Community Cafe – Foods for Brain Health & Development
The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington hosted their fourth Community Cafe about the connections between healthy eating and brain development in children on May 7, 2025 at LiveWell.
The goals were to:
- Learn about brain development in young children and the role that nutrition plays.
- Discuss issues around getting your children to eat healthy foods.
- Sample and learn how to prepare brain-healthy foods with LiveWell’s executive chef, Sam Johnson.
Erica DeFrancesco, LiveWell’s Director of Community Education talked about how 40% of dementias are preventable via modifiable risk factors, including diet, exercise and addressing hearing loss. She also invited everyone to attend cooking classes, intergenerational programs or other special activities at the LiveWell campus.
Diane Decker, LiveWell’s dietitian, shared information from these tables from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025:
- Table A1-2, Daily Nutritional Goals, Ages 2 and Older
- Table A2-2, Estimated Calorie Needs by Day, by Age, Sex and Physical Activity, Ages 2 and Older
- Table A3-2, Health U.S.-Style Dietary Patter for Ages 2 and Older, With Daily or Weekly Amounts from Food Groups…
The number of calories a child needs varies greatly over their lifetime and how active they are. Fruit juices and sugary beverages should be limited, encourage water instead.
Sam Johnson, LiveWell’s executive chef, asked everyone to complete this healthy eating assessment, first for themselves and then, using a different color pen, for what they feed their children. We discussed why the attendee’s results were difference and what kids like to eat and why. Some children prefer that their food is consistent which is why boxed macaroni and cheese is a favorite. Individuals have preferences around food temperature, texture and level of salt or spice and learning what preferences our children prefer can be helpful when introducing them to new foods.
Children as young as two to five can start assisting with simple tasks like stirring, pouring, rinsing, and decorating. Here are other suggestions for getting children involved in the kitchen.
Chef Sam demonstrated how to make and then fed us these items:
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Sweet Potato – just two ingredients plus spices and optional bread crumbs. The kids can help shape into them patties or use cookie cutters to make their favorite shapes.
- Chef Sam’s Mac and “Cheese” with butternut squash – which looked like the kind out of the box
- Pad Thai – rice noodles, assorted veggies thinly sliced and optional peanut sauce – based on Sam’s love of packaged Ramin noodles
One of the ECCS Parent Ambassadors, Betsy shared the handouts below as a discussion point while we ate.
- Healthy Plate Rule
- What Should My Plate Look Like activity to do with children
- Meal planning calendar
Jessica, the ECCS’s other Parent Ambassador, shared her family’s story of changing their diets to address issues caused by gluten and artificial dyes.
These articles were also shared:
- You are what you eat: Diet may affect your mood and brain function | UCLA Health
- How to Get Your Child to Eat More Fruits & Veggies – HealthyChildren.org
- Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate – The Nutrition Source
Thank you to Betsy and Jessica, for organizing this event and to Erica, Diane and Chef Sam at LiveWell for sharing their knowledge and hosting us in their new test kitchen.
This free event was funded by a grant from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood as administered by the Connecticut Children’s Collective (CTCC).
