let's move

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

The team at Monument Valley is making its contribution to a healthy community by designing a nutritious recipe that will be served to their classmates and with a bit of luck, students across the country. Our judges, score cards at the ready, could not wait to take that first bite.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

There’s a lot going on in the Church Hill North neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia! For three years, the congregation at 31^st Street Baptist Church has been growing fresh vegetables in an urban garden behind their church. More recently, they launched a healthy living campaign to encourage the congregation and the surrounding community to get active and eat more nutritious foods.

Led by Rev. Dr. Henderson, who serves as senior pastor, 31^st Street Baptist Church has acquired three city lots behind their church. The congregants have a large community garden with 24 cultivated raised beds in one of the lots. The garden provides healthy, fresh produce to a community without close access to a grocery store. The majority of the produce from the garden is used in the church’s nutrition center, which has served members of the local community for 21 years and receives some of its food via USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance (TEFAP) program.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

Located in the one of the most fertile agricultural valleys on Earth is the town of Manteca, Calif.  Surrounded by groves of almonds, cherries, olives and a host of other crops for as far as the eye can see, a group of students sought inspiration for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition  by “going local.” Our judges traveled to the valley recently to visit Joshua Cowell Elementary School in Manteca, to sample the recipe and to watch the students work their magic.

Mary Tolan-Davi (former Director of Manteca Unified School District Nutrition Services) of the recipe team is very proud.  Here is what she had to say about the day the contest judges came to visit on May 10:

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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 R4HKwhole grain category.

The team went through a serious development process, beginning in December 2010 by developing nine different recipes.  They selected their five favorites to be prepared and served to approximately 500 students during a taste test at Van Buren Middle School. Students were asked to vote for their favorite two recipes.   The team submitted the top two recipes to the Recipes for Healthy Kids competition – and this twisty pasta dish sprung them to the semifinal round.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

SECA students Adilene, Chris, Dominic, and Dolores look like they are paving a culinary future for themselves with this hit recipe.  Along with chef Todd Bolten, teacher Theresa Guthrie, and public health nurse Mary Lair, the students developed the Porcupine Sliders recipe, one of 15 semi-finalists.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

Mount Lebanon’s recipe, called Crunchy Hawaiian Chicken Wrap (entered in the ‘Dark Green and Orange Vegetables’ category), was among the 15 recipes chosen out of the 340 entries submitted, five were selected in each of three categories: whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, and dry beans and peas.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

Recipe team members at Liberty were school nutrition professional, Sharon Springer; Chef Ed Colleran, Executive Sous Chef at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.; community member Ms. Sarah Thornquest; and students Joshua, Tyler, Kimberly, Shalima, and Priscilla.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

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.

The students greeted us at the entrance of the school, dressed in professional-looking aprons embroidered with their names, and crisp, white chef hats. Four 8th-grade students - Jace, Bethany, Abraham, Amairani - along with local chef Amanda Smith, Kara Sample, RD, SNS, the administrative dietitian for Weld County School District 6, and Emily Wigington an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, developed the recipe of Chic’ Penne, one of 15 semi-finalist recipes from around the country.

For most kids, summer vacation means picnics, parks and play. But for some children, summer vacation can, unfortunately, mean going hungry. Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland understand this harsh reality and have taken steps to keep children fed during the summer months.