Kids Will Eat Kale

Today we had the pleasure to host “Snack Attack” with Chef Laura Stec at Addison Elementary School. Two classrooms attended Chef Stec’s workshop and learned about the importance of good food and healthy eating. Chef Stec opened the workshop with an introduction about herselfand how she became interested in food and cooking. She Chef Stec at Addison Croppeddiscussed three different categories of food: Whole foods/not processed, semi-processed foods, and processed/junk foods. After talking about different types of foods, the kids had the opportunity to participate in three hands-on workstations:

Station 1: Kale with Almond Butter and Craisins
After a brief discussion about the ingredients, the students took a kale leaf, spread on almond butter, topped it with a few craisins, and rolled

it up like a fruit rollup to eat. Yes, kids will eat kale! (An alternative version for kids with nut allergies used hummus and carrots instead of almond butter and craisins).

STATION 2: Fresh and Frozen Banana Ice Cream
What do we know about bananas? The students learned that after peeled and frozen bananas are put through a juicer, they can make amazing ice cream!

STATION 3: Candied Carrot Bites
Chef Stec showed the kids how to do a “roll cut” with the carrots. She then put the pieces of carrots in a bowl, added a pinch of salt, some olive oil and sesame seeds. She spread the carrot pieces on a baking sheet, baked them at 330 degrees and — voilà you have Candied Carrot Bites!

My meeting with Palo Alto Food Services

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Last week I met with Alva Spence, who runs the Food Services department for the Palo Alto school district. I asked her if she would participate in the celebration of Tasting Week and she gave me an enthusiastic yes! For every school participating in Tasting Week, Food Services will provide an A to Z salad bar as part of the hot lunch program. The salad bar includes a different food for every letter of the alphabet. What a great way to encourage children to try something new. The Executive Chef of Food Services will also come to the schools to give a live cooking demonstration in front of the kids during the lunch hour.

My discussion with Alva was very enlightening. Did you know that in many neighboring districts outside of Palo Alto, including Mountain View, every school has an actual kitchen where Food Services can prepare and heat food? Palo Alto does not have a single kitchen where food can be prepared on site. Did you know that Food Services launched an initiative with Revolution Food last year to provide one special menu every month but enrollment for hot lunch did not go up? Budget considerations aside, I think our parents need more education about what can be done with regards to lunch menus in the schools. Food Services is happy to partner with parents to find better solutions.

At one point during our conversation, Alva pointed to the brand new tennis courts across the street and said. “The Palo Alto parents paid for all these sport facilities. Where is my parent?” Giving good food to our kids is as important as building facilities to exercise in, don’t you think?

Remember, Palo Alto Tasting Week runs from October 17 to October 27 in several schools in our district. Check out the Chefs and the Schedule to find out more about this great event.