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Celebrate Heart Health with the CACFP
February 19th, 2025Brianna Tobritzhofer, MS, RD, LD, Nutrition Manager
February is an exciting month for those on the CACFP! Not only are we celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14, it’s also American Heart Month.
According to the National Institute of Health, over 16 million Americans 20 years of age and older are diagnosed with heart disease. Prevention of heart disease starts in childhood, which is where the CACFP can have a major impact.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can promote and celebrate heart health in your child care through foods and fun activities.
According to the National Institute of Health, over 16 million Americans 20 years of age and older are diagnosed with heart disease. Prevention of heart disease starts in childhood, which is where the CACFP can have a major impact.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can promote and celebrate heart health in your child care through foods and fun activities.
How the CACFP Promotes Heart Health
The CACFP nutrition regulations are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are science-based recommendations that provide guidance on what to eat and drink to promote overall health and prevent chronic diseases.
Every 5 years, the Dietary Guidelines are updated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Some key areas that the Dietary Guidelines focus on include healthy eating patterns, nutrient recommendations, portion sizes, food and beverage choices, and physical activity.
CACFP meal patterns focus on the following foods that are heart healthy according to the Dietary Guidelines:
Fruit and Vegetables: A key meal component of the CACFP meal pattern, fruits and veggies are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Whole Grains: The CACFP requires one serving of whole grains per day, which is great for heart health because whole grains are packed with fiber. Some tasty whole grain options include whole wheat bread, brown rice, and oats.
Limited Added Sugar: Too much added sugar over time can be detrimental for heart health. CACFP strives to limit the amount of added sugar children eat with sugar limits on cereal and yogurt. Additionally, grain-based desserts like donuts, cookies, and cake, as well as fruit juice with sugar added are not allowed on the food program, further limiting the amount of sugar that kids eat.
Lean Proteins: CACFP promotes lean protein sources, such as poultry, fish, beans, and nuts which provide essential nutrients for growth and development while being lower in unhealthy fats. This may help reduce the amount of saturated fats that kids eat, which can help manage risk factors for developing heart disease in the future.
Heart-Healthy Activities for Child Care
Food plays a big role in heart health, but there are lots of non-food related ways that you can promote heart health in kids, too!
Get Active
It goes without saying that physical activity is good for kids for many reasons. Regular movement is crucial for heart health, so make sure that the kids in your care are getting plenty of it at daycare.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children 3 to 5 years of age need to be active throughout the day, with no specific recommendation on the amount of time. On the other hand, it is recommended for children 6 years of age and older to be active for at least 60 minutes every day.
Some options for physical activity at daycare include:
Outdoor Play, when the weather allows! Exploring the playground and climbing equipment are great ways for kids to get exercise.
Classic Games like hopscotch, follow the leader, and hide and seek.
Dance Parties are an option for encouraging active play indoors.
Jumping Games like jump rope are fun for kids and help them get their energy out.
Heart Crafts and Science Experiments
Get kids thinking about their heart in creative ways by doing heart-related crafts and science experiments. These are all fun to do for Valentine’s Day, but you can really do them all month (or all year) long!
Rest Time
Although it may not seem like it sometimes, kids need rest too! It’s important to work rest time into their day-to-day routine and instill good stress management practices early on.
Keeping stress levels under control can help prevent kids from developing heart-related conditions like high blood pressure later on in life. “Rest” will look different for each child depending on their temperament and age. For some, this may look like taking a nap mid-day and for others, it is as simple as giving them 5-10 minutes of quiet time to unwind.
Kid-Friendly CACFP Recipes to Celebrate Heart Health
Explore heart health with the kid-friendly recipes below. Not only are these all made with heart-healthy ingredients, but some of them are “heart-themed” with festive colors.
Frozen Strawberries with Yogurt
These are a delicious heart-healthy snack that credits toward the fruit and meat/meat alternate components at snack. All you need is 4 cups of strawberries and 1 ½ cups of Greek yogurt (any flavor)—slice the strawberries in half, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze for 2 hours. Then, coat each frozen strawberry half with the yogurt, using a spoon to dip them.
Sweet Strawberry Pudding
Another strawberry-themed snack that covers two meal components. You could also increase the portions and serve this at breakfast!
Valentine’s Day Fruit Kebabs
Combine heart-healthy eating with craft time by making these “Cupid’s Arrow” fruit kabobs! All you need is fruit, short bamboo skewers, and small heart-shaped cookie cutters.
You can make these with any type of fruit, but it works best with sturdy fruits like watermelon, apples, or pears. Serve with yogurt or cottage cheese for a complete snack, or serve as the fruit component with breakfast or lunch.
Conversation Cuties
Skip paper Valentines this year and incorporate them into food instead! We love the idea of Conversation Cuties because you can serve them as the fruit component AND encourage socialization among the kids in your care. You can write your own sweet messages on the clementines, or make it a fun activity for the children.
Heart-Shaped Valentine Vegetable Pizza
You can’t go wrong with veggie pizza, especially if it’s heart-shaped. Just make sure the dough you use for the pizza crust is whole grain or enriched.
Beet Hummus
Get creative with hummus by using beets to make it pink and Valentines Day themed. Homemade hummus is a delicious meat/meat alternate pairing for veggies, and it also has a variety of heart-healthy properties.
Takeaway
Our providers are the HEART of CACFP! Thank you for all you do to offer nutritious, heart healthy foods in your childcare. CACFP is a stepping stone to lifelong habits that can reduce the risk of heart disease later in life. By coupling heart healthy foods with physical activities and education, you are making a major impact in children’s lives and overall health.