Chapter 8
Food We Eat
My favourite food
DRAW
Draw pictures of your favourite homemade food dishes
and name them.
ACTIVITY 1
Share your reasons for why
you like the food items you
have drawn.
We all like to eat and drink
different things. Some of these
food items are sweet, some are
sour, some are spicy and some
are bitter. We eat fruits, we eat
vegetables and we eat rice, dal
or roti. We drink milk, lassi or
juice. Have you wondered why
we eat and drink?
Chhappan bhog is special food prepared on festivals and auspicious occasions in honour of guests, friends, and family. It contains 56 varieties of food items representing a harmonious blend of six tastes: sweet (meetha), spicy (teekha), astringent (kasaila), sour (khatta), salty (namkeen) and bitter (karva)
Talk to the elders in your family and discuss in the
class: Why do we need to eat and drink?
Story of Shirin — the Runner
Shirin was in class 3. She used to run very fast.
She ran faster than everyone in the class. One day,
during a sports event in the school, Shirin met a
runner who was a champion and had won many
medals. Shirin asked the champion, “How can I
run like you and win medals?”
Note to the teacher Ask children about their favourite food items. Write the names
of these food items on the board and encourage the children to
speak about them.
The champion told Shirin that she
could also become a champion if she
practised a lot and ate healthy food.
Shirin said, “I practise a lot, but I often
fall sick.” The champion asked, “What
do you eat?” Shirin said,
“I like only rice and potatoes.”
The champion laughed and said,
“Shirin, it is good that you eat rice
and potatoes, but you must eat a
lot of other things as well, to have
a strong and healthy body.”
“Eat different kinds of vegetables and fruits.
Eat things made from different kinds of grains, like
rice, ragi, jowar, wheat, bajra and many others. Eat
pulses (dal) and nuts. It is always good to eat food cooked at home.”
Shirin followed the champion’s advice. She
practised harder and started eating a variety of
food items cooked at home. She understood the value of a balanced diet. After a few months, she
could run faster than before. She felt energetic and
healthy. Recently, she won a medal for her school in a running event.
DISCUSS
Why do we need to eat healthy food?
ACTIVITY 2
Tick the food items you eat regularly from the pictures
given below.
Which foods above do you think should be part of a balanced diet?
We eat different things
Elders in our family cook different foods during
summer and winter. When it is hot, we love to
eat kulfi or ice-cream and drink tender coconut
water. In winter, we eat warm food, soups and stew
and enjoy hot drinks. We get different fruits and
vegetables in different seasons. We get mangoes
and melons in the summer and plenty of apples in
the winter.
Make a list of fruits and vegetables available
and special food items that are prepared in the
summer and in the winter.
In different parts of our country, people eat a
variety of delicious foods. Are there some dishes
that you have heard about but have not tasted yet?
You, your friends or family members may have
travelled to different places and found different
types of foods eaten there. Someone you know may
be staying in another part of the country and eating
some food items different from what you eat. Find
out the names of these foods and discuss them with
your friends.
During the summer, the weather is hot. We
sweat a lot. When we sweat, we lose water from our
body. That is why, in the summer we drink more
water, buttermilk, nimbu pani (lime water), aam
panna, sugarcane juice or tender coconut water.
We also sweat when we play or do any physical
activity. We should drink water frequently.
How often do you drink water?
Our body needs a lot of water. We cannot live
without water. That is why we often say, ‘water
is life’.
Where does food come from?
- Do you know which foods are grown in the fields?
Write a few names of such crops.
- Discuss and write down in what form some of these
foods are cooked.
We eat different parts of plants. Some examples are
given below. Put a tick () against the items that you eat.
Some people also eat things that are taken from
animals, such as milk, curd, ghee, cheese, paneer, honey,
eggs and meat .
Puzzle time
Two of our most commonly used ingredients are neither
obtained from plants nor from animals. Name at least one
of these ingredients.
Would you share your food with your friend if your
friend does not bring lunch ?
Let us reflect
A. Discuss
1. Why do we need different kinds of food?
2. Why do we eat seasonal foods?
3. How can you tell if a food is healthy or unhealthy?
4. Why is it important to avoid wasting food? Can you
think of some ways to reduce food waste at home?
B. Write
1. List the fruits and vegetables eaten in your family.
2. Write the recipe of your favourite dish.
3. Write a name of a food item that includes both
plant and animal based ingredients. For example,
lassi includes yogurt/curd which is prepared from
milk (animal based ingredient) and sugar which is
prepared from sugarcane (a plant based ingredient) .
C. Draw
1. Draw three plates or thalis with various food items
in your notebook .
2. In these plates draw and label food items that you
eat in the morning, afternoon and at night.
D. Eating together
Bring any fruit to the class. Prepare a fruit chaat or
salad with the help of your teacher. Share it with your
friends .
E. Think
Imagine you suddenly have a guest visiting your home.
What kind of food would you serve them and why?