The following activity ideas are excerpted from the new book, MyPlate for Everyone, which is coming soon from Food and Health Communications!

The 5 Mistakes of Label Reading sum up the 5 most common mistakes made when shopping for packaged foods in the grocery store. How many times do people ignore Nutrition Facts Labels, choose packages and bottles that look like one serving but are really more, buy items that contain way too much sodium, or imagine they can munch all day on lowfat or sugar free items?

Did you know that clementines are a variety of mandarin orange? They're rather tiny, quite easy to peel, and even the segments come apart smoothly. When these tasty winter fruits are in season, they are a great deal when purchased by the box. You can usually get around 25-30 of these little fruits for anywhere between $3.99 to $7.99 per box. That's about .25 cents each, which is less than the price of a candy bar! One clementine has just 35 calories and it contains 60% of your daily supply of vitamin C. It is every bit as filling as a handful of chips, which ring in at 140 calories, or candy bars, which generally have 200-300 calories!

Remember the Flavor Exploration series from 2014? In that collection, we took an in-depth look at amazing flavor powerhouses, examining their nutrient content, impact on health, history, and culinary uses. Now it's time to do the same thing with MyPlate's subgroups, starting with vegetables.

Summer is here, which means that many kinds of produce are at the very peak of their season. So how can you best celebrate the joys of summer fruit? Check out these 7 remarkable and healthy fruit desserts. They're cold, refreshing, and totally delicious.

How do they calculate the calories on food labels and what does it mean for the consumer

We've all heard about the importance of eating from the rainbow to get a variety of foods and nutrients. In fact, we've probably already taught this concept to our clients. But now it's time for a refresher -- a new way to make eating from the rainbow both fun and possible...

Here is our latest creation with fresh fruit ready to share!

It's that special time again! What time? Why time for the next installment of the MyPlate Exploration Series! Today we're going to take a closer look at the starchy vegetable subgroup of MyPlate.

Have you ever wondered if you're cooking vegetables well? I've devised a simple approach that makes determining cooking time and methods a snap! Check out this post for the secret, and don't miss the free infographic!

Fall officially begins in just a few days! Are you ready for the shift in seasons?

The appearance of food is not always a good indicator of its actual portion and content. That's why food awareness is so important -- it allows people to make informed and healthful choices when it comes to their meals. Food awareness can be hard to build, however, and misunderstandings about the contents of a plate are often a partial cause of calorie overconsumption. That can stop today. Help your clients build food awareness with these three hands-on activities...

Enrico Forte, an Italian dietitian, has joined us today to talk about the many benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Stop by again on Thursday for a roundup of our favorite Mediterranean recipes!

Did you know that MyPlate has tons of resources for pregnant and breastfeeding moms? To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7), we took a closer look at just what MyPlate has to offer for pregnant and breastfeeding moms...

Children, activity, and diet are all discussed from a parent’s point of view.

Here's the next installment of the questions and answers series. What do you know about fat?

Let's talk about the nutrition world's most controversial macronutrient...

My son loves breadsticks, especially the ones from Domino's pizza. I am not so keen on the pizza place's variety because they are higher in fat, sodium and cost compared to ones I can make at home and they are not whole grain. Here is a recipe that is very easy to make and yields great results that are kid tested! These were the hit of a spring break pool party the other night here with teenage boys.

Recently, we wrote an interactive shopping presentation that featured a few different shopping apps, including Fooducate. It was an illuminating experience, and so we thought we'd take a moment to share what we learned with you...