Nutrition Activities, Games & Facts for Kids

This article was written with help from AI and edited by Thrive Market’s talented team of human writers.

Proper nutrition is essential for children’s growth, development, and overall health. To make this topic fun, engaging—and extra delicious—here are some tips, games, and interactive ways you can help kids develop healthy habits that last for a lifetime. 

Fun Nutrition Activities for Kids

Educational nutrition games can help make these ideas more exciting and encourage kids to choose nutritious foods and wholesome snacks as they grow. 

Make a Healthy Plate

This activity teaches kids about balanced meals using the USDA MyPlate model.

• Provide kids with cutouts of different food items (vegetables, fruits, proteins, grains, and dairy).
• Have them arrange the items on a paper plate according to the MyPlate guidelines.
• Discuss the importance of each food group and why a balanced meal is essential.

Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

A great way to teach kids about healthy food choices is by making grocery shopping fun.

• Create a checklist of nutritious foods such as “Find a red fruit” or “Pick a whole grain item.”
• Let kids search for these foods in the grocery store or at home.
• Reward them with a fun sticker or a snack of their choosing when they complete the list.

Smoothie Creation Challenge

Encourage kids to mix different fruits, vegetables, and dairy or non-dairy alternatives to create delicious smoothies.

• Provide various ingredients such as bananas, spinach, berries, and yogurt.
• Let them experiment with flavors and colors while discussing the benefits of each ingredient.

Rainbow Food Chart

Encourage kids to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

• Create a chart with different colors of the rainbow.
• Each time they eat a fruit or vegetable of a certain color, they mark it on the chart.
• Set a goal for them to eat all colors by the end of the week.

Exciting Food & Nutrition Games for Kids

Food Group Sorting Game

• Prepare flashcards with different foods.
• Have kids sort them into the correct food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy).
• Discuss why each food belongs in its category and how it helps the body.

Nutrition Bingo

• Create bingo cards with pictures of ingredients.
• Call out different foods, and kids mark them on their cards.
• The first one to complete a row wins a small healthy prize.

Taste Test Challenge

• Blindfold kids and have them taste different foods like carrots, apples, or whole-grain crackers.
• Have them guess the food and describe its taste and texture..

Meal Planning Puzzle

• Cut out pictures of different foods from magazines.
• Have kids create a meal by pasting foods onto a blank plate.
• Discuss why their choices make a balanced meal.

Nutrition Facts for Kids

• Apples are made up of 25 percent air, which is why they float in water.
• Bananas are berries! Botanically speaking, a berry must have three distinct fleshy layers, which is why bananas fall into this category. 
• Watermelons are 92 percent water, making them a delicious and hydrating snack on hot summer days.
• Every cranberry contains four air pockets, which is why they float when farmers flood bogs to harvest them. 
• The color of an orange’s skin depends on where it’s grown. In regions where the temperature isn’t cold enough for the skin to turn orange, they stay green or yellow, even when ripe.
• Tomatoes are technically fruits, not vegetables, because they develop from the flower of the tomato plant and contain seeds.
• Peas are one of the oldest cultivated crops. They’re native to the Mediterranean and have been dated back to the Neolithic period. 
• Green, yellow, orange, and red bell peppers are all the same vegetable at different stages of ripeness. As they ripen, they change in color and sweetness.
• Broccoli was developed by breeding certain types of wild cabbage and was cultivated in Italy during Roman times.
• Cucumbers are about 95% water, making them a refreshing and hydrating snack.