Volume 13 January 2015 For Kids, By Kids: Winning Recipes from Future Chefs Sodexo’s Future Chefs program is designed to create positive behavioral changes in students by getting them actively involved in making good nutritional choices. 2014 was the fourth year of the program and featured a Healthy Sandwich Challenge. Students competed in local and regional events, ultimately resulting in five national finalists selected based on the originality, presentation, ease of preparation, kid-friendliness and healthiness of their recipes. The five finalists created You Tube videos showcasing their recipes which were voted on by the public to determine the winner – MaryJane Ware of Wattles Elementary School, Troy Public Schools in Troy, MI with her Cucumber Sandwich recipe. MaryJane and her family now live in Grosse Pointe, MI. The 165 winning recipes from the local Future Chefs events were reviewed by a panel of Sodexo K-12 chefs who chose MaryJane’s Cucumber Sandwich and five additional winning recipes to feature in Sodexo’s Schools January 2015 promotion series menus. Also featured are: Jaden Rivera – Taco Sandwich – Ocean Shore School, Pacifica School District Zikei Brooks – Crunchy Sandwich with Peanut Butter and Banana – West Point Elementary School, Troup County Public Schools Madison Pastor – Sushi Roll – Cooper Elementary School, Old Bridge Township Schools Paul Gennaro – Paul’s Perfect Pizza Sandwich – DG Cooley Elementary School, Clarke County Public Schools Matthew Aguilar – Crabby Sandwich – Pioneer Park Elementary School, Lawton Public Schools Nobody knows what kids like better than kids do, so students are sure to give a stamp of approval to all six of these tasty sandwiches. When asked about her feelings on having students across the country try her winning recipe, MaryJane said, “I like the idea that kids are eating a healthy sandwich. I’ve made it lots of times for my family and they love it!” As for advice for kids thinking of entering the 2015 Future Chefs competition? MaryJane had these wise words, “Try your best, and if you don’t succeed, try, try again!” You Tube Sensation: Cooking With Kids Video Series Roxanne Moore, RDN, National Director of Wellness for Sodexo School Services, has put together a series of healthy cooking videos for kids. There are 18 videos currently posted and each features Roxanne along with middle school-aged children cooking a variety of healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time. Recipes include gluten-free breakfast bars, pizza, chili and easy after-school snacks. Throughout the videos, Roxanne talks with the students about why each recipe is healthy. Many of the recipes were adopted from the Share Our Strength Cooking Matters program, the Gluten Intolerance Group or the Sodexo Recipe Collection and are designed to be kid-friendly in terms of preparation and taste. The videos are becoming quite a You Tube sensation. The breakfast bar video alone has garnered over 2.4 million views! See for yourself what everyone is watching and try some new winning recipes today. View all of the videos on Sodexo’s YouTube Channel. The Importance of a Nutritious Breakfast A nutritious breakfast can help students be ready for a day of learning. But when one in five children live in households that are food insecure, and the number of school breakfasts served is only about half of school lunches, many students fall short on nutrients needed for growth and development. They also miss out on the nutrition that may help them reach their full academic potential. Although school breakfast participation has increased, it’s clear that some children don’t eat breakfast. In fact, 73 percent of K-8 public school teachers say they see students who regularly come to school hungry. That’s why Sodexo partnered with the National Dairy Council through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to help reimagine breakfast. They convened a School Breakfast Summit that brought together school experts in culinary, nutrition and product development. Roxanne Moore, RDN, National Director of Wellness for Sodexo School Services, and Geri Berdak, Senior Vice President of Health and Wellness for the National Dairy Council and the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy, challenged summit participants to identify potential solutions for school breakfast. A few solutions discussed include: Partnerships. Schools need support from the broader community, including business leaders, health and wellness professionals, community organizers, parents and schools who must work together to affect change and create a healthier school environment. Education. Schools and health and wellness professionals can do more to create awareness around the importance of breakfast and the learning connection. Innovation. New ideas are critical for increasing school meal participation. Participants were encouraged to think outside the box in proposing ideas to accelerate innovation of dairy-based, nutritious and kid-appealing breakfast items that would be packaged, ready-to-serve or need only quick assembly. Sodexo will continue to work with its partners to take action around increasing school breakfast participation to help end child hunger, improve child nutrition and support learning. Preserving Air Quality in Winter In the winter months, attention to air quality is especially critical. Buildings are closed up tight to provide warmth and conserve energy, but we also have to ensure that there is still enough fresh outside air circulating. If there is not enough fresh air infused into the system, carbon dioxide levels can rise, resulting in drowsiness, confusion, inattentiveness, and dizziness. These symptoms can affect both students and educators and inhibit learning. To ensure proper air quality, air filters should also be changed with recommended frequency. Clogged filters make the air handling system work harder and make heat exchange less efficient. Filters should be changed twice a season - with every change of heating season and every three months thereafter. These same procedures for ensuring proper air quality can be followed at home as well. Sodexo appreciates the opportunity to provide Quality of Life solutions for school facilities and to help keep our young students safe and warm this winter. Sustainability can be EZ. We can make you SMART. Sodexo’s global approach to sustainability is the “Better Tomorrow Plan” and our School Services Division makes it actionable with our “Schools’ EZ Approach to a Better Tomorrow.” This creates a sustainability plan broken into smaller pieces that help you learn and take action on just one new initiative per semester that can impact the school district, student well-being, and the learning environment. This semester, we are focused on Energy - using Sodexo’s Energy “Tool Kit” and adding value to our partnership by providing you with an Energy Plan and ways to save your district money and educate the students on energy waste. Next semester, if we haven’t already, your Sodexo general manager can work with you on executing some or all of the sustainability processes that can be put into place in your local school district. If your school district is more advanced in sustainability, our proprietary Sustainability Management and Reporting Tool (SMART) is now available without additional cost to all Sodexo school district partners. The tool can be set up for a whole district or to focus on one school only. SMART training and other resources are available to Sodexo managers. If your district is interested, speak with your Sodexo General Manager right away, so that he or she can sign up for a training webinar.
© Copyright 2024