Culinary Challenge Cooks Up Healthy Menu Changes

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Healthy cooking challenges are not just popular on TV, now schools in Fairfax Count, Va. are cooking up healthier meals in the Real Food For Kids (RFFK)’s Culinary Challenge and Wellness Expo to change school menus, offering kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty.

To help change school menus to offer more healthy and tasty foods, the challenges gives kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty and help sprout new ideas into the school menu, all while staying in school budget limits.

Twelve Fairfax County Schools competed for awards in three categories, including Smart snacks, Grab ‘N Go, and Makeover Lunch Challenge.

The challenge was to make a meal that would work within the schools nutrition, portion and cost standards. Judges reviewed each meal within standards and picked their favorite and winning meals included new Asian and Mexican fish tacos, orange beef, spring rolls and orange chicken.

Guest speakers from different organizations spoke on healthier school foods, food writing, food photography, family meal planning, school gardens and the future of school food.

These activities and free samples of the new food items were available to nearly 100 guests visiting the competition and helped support RFFK’s mission to help educate kids and families about the benefits of healthy and active lifestyles and improving the quality of school food.

Latino kids often face unhealthy food environments in and around their neighborhoods and schools, were targeted messages often influence unhealthy eating habits.

Having interactive ways to get kids involved in school food and nutrition may help bring more awareness and change for school food environments, encouraging parents, kids, and schools to continue moving toward healthy, nutritious and delicious foods for all children in all schools.

To learn more about this change, click here.

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