Here are some of the highlights from todays Food Detectives Food Fair. I know I was complaining a little last post about the work this entailed but it is always worth it when you see the kids eating celery and carrots like it was candy!
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| My husband "Chef Nick" came and did a vegetable tasting. He taught them all about vitamins and minerals in veggies. |
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| A nutritionist from our local college came to teach kids about sugar and nutritional content in drinks. |
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| We learned how to read food labels and how to evaluate sugar and nutrition content with the nutritionist. |
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| My station! Fruit and Veg Heads. Kids made art to remind them to eat at least 3 veggies and 2 fruits a day. |
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| Fruit and Veg heads in action! |
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| Our local farm showed kids foods "Grown in Connecticut." |
My husband "Chef Nick's" station was also very popular. I've never seen kids so into pumpkin, spaghetti squash, celery, cranberries and carrots. One kid put the cooked cranberries in his mouth and spit it out. . . "ewwww." That was it for the cranberries! No one would try them until. . . "yum these are awesome!" One kid loved them told his friend and within an hour we were wiped out of cranberries! The kids were begging for more! It went the same way for all the vegetables.
So if we can get the kids to go crazy for plain veggies imagine what we could do with a healthy dipping sauce and a little peer pressure to "eat your veggies." This is going exactly as planned. Now that the kids are on board with healthy eating we are on to the next step of our project. Jamie Oliver where are you when I need you?
And did I mention a green house? That is always my goal no matter where my job takes me! I will be happy when I see kids drawing and eating veggies they grow in their green house. Wherever that green house may be.
So to respond to my last grumpy post. What is my goal was with all of this? Here is my working model,
So to respond to my last grumpy post. What is my goal was with all of this? Here is my working model,
Eating Good = Feeling Good = Being Good
Cheers!
3 comments:
This so awesome, to plant these "seeds" in young minds.Wow! The effort was well worth the lesson I am sure.
Is the lunch room on board too?
erica, I think it is wonderful that you are doing this in your school. What a wonderful impact your efforts are having on children's lives.
We banned cupcakes and candy in our school two years ago and it took a little while to change the culture, but it happened. Our 6th grade science teacher started a school garden and we received a grant for healthy snacks. Many of our students don't have access to whole food in their homes, but they sure do scarf down the strawberries, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, etc at snack time. Initially we saw kids who had never never tasted a blueberry(that should be illegal)and then we saw kids sitting down to snack on a plate of RAW cabbage from the garden and LIKING it.
I applaud your efforts in trying to bring about this change and leading the way toward providing healthier food choices for children.
Julie: Lunch room is the next frontier. Change=work which is the part that is scaring the district I think.
Sounds like we have a similar situation. I'm so glad that your school was able to get a garden going (we are in a cold climate) I wonder what zone you are in? We are thinking we need a green house to extend the growing season into the school year. In CT the best times for harvest are summer and fall.
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