GROWING HEALTHY KIDS: TEACHING KIDS (and parents) HOW TO EAT HEALTHY

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

TEACHING KIDS (and parents) HOW TO EAT HEALTHY

True story. This afternoon I volunteered to teach a class for a former coworker from Florida Department of Health. She had asked me to do “my magic thing” in the kitchen as part of her grant program. So I showed up with several bags of vegetables and the desire to empower kids for rest of their lives.

At the appointed time, seven kids came into the kitchen from their summer program next door. Then someone said to me, “There’s people here in the lobby for your cooking class, do you have room?” Five more people. Another twelve people a few minutes later.

Then I heard one of the adult summer program staff say to a teen boy nearby, “You can’t go in there, there’s not enough room.” I heard the boy gently say, “But I want to go to the cooking class!”

STOP RIGHT THERE! Who are we to deny a child a unique, fun opportunity to learn how to take responsibility for their own health? I immediately stepped out of the kitchen, told the adult staff it was OK and asked the boy I’d love to have him attend. Enough said. LET THE MAGIC BEGIN!

Jump ahead 90 minutes to the end of the class when I asked the kids these questions:

“Which vegetable did you like best?”

“Was it easy to make?”

“Do you think you can make this at home now?”

“Will you teach your parents to eat more vegetables as a result of attending this class?”

Here is the recipe I made with the kids this afternoon. It’s a simple, healthy twist on America’s favorite-PIZZA. We used Thomas English Muffins (“Triple Health”) containing a whooping 6 grams of dietary fiber per muffin. The kids (and their parents) learned about good carbs (dietary fiber, vegetables, beans, lentils, fruit) and bad carbs (refined sugar, soda). They learned that dietary fiber is what fills you up. They learned if you eat pizza from Papa Johns, Dominos, and Little Caesars you’re getting dough made from white flour with no fiber.

Most of these kids have never been taught how to slice a green pepper or how easy it is to make your own pizza sauce. They know now. I also taught their parents that when you engage kids and teach them how to help in the kitchen, they are not afraid to try new foods, like green peppers. I taught 2 boys how to cut up a green pepper “julienne” style and then everyone wanted to try it and loved it! All of these kids had never been told that all the sodas and sweet teas they are drinking every day can cause them to not concentrate in school or cause them to get the same “touch of sugar” (diabetes) that some of their parents have. Now they know, because while their dinner was baking, I taught them a lesson about how much hidden sugar is in what they drink everyday. You had to be there to see the looks on the faces of the parents when I finished the sugar lesson. POWERFUL!

It was a magical afternoon. From the teen who wanted to be in the healthy cooking class to the mother who profusely thanked me 6 times afterwards to the little boy who had never tasted fresh blueberries before. From the shy little girl who learned how to split whole grain muffins to the kids who took the flavor challenge and added a dollop of pesto to their pizzas…THANK YOU FOR THE MAGIC!

And in case you are curious, here is the recipe we made this afternoon. Now go make some magic with your own kids!

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS: Healthy Pizza

Ingredients: