“I thought of this dish because it has a lot of Alaska elements in it, like the blueberries I eat off the bush in summer while hiking, and the halibut we catch while boating. The rest of the components seemed to blend in perfectly with the dish. The tartness of the blueberries goes amazing with the halibut and crunch of the lettuce. I decided to pair this dish with a smoothie, because I’ve seen school lunches served with chocolate milk with so much sugar, and I thought a nice refreshing healthy smoothie made with fruits and a vegetable would be the perfect thing to wash down this meal.”  - Denali Schijvens, Age 9, the 2016 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from Alaska

  “In American Samoa, we eat taro and breadfruit as our starch. We eat it with coconut cream and other food. My recipe has taro and breadfruit, two local foods found in the Pacific. We also have lots of coconut trees and coconut cream. It tastes great together.” - Amelie Chen, Age 9, the 2016 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from American Samoa      

“Lily is small in stature, but big in heart and cooking is a place where she feels especially skilled,” says Lily’s mom, Catherine. “She loves southern cuisine, but enjoys experimenting with recipes from around the world. Lily and I are able to bike to a farmers market every Saturday. Rice and soybeans are huge crops in Arkansas, so Lily decided to showcase these two things in her recipe. She also wanted to feature watermelon in her dish. Lily makes this recipe on the weekends so she can take it to school for lunch.” - Lily Radtke, Age 11, is the 2016 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from Arkansas.

“Every year since I was 4 years old, I have helped my dad at the Rotary Peach Festival. We help sell Palisade peaches, which grow in the foothills of the Rockies. I learned how to make grilled peaches from my Dad who grills a lot. The curried chicken recipe was created because I wanted to make an Indian dish. My friend's mom is Indian and teaches cooking classes that include lots of curry and cumin, which are native to India. She has inspired me to experiment while cooking. These two foods complement each other and make for a delicious Summer lunch.” - Hannah Skalicky, Age 10, the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from Colorado

“Jamal's maternal grandparents are Jamaican and the Caribbean flavors are a normal part of our food,” says Jamal’s mom, Kathy. “He also loves tacos, but the shells can be high in sodium. Jamal found a way to significantly lower the sodium of his favorite dish by using the blue corn tortilla chips and because the dish is open, he adds even more vegetables and beans. Jamal already had a high blood pressure reading and we have a very strong family history of high blood pressure and diabetes on both sides. Jamal is very aware of the health concerns of his family and ethnicity. If he can make his food healthier, then he believes he'll live a more active life where he can keep doing all the fun things he loves to do.” Jamal likes to serve this dish with a fruit salad. - Jamal Bin-Yusif, Age 11, is the 2016 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from Delaware.

“Jackson heard that a classmate cooks once a week for her family and wanted to try cooking for us,” says Jackson’s mom, Nour. “He loves his dad's traditional spaghetti with sausage but wanted to try to make his own with more of a meat sauce. Since we try not to eat pasta often, we decided to make this with spaghetti squash instead. He added his favorite veggies, which include mushrooms, carrots, and our local staple, Vidalia onions, to a basic Bolognese sauce and substituted ground turkey for beef.” Jackson serves this with whole-wheat toast drizzled with olive oil, and mango for dessert. - Jackson Kelly, Age 8, is the 2016 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge winner from Georgia.