Healthier Schools
Connecticut Students Say, “Si, Si” to Fiesta Wrap on the Menu
It’s only natural that when the team from Charter Oak International Academy came up with their entry in the Recipes for Healthy Kids competition it would have true international flavor. The West Hartford, CT school is a magnet school with a global focus, including Spanish language instruction. Their “Fiesta Wrap” stars quinoa and black beans accompanied by vegetables, lime juice, spices and reduced fat cheddar cheese with optional toppings such as fresh tomatoes, corn salsa or fiesta sauce.
A Colorful Celebration of Confetti Soup
Historical Charleston, S.C., blends the traditional Southern American, English, French, and West African elements into a celebration of its colorful and rich culture. Burke Middle & High School in Charleston celebrated this mix of colorful culture with its semi-finalist recipe, Confetti Soup, making a history all its own through nutrition. The rich wintery soup made with black-eyed pea dots, mixed together with savory smoked ham and dashes of greens, was the center piece at a judging event in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition, held at the school on May 25.
Benvenuti a Ashville! Ira B. Jones Elementary Tempts Judges with Taste of Tuscany
Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville, N.C., is known for its rich heritage, arts, and fine dining. Recently, students from Ira B. Jones Elementary School, located in Asheville, shared a taste of another well-known region of fine dining – Tuscany – as the school’s recipe team prepared their semi-finalist recipe of Tuscan Smoked Turkey and Bean Soup for the judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.
Honoring the Past With a Recipe that Looks to a Healthy Future
Every now and then we come across a great story of people making change in their communities and so it was on the next stop in the Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. Tribal communities are focusing a lot of attention on ending the epidemic of childhood obesity in Indian Country and attention and credit is due to Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. Located on the Navajo Nation, they are the only school district in Indian Country to make it to the semi-finals of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.
Recipes for Healthy Kids Contest Ends May 31 -- Don’t Forget to Vote!
Have you cast your vote? The selection period for the Popular Choice Award in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition will close soon, so it’s time to make your voice heard. The First Lady and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the competition last September, challenging teams of school nutrition professionals, chefs, students, and community members to develop creative, nutritious, and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus - and families can try at home. And I just want to say that I think Recipes for Healthy Kids is a really neat idea. It draws on America’s culinary creativity and our commitment to the healthy lifestyle we all aim for. Chefs are providing culinary expertise, school nutrition professionals are sharing insight as to what can be accomplished in a school setting, and kids and parents are making sure that students will choose these nutritious items in school and beyond.
In Recipe Competition, Ohio School Puts a Healthy Twist on a Tasty Dish
Who says a delicious classic can’t also make a healthful lunch? On Tuesday, students at Van Buren Middle School in Kettering, Ohio served judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition their Chicken Alfredo with a Twist, an updated take on Fettucine Alfredo that leaves out extra fat and boosts nutrition with whole grain pasta. Van Buren students Graham, Jonathan, Shawnrica and Savannah worked with chef Rachel Tilford and Kettering school professionals to create a great dish – one of 15 semi-finalist recipes nationwide in the R4HK whole grain category.
The Competition Gets Prickly as Judges Head to Minnesota
I can’t tell you if there are 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, but I can tell you that there is one creative group of students, the South Education Center Alternative (SECA) in Richfield, Minn. Richfield was the next stop in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition judging round. We were eagerly anticipating the visit to SECA because their entry in the whole grains category, Porcupine Sliders, definitely caught our attention with their prickly title.
Aloha! Mount Lebanon Elementary School
You don’t have to go to Hawaii to get a taste of the islands. In fact the students at Mount Lebanon Elementary School in Pendleton, S.C. were cooking up what can only be described as a paradise for the taste buds in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. Our judges made their way down to Pendleton as the competition continued its tour across the country to find the top recipe that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus.
Kids and College Volunteers all benefit from Let’s Move! in Kansas City
A Let’s Move! event designed to keep children active and avoid obesity turned into a chance last month for college students to encourage disadvantaged high school students to stay in school.
What’s for lunch? How about a Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap?
It was off to the Sunshine State for our team of judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids contest where they joined students at Orlando’s Liberty Middle School. The competition to date has been intense as kids cooked up some delectable dishes. Liberty’s recipe, called Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap (Dark Green and Orange Vegetables), was among 15 recipes chosen to move forward in the competition from among the 340 entries submitted across five categories: whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, and dry beans and peas.
