was addressed in the health course, several of his classes even suggested that there be a school-wide “mental health day.” That suggestion also echoed the theme of self-care from the State’s social-emotional learning initiatives.
As a result, between strong mental health being a prominent concern that has been intensified by the pandemic, and with good nutrition being one of the ways to support mental health, Mr. Cole said, “I figured this was a good time to tie in our nutritional unit with a mental health day.”
With smoothies on the menu and the class period being deemed a mental health break, Mr. Cole was able to open the door to conversations about ways to take charge of and maintain physical, emotional, and mental health. As he noted in the student-compiled recipe book: Our health is inter-dependent on our emotional health, our physical well-being, our mental well-being, and our nutritional health. When faced with challenging situations, one might ask oneself, what choices can I make to stay healthy emotionally? Physically? Mentally? Nutritionally?
