Program Spotlight
Holt Garden Club Gets Cooking!
MAY 2013 - Usually the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in the Holt Garden Club are hard at work tending the lovely vegetable garden in the courtyard of their school. Last week however, they took a break from working in the soil to learn how to use garden produce to create healthy and tasty meals. On the menu were Summer Rolls full of vegetables that will be harvested from the garden later in the season. They even made a delicious dipping sauce! Before jumping into the kitchen, the gardeners learned all about the six different parts of the plant we eat, and why plants are so important to us. Then, thy put their knife skills to work slicing and dicing vegetables to use in the summer rolls. There was something from every edible plant part - seeds (peas), roots (carrots), stems (asparagus), leaves (lettuce), flowers (broccoli), and fruit (bell peppers)! One 
student expressed surprise about all the different plant parts we eat: "I learned that you can eat roots! I didn't think you could eat root because they are underground." Everyone had a blast making the rolls and enjoyed the variety of colors, textures, and flavors wrapped up in the Summer Rolls.
To learn more about this program, email Morgan Medders at mmedders@dconc.gov. Some of the program resources can also be accessed under Quick Links.
Cooking Program at George Watts Elementary School
APRIL 2013 - This week at Watts Elementary students are making "Crepes Vert", or "Green Crepes" (
using spinach to make the batter green) and filling them with fresh strawberries as a part of their healthy snacks lesson. This recipe is just one in a series of cooking classes that happen throughout the year for pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students at Watts. This year students have made 
Turkey Roll-ups, Plant Part Pizza, Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, Quinoa Salad, Veggie Dumplings, Black Bean & Arugula Ravioli, Root Vegetable Slaw, Green Smoothies, and Bok Choy Soup while learning essential cooking skills such as cutting, grating, pealing, sauteing, and measuring. Whenever possible, the cooking program uses fresh ingredients growing in the school's own Edible Garden to help students make the connection about where their food comes from. Not only are students are learning about healthy eating and preparing healthy dishes, they are excited about it and bringing that excitement and new interest in cooking and healthy eating home.
"This
week, my son ate something called Root Vegetable Slaw for dinner. He
learned to make it in George Watts cooking class and brought the recipe
home. Not only did he eat it, he gave me a lecture on what each vegetable
is, helped me prepare it and insisted that his brothers try it too. Since
starting nutrition classes, he also makes sure I pack TWO things from the
“fruit and vegetable group” in his lunch every day. " - parent at Watts
To learn more about this program, email
Becca Wright at rwright@dconc.gov. Some of the program resources can
also be accessed under Quick Links.
Cooking at EK Powe Elementary School
FEBRUARY 2013 - Spaghetti, apple salad, beans & rice -Fourth graders
at EK Powe Elementary School are learning to cook! DINE nutritionist, Barbara Rumer, and
fourth grade teachers at EK Powe Elementary have teamed up to 
develop a
eight-week cooking program that focuses on creating affordable, healthy
meals, using equipment and ingredients found in most home kitchens.
Students have been involved in the step-by-step processes of making
spaghetti, apple salad, and beans & rice. Students have learned how
to read a recipe, dice apples, and measure properly while learning
essential cooking vocabulary such as "simmer", "dice", and "saute". Not only
are students learning how to cook, but they are also practicing math,
reading, and following directions. While the program is just in it
infancy, students and teachers are already talking about it.
To learn more about this program, email
Barbara Rumer at brumer@dconc.gov. Some of the program resources can
also be accessed under Quick Links.
