An Apple a Day LEVELED BOOK • R

An Apple
A Reading A–Z Level R Leveled Book
Word Count: 1,055

a Day

Written by Katherine Scraper

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An Apple calorie
Words to Know
nutrition

a Day carbohydrates
fat
minerals
proteins
supplements
vitamins
nutrient
Photo Credits:
Front cover: © iStock.com/FatCamera; back cover, title page, pages 6 (top
right, bottom left), 8 (top right), 12 (top, top right, center left) 13 (top, top center):
© Comstock Images; page 4: © iStock.com/golero; page 5: © Dmytro/123RF;
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top left, center), 13 (bottom center): © Digital Stock Corporation; pages 7
(top), 8 (top left), 12 (bottom right), 18 (top left, center left, center right, bottom
right): © ArtToday; pages 7 (bottom), 8 (bottom): © Artville; page 9 (both):
© Jupiterimages Corporation; page 10: © Jeff Porter/MediaNews Group/
Boston Herald/Getty Images; page 11 (top): © iStock.com/OJO Images; page 11
(bottom): © iStock.com/Spotmatik; page 13 (bottom): © Roger Mcclean/
Dreamstime.com; pages 14, 15, 16 (both): © Learning A-Z, Inc.; page 17: © Ronnie
Kaufman/DigitalVision/Getty Images; page 18 (top right): © Kevin Dodge/The
Image Bank/Getty Images; page 18 (bottom left): © iStock.com /jarenwicklund

Written by Katherine Scraper An Apple a Day

Level R Leveled Book Correlation
© Learning A–Z LEVEL R
Written by Katherine Scraper
Fountas & Pinnell N
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 30
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DRA 30
 Table of Contents
A Snack, Anyone? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Nutrients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

   What Is a Protein? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

   What Is a Carbohydrate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

   What Is a Fat? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

   Vitamins, Minerals, and Water . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Snack, Anyone?

Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 If you lived in prehistoric times, a snack
Smart Eating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 might have meant nuts and seeds that you
found in the forest. You might have picked
Nutrition Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 wild berries and mushrooms. You might
Healthy Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 even have found a tasty insect to munch on.

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Now many people get food from cupboards,

refrigerators, or even vending machines. They
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 might grab fruit, bread, cheese, or even soda and
candy. Because there are so many choices, the
study of food—nutrition—is more important
than ever.

An Apple a Day • Level R 3 4

 i s ! What Is a Protein?
h
yT
How many Proteins make up the building
Tr meals might you
eat in your life?
blocks of your body, helping build
and repair cells. Proteins are
1 Use a calculator. especially important for strong
2 Multiply: muscles. Foods that contain
3 meals a day protein include meat, fish, eggs,
   times dairy products, beans, nuts,
365 days a year and some grains.
   times
90 years
Wow!
That’s a lot!

Nutrients
A nutrient is any substance your body
needs to live, stay healthy, and grow. All of
the nutrients you need come from the foods
you eat and liquids you drink. This is why
it is very important to eat foods that contain
the right kinds of nutrients. On the next few
pages, you will find out about different kinds
of nutrients, what they do for your body, and
what foods you can eat to get them.

An Apple a Day • Level R 5 6

What Is a Carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates are the nutrients your body
uses to make energy. Some carbohydrates are
especially good for you because they give you
energy over a long period of time. These are
found in foods such as vegetables, many fruits,
oatmeal, whole grains, and whole-grain bread.
Other carbohydrates, called sugars, create an What Is a Fat?
energy flood followed by an energy crash, Another nutrient your body needs is fat. Fats
which is stressful to have gotten a bad rap, but they are essential for
your body. These building cells, absorbing certain vitamins, and
carbohydrates include storing extra energy. Fats occur as animal fats
the sweet sugars in in meat and cheese, and vegetable fats in olive
candy and the starches oil, nuts, and seeds.
in cakes, cookies, white
Some fats are better for you than others.
potatoes, bagels, and
Vegetable fats from nuts and seeds are better
many breads.
than animal fats from meat and butter. Fats
called trans fats are processed fats in pre-made
Do You Know?
Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which the body doesn’t
foods such as snacks, cheese products, fried
make enough insulin to manage the amount of sugar in the foods, and desserts. They are often called
blood. A history of diabetes in a family can increase your “hydrogenated” or
risk of developing the disease. Poor eating habits,
including eating too many sweets, can also
“partially hydrogenated”
increase your risk. In some countries, including oils. Studies have shown
the United States, type 2 diabetes is increasing that these fats are not
at an alarming rate. French fries often are
good for the body. cooked with trans fats.

An Apple a Day • Level R 7 8

Vitamins, Minerals, and Water Calories
Other nutrients include special
A calorie is a bit of energy that you get from
chemicals called vitamins. Vitamins
food. Calories provide the fuel that allows our
help control how your cells use
bodies to do work. It’s important to eat enough
energy, and they help your body
food each day to give your body the energy
build the chemicals it needs to see,
Vitamin it needs.
digest food, and fight diseases. supplements
The amount of calories a person needs
Your body needs nutrients called minerals
depends on many factors such as their age,
to help your bones, blood, and other parts
body type, and how physically active they are.
grow and function. Minerals also help your
For example, a professional athlete needs to
brain and nerves send signals to your body.
consume many more calories than an average
Many people get the vitamins and minerals
person. Taking in too few or too many calories
they need from pills called supplements.
over time compared to how active we are can
Water is also essential for life. It helps lead to health problems.
you digest food by carrying nutrients to all
the cells in your body.
It is found in many
foods, such as fruits,
vegetables, meats,
and even bread. But
you should also drink
six to eight glasses
of water each day.
Taking water breaks during
Marathon runners often eat high-calorie meals before or after a race
a long hike is a good idea.
to offset the calories they burn while running.

