Triple Party Fun

Yesterday we held a Triple Party for three teens. Ashley finished her first year of Technical School, Tony graduated High School, and Tony's sister graduated college. I didn't take any action shots at the party because we were fighting wind and rain. Thank God we had canopy tents set up for cover so the day was not a total loss. I did capture the food I contributed to the occasion...I kinda went a little overboard...but that is the creative side of me when I get an idea in my head and run with it.

"Veggie Platter"... Hidden under all of the veggies is a bunch of fresh kale that I picked from our garden.


"Fruit Bowl"...Just for the record, I didn't have a bowl large enough in my house to mix this quantity of fruit. I had to clean and disinfect my sink in order to mix it up. I used 1 Watermelon, 2 cantaloupe, 2 pounds strawberries, 3 pounds red seedless grapes, and 2 fresh pineapple. And yes, it all fit in the basket that was lined with tin foil.


The cake turned out great. The idea in my head was coming together masterfully. The topper exectuted exactly as I had it planned out in my head. Everything looked great when I went to bed Saturday night.


Unfortunately, heat and humidity with the fluffy boiled icing request did not agree. I knew the weight of the topper would not be supported sufficiently with the slowly sinking, sad and droopy icing on the cake. Instead, I used the cheesy plastic topper I had as Plan B.

By the time I got the cake to the party, the droopy frosting had conveniently slid south and the cake was exposed. I wasn't even going to try to fix it at that point. No one seemed to mind that the icing had slid, they were anxious to dig into the cake and there wasn't much leftover at the end of the day.

30 Recipes ~ 2 1/2 Days - Part 1

Some food highlights from the Healthy Cuisine For Kids class this past week. Veggie Wraps
Broccoli Salad (made with lowfat mayo)
Veggie Lasagna (with fresh garden salad)

Isn't She Cute???

MOO!!!

Vermont in the Summertime

Chef Coats and Hats Return...

Today I am headed off to teach the "Healthy Cuisine for Kids" to other School Food Service Personnel around the state. I will be driving back and forth each day, even though the price of gas is through the roof. It was still cheaper for me to drive to and from than it was to pay for a hotel room and meals. I don't mind driving the haul this time of year, the mountains are amazing to look at and that helps to pass the time.

Back in February I took the course (read more here). We've worked hard to scale back the number of recipes to make the experience more meaningful to those taking the class. We sorta felt like we were on Iron Chef when we took the course, and didn't want the students we will be teaching to be overwhelmed. We have been divided into teaching teams, and holding the classes regionally across the state this week.

I will take pictures of the healthy, nutitious food everyone makes over the next three days and hopefully blog about it later this week.

School Nutrition

Despite all of the bad publicity taking place in the media over school lunches, there are some noteworthy good news that doesn't necessarily make its way into the media.

Vermont is one of the leaders in change for nutrition in schools. There has been a strong movement in bringing local foods to the cafeteria trays for several years now. We have a great group of "movers and shakers" that are increasing the whole grains, adding more fresh fruits and vegetables, and getting away from processed foods. Of course, the only way to make your budget float on very small shoestring budget, we have to serve some of the more popular processed meals to keep up the student participation.

Example: Chicken Patty on Bun is one of the more popular meals with my students. I've sought out purchasing a chicken patty that has whole grain breading, and serve it on a whole wheat bun. Had I presented a meal like this when I first took over the position of Food SErvice Manager, I might have been lynch mobbed and strung up the flag pole. Change is hard, and takes time. I try to focus my attentions on the younger, more impressionable students. By the time students reach middle school, they have already gained their strong opinions about food and nutrition. Changes I am making to the program today won't be seen as a widespread change for at least another 7 years.

I work in a K-12 school. What appeals to younger students doesn't necessarily appeal to the older students and vise versa. Trying to find balance and targeting both sides of the school can be extremely challenging at times. Sometimes I've had to create different versions of meals to appeal to the different age groups.

When the Jr & Sr. High students had exams in January, I held a beach day for the Grade School Students. They brought in sunglasses and beach towels and we had sack lunches and a rare ice cream treat for everyone. We played beach music, and had a lot of fun. As it turned out, the weather was really awful but the anticipation of fun at lunch time erased any ugly feelings about what was taking place outside.

Here are some great links about school nutrition. I would encourage you to become involved with your School Food Service Director. Find out what their needs are. Oftentimes those who are running the programs are made to feel as though they are dangling out in left field by themselves. Your help (small or large) just might be what your school food service program needs.

School Nutrition

Team Nutrition

Training Grants

Vermont focus

Take Action

It'S nOt EaSy BeInG gReEn!

I've had this treasury picked out for a couple days and because I was so busy on Sunday missed the time to make a new Treasury. I snagged one on T-west this morning before I have to get rolling for the day. You can view it here until Thursday at 3:58 AM.