The Cranston Public Library’s Central branch hosted a Teen Healthy Eating Challenge during April vacation week. Linda Archetto, librarian in charge of teen events, was the facilitator of the program, held on a Tuesday afternoon.

Archetto gave the students a “crash course” in healthy eating, food groups and nutrition prior to the cooking and sampling portion of the event.

Each participant received an overview of the new Myplate.gov food group standards.

“Today we’ll concentrate on fruits in our healthy snack, but we want to make sure we’re eating healthy, eating from all the food groups,” Archetto said.

She recommended tips such as avoiding large portion sizes, having fruits and vegetables take up at least half of the plate for each meal, and trying new foods, as ways of making healthy choices.

“We need to balance our diet and watch our portion sizes,” Archetto said.

She discussed some of the reasons why people might not eat many fruits and vegetables, including cost, being out of season and not being familiar with different types of produce. She introduced the students to some unique fruit options, including kiwi, ugli fruit, mango and papaya.

Archetto and the students discussed exercise and the types of recreation they could engage in, including sports teams, walking outside, riding bikes and playing active games on Wii game systems.

“Exercise gives you energy and strengthens your muscles,” Archetto said.

She also encouraged the group to drink plenty of water and discussed nutrients to be sure to include in their food choices such as Iron, Vitamin C and Calcium, and also where to find those nutrients.

“You’re going to be making more of your own food choices, cooking more on your own, and eating out more. You need to make good food choices,” she said.

Before cooking with the teens, Archetto gave them copies of recipes for healthy desserts, including a healthy apple parfait and a healthy banana split, and a copy of “What’s Cooking @ your library,” which is a teen book listing of cookbooks for teens and books about food, nutrition and eating disorders.

For the last portion of the event, Archetto led the participants in creating their own healthy fruit trifles, which were made using a variety of fresh fruits like strawberries, blackberries, apples, pineapple and yogurt. The students could create their own trifles by layering the fruits and toppings as they wished.