At Home – Step 3 of 4

1. Disaster Food Supply
2. No Heat Food
3. Calories Count

First, Read the Information You Need:

Calories are a unit of energy. As far as food goes, calories show how much energy we get from eating it.

All humans need a certain number of calories a day. It depends on how fit you are and how much physical activity you do. Male and Females need different amounts too. Use the US Department of Health and Human Services chart to find out how many each person in your family needs. Jot those numbers down because you’ll need it for your activity.

Second, Chose One Option to Complete:

Option 1: Only Pre-packaged Food

Option 2: Calculate it All

Use one day of the meals on your meal plan (just pick one day if you did the one-week meal plan) from Step 1. Look at pre-packaged food and find their Food Label.  If your meal plan didn’t have any foods with food labels, make a new day plan that uses pre-packaged food. Look at serving sizes and calorie amounts. Make sure the serving size matches the amount you normally eat. For example, a cereal box might say it has 1/2 Cup serving sizes, but you might eat a full Cup to fill that cereal bowl each morning. You would need to take the number of Calories shown in the ½ Cup serving size and multiply it by 2. Total up the total calories for one full day of your meal plan. Did you have enough to meet your needs? Would there enough for each member of your family’s needs?

Use one day of the meals on your meal plan (just pick one day if you did the one-week meal plan) from Step 1. Think of all the ingredients that go into all the meals.  Some may have pre-packaged labels, some will be from fresh ingredients. Either way, we need to know the serving sizes and calorie amounts. Look at pre-packaged food and find their Food Label. Look up the fresh ingredients on WebMD’s Food Calculator. Make sure the serving size matches the amount you normally eat. For example, a cereal box might say it has 1/2 Cup serving sizes, but you might eat a full Cup to fill that cereal bowl each morning. You would need to take the number of Calories shown in the ½ Cup serving size and multiply it by 2. Total up the total calories for one full day of your meal plan. Did you have enough to meet your needs? Would there enough for each member of your family’s needs?

Congrats!

Juniors stop here. You’ve earned the Food Rocker!

Cadettes, Seniors, Ambassadors, and Adults, go Step 4!

Return to Food Rocker Step 2 page.

Return to Be Prepared, Not Scared main page.