61st Street Elementary Class #4

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One of the most challenging things about getting kids to eat healthy foods is that kids already have specific foods they enjoy eating. Our students have told us again and again that their favorite foods are hamburgers and pizza–not necessarily what we wanted to hear, but we found a way to work with it!

The most unhealthy parts of a burger are the buns (so full of sodium!) and patty (beef is high in fat), so we decided to take those components out. We brought in ground turkey, cumin, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and corn for students to make their own turkey patties. We cooked the patties with a slice of Swiss cheese melted to perfection. Then, students made a side salad out of lettuce, yellow peppers, and tomatoes. Students were fantastic at carefully following preparation methods, wearing gloves when working with the raw meat and being careful not to cross-contaminate.

For many of our students, it was the first time they ever tasted ground turkey! Many of them admitted they weren’t used to eating a bun-less burger, but liked trying the new dish. All in all, it was a great class and we’re glad to see so much improvement in the classroom.

 

61st Street Elementary Class #3

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When we first started the Kids Cook with Heart Program at 61st Street Elementary School, the students were not shy about giving suggestions for dishes we could make together. Many students were excited about making quesadillas, so last Thursday, we went back with a recipe for mushroom and spinach quesadillas, fresh guacamole (with no salt added!), and a tomato cucumber stacked salad!

The class split up into different tables and each person in a table had a different task. The various tasks included slicing mushrooms, chopping up cilantro, slicing cucumbers, slicing tomatoes, mashing avocadoes, and cooking sliced mushrooms on the griddles. The students demonstrated fantastic teamwork and the end result was plenty of delicious quesadillas and salads to go around!

61st Street Elementary School Class #2

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Strawberries, oranges, kale, almond milk, and bananas. These are some of the ingredients our students at 61st Street Elementary worked with when we decided it would a great day to make some healthy smoothies. Last week, we mentioned to our students that we should all consume 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. To help our students reach that goal this week, we brought in a ton of fresh fruits and veggies so that students could get their fill right as they started out their morning. Needless to say, our students loved making and drinking the smoothies and we overheard a large handful of students exclaiming, “I’m going to make this at home now!”

Manchester Avenue Elementary School Class 1

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We have officially kicked off the Kids Cook with Heart program at Manchester Elementary School and it’s off to a great start! Our students loved the taste test and had a lot of fun smelling the fresh herbs we brought in. The students were so attentive and were taking notes of Chef Bryce’s classroom rules as well as his health discussions.

61st Street Elementary School: Class #1

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On Thursday, we had our first class at 61st Street Elementary School. Our fourth graders were so excited to begin cooking and learning more about food. They asked great questions, such as “If I’m playing soccer, what foods should I be eating?” right when we entered the classroom!

We had a fun taste and each student was able to sample some Swiss chard, mint, celery, grapes, endives, lemon, and rosemary! All our students were eager to learn what the foods were if they didn’t recognize it–particularly the rosemary. When asked to describe the taste, texture, and smell of all the foods, our students gave some fantastic answers. For rosemary, one student exclaimed that it “smells like sweet nature” and “similar to pine trees”! Another student asked what kind of dishes would benefit from a bit of rosemary–we love that our students are already thinking about possible ingredients to use when cooking. It was an extremely engaging class and we can’t wait to be back again this coming Thursday!

West Adam’s Preparatory High School Celebration Class!

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On Monday, we had our celebration class at West Adam’s Preparatory High School. We had special guests Ashley Gibbons from Whole Foods, Randy Ryan from the American Heart Association, and Kids Cook with Heart Ambassador Chef Charlene Hamilton join Chef Redd and Chef Bryce for the final class.

Students were able to choose a dish to make based on our past classes. Most of the students made our Pico de Gallo Chicken Salad or our Flank Steak Salad with Sesame Lime Dressing (we’re glad our students love salad!). As we watched them prepare the dishes, it was so obvious that their knife skills had immensely improved. They were enjoying themselves and were able to work through the recipes without much guidance.

Our guests had an equally great time and Ashley even said, “The kids are so cool, and it was fun to see how comfortable they were in a kitchen and with each other. Great work!”

West Adams Preparatory High School Class #6

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On Monday, we had our 6th Kids Cook with Heart class at West Adams Preparatory High School. We can’t believe the program is finishing up at West Adams and that next week will be our last Celebration Meal. The progress our students have made has been astounding and it clearly shows in these photos!

This week, students made a steak salad with purple cabbage, lettuce, no-sodium organic canned corn, grape tomatoes, chestnuts, scallions, and flank steak. The salad was dressed with fresh lime juice and a bit of honey, and topped with sesame seeds for a delicious dish that would give Chipotle a run for its money!

Manual Arts High School Class #4

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It was Week 4 of our Kids Cook with Heart Program at Manual Arts High School today and we decided to make a healthy and delicious turkey chili! Some reasons why our meal was so nutritious:

Ground Turkey: Leaner protein and less saturated fat than ground beef

Beans: Full of fiber (lowers cholesterol) and lean plant protein

Tomatoes: Full of Vitamin C and antioxidants

Spices: Cumin, coriander, and chili powder help flavor food without excess sodium

Chef Bryce used the demonstration time to discuss the health benefits of beans. This discussion was a great segue into heart disease and the consequences of having high cholesterol. Chef Bryce was then able to further drive home the point by using a half-inflated balloon as a visual for the fatty substance so that students could better understand how cholesterol affects our bodies!

With all the health benefits of the turkey chili we made, we were glad to hear the students say, “We taste the spices, tomatoes, garlic, and it’s good without salt added!”

We also began learning how to calculate the number of teaspoons of sugar in a sugar-sweetened beverage. Students were first asked to predict the number of teaspoons in a 20 oz. bottle of Pepsi. Nobody correctly guessed the shockingly high amount of sugar. After checking the label, we found out that there are 66 grams of sugar in a 20 oz. bottle of Pepsi (4 grams of sugar= 1 tsp.)! The American Heart Association suggests 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons a day for men. A single serving of Pepsi would already be way more than the suggested daily intake!

West Adams Preparatory High School Class #5

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We went back to West Adams Preparatory High School yesterday and students were thrilled to work with new ingredients. Since we already practiced cooking with chicken last week, we decided to bring in fish. Our dish for the day was Cajun Blackened Fish and Salsa.

We had a class discussion about the benefits of eating fish, and mentioned that fish is a great source of protein and omega 3-fatty acids. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least two times a week (each serving should be 3.5 oz cooked) to maintain a healthy diet. Students all enjoyed the flaky texture of the fish paired with the refreshing freshness of the salsa, so they shouldn’t have a problem with this suggestion!

Manual Arts High School Class #3

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We went back to Manual Arts High School last Thursday and taught students how to make a chicken salad with fresh pico de gallo. It was a great lesson that included practicing knife skills (chopping and dicing the onions  and tomatoes), cooking poultry to the correct temperature (we cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and let it rise to 165 degrees off the heat), and preventing cross-contamination.

When asked about the homework assigned last week, several students shared that their family members didn’t know their blood pressures. We used this as a starting point for a discussion about high blood pressure, the causes of it, and how to prevent it. We also got into the suggested amount of daily sodium intake and their homework for the students next week is to bring back the sodium content of any meal or snack they have eaten throughout the week.