An Apple a Day • Level R 9 10

 Activities and Calories
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends
that children and teens exercise for at least sixty minutes
per day, though it doesn’t have to be all at once. Here
are some examples of how many calories a 150-pound
adult burns on average doing various activities: Smart Eating
Watching TV There are many different opinions about
43 calories per hour what foods people should eat to be healthy.
Cleaning the house But many people agree that certain
115 calories per hour foods are good for your health, and
Playing ping pong other foods are not as good. Every
171 calories per hour day, be sure to eat protein, complex
Bicycling carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lots
174 calories per hour
of colorful vegetables and fruits.
Walking Eating a balanced diet is a good
198 calories per hour
way to stay healthy.
Washing a car
193 calories per hour Get to know which kinds of foods
Swimming you enjoy from each of these groups. Try
288 calories per hour different kinds of proteins, grains, vegetables,
Playing basketball and fruits to learn which ones you
450 calories per hour like best. And remember that if
Jogging a snack food comes ready to eat
654 calories per hour from a bag or box you probably
shouldn’t eat too much of it.

An Apple a Day • Level R 11 12

 PROTEIN
pepper pineapple
Eat more: fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, lean crust sausage
meat (without much fat), low-fat dairy
Eat less: meat with lots of fat or with
breading; fried and deep-fried meats; highly
processed meats like lunchmeat; high-fat dairy

CARBOHYDRATES
Eat more: colorful vegetables and fruit,
oatmeal, brown rice, whole grains,
whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta
Eat less: sugar, white bread, cakes,
white potatoes, white flour pasta

FATS
tomato
Eat more: nuts, most vegetable oils, fish oil
mozzarella sauce
Eat less: saturated fat (the fat mushroom
cheese walnut
in meat and dairy products) onion
Avoid: trans fats (found in processed foods)

WATER Some recipes contain foods from each of

the main food groups. Can you match each
Drink a lot!
food above to the right group?

Mmmm . . . tasty!

An Apple a Day • Level R 13 14

 Nutrition Facts The calories are listed
below the serving size. This
Look at a box of cereal, a granola bar
jar of sauce has 70 calories in
wrapper, or a bottle of juice. You will
one serving.
probably see a chart like the one below called
the nutrition facts. The nutrition facts tell you The nutrients are listed
what kinds of nutrients are in the food. under the heading “Amount
Per Serving.” The nutrition
The first lines of the nutrition facts tell you
facts divide fats into saturated
the serving size, or how much of the food you
and unsaturated, and they
should eat at one meal
divide carbohydrates into
or snack. It might
sugars and fibers. Saturated
surprise you to see that
fats and sugars are less
a container, such as a
healthy than unsaturated
bag of chips or bottle
Nutrition facts fats and fibers.
of soda, contains two
or more servings. Most nutrition
When you eat or drink facts also list all of the
the whole container, ingredients in order
you are getting two from most to least.
servings, with double For instance, this jar of
the calories and sauce is made mostly
nutrients. of tomato puree and
tomatoes, and has just
a little lemon juice.
List of ingredients
How many grams of fat does
this tomato sauce have?

An Apple a Day • Level R 15 16

 Healthy Habits
Right now, the caring adults in your life
probably make many of your food choices.
You may have someone in your life who
prepares your breakfast and dinner. You may
eat lunch in the school cafeteria. Even your
soccer coach or your scout leader may provide
refreshments for your practices and meetings.

Food, water, and exercise: keys to good health

As you get older, you will have more and

more chances to select what you eat. Knowing
about the types of nutrients will help you
stay healthy. You will also need to think about
calories. Begin to follow healthy habits now.
Eat well, exercise, and drink plenty of water.
Adults can help you plan meals and snacks. Food can feed your health and happiness!

An Apple a Day • Level R 17 18

 i s ! Glossary
h
yT
◆◆Smart Eating calorie (n.) unit that measures how much
Tr You can use the Smart Eating section energy is in food (p. 10)
of this book to plan your meals for a day. Be carbohydrates nutrients your body uses as fuel
sure to include healthy foods from each of the (n.) (p. 7)
three main food groups. If you eat something fat (n.) nutrient your body uses as fuel,
from a not-so-healthy list, try to eat something building material, and to store
healthy at the same meal, or have another meal extra calories (p. 8)
during the day that includes healthier foods. minerals (n.) chemicals your body uses for many
And remember to eat a good breakfast each purposes; your body only needs
morning. You’ll have energy all day, and you’ll small amounts of minerals (p. 9)
do better in school.
nutrient (n.) any substance your body needs to
live, stay healthy, and grow (p. 5)
Breakfast
nutrition (n.) the study of foods and how your
body uses them (p. 4)

Morning Snack proteins (n.) nutrients your body uses as

building material and fuel (p. 6)
Lunch
supplements (n.) non-food substances that provide
nutrients (p. 9)
vitamins (n.) chemicals your body uses to
Afternoon Snack
maintain health (p. 8)
Dinner
Index
carbohydrates, 7, 12, 13, 16 proteins, 6, 12, 13
Bedtime Snack fats, 8, 12, 13, 16 sugar(s), 7, 13, 16
minerals, 9 vitamins, 8, 9

An Apple a Day • Level R 19 20