Success Stories - Teachers & Schools
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.
Earning PALAs: the I Can Do It, You Can Do It program in Miami-Dade County
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to travel to Miami-Dade County to observe first-hand their commitment to physical activity for all. Miami-Dade and I Can Do It, You Can Do It awarded 1,253 Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) certificates to students with disabilities. I was lucky enough to be there to present the PALA certificates to the students.
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.
Recipes for Healthy Kids Advances; Judges Visit Greeley, Colo., School
On April 26, I had the pleasure of visiting Harold S. Winograd School in Greeley, Colo., to kick off the judging for the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. As I arrived at the school, I could feel the excitement, enthusiasm, and deep pride among the students and staff.
Recipes for Healthy Kids Judging Teams Begin School Visits
We’re entering the home stretch in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. Judges will be fanning out to schools across the country to watch them prepare the delicious recipes that have made it to the semi-finals. My colleague, Audrey Rowe, recently lead a team of judges to Harold S. Winograd School in Greeley, Colo., to kick off this phase of the competition, which is part of the First Lady’s effort to partner chefs with schools through her Let’s Move! initiative.
First Lady Michelle Obama Drops by a D.C. School to watch students do a Let’s Move! Flash Workout
You may have heard that the National Association of Broadcasters organized over 600 schools nationwide to perform a dance popularized by Beyonce in her video for “Move Your Body,” which encourages kids to get up and get moving. All the performances took place at 1:42 pm today. First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, DC, to check out their event, and had some fun herself. Check it out:
