Girl Scout Nutrition Beyond the Cookies

This evening I had the honor and pleasure of leading a troop of Girl Scouts to their "Eating For Beauty" badge. The name would have you conjuring up old wives' tales about what foods cause pimples, but the requirements were surprisingly complex. To earn their badge, the girls had to understand how food affects their skin, stress, sleep, energy, and general health. I posed questions to the group on an array of topics including carbohydrates, antioxidants, caffeine, and label-reading. The responses ranged from the adorable, "Does snow count as a white food?" to clearly pronouncing "aspartame" when asked what diet soft drinks contain. Overall, I was highly impressed with the knowledge, enthusiasm, and kindness exhibited by these middle school girls. Dare I say, we may even have some future dietitians in the group!