Healthy Schools Campaign

Last Garden Meal of the Year

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

Now that fall is upon us and winter is coming up fast, I thought my garden harvest was in the past. But last weekend I found a few more gems and realized I could pull together one more final hurrah of a garden meal.

I was pulling up my tomato plants and found two small green bell peppers, two nice-sized cucumbers, and the score of the day: a big bunch of leeks that I forgot we even planted. So here was my plan:

Cucumber salad. Simple. Clean. Actually, I was thinking about Cooking up Change because one of the student teams had a nice cucumber salad that was really good -- and Henry chowed it that evening. So I seeded and sliced a cuke and tossed it with a splash of rice wine vinegar, a half teaspoon of sugar, and a dash of sea salt. I don't remember my cucumbers being so crunchy. Henry ate nearly the entire thing. Delicious.

Bell peppers. I only had two small ones and when I cut them, they were so firm and crisp that I decided I couldn't do anything other than slice them and toss them with salt, oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple. Super fresh.

Leeks. I love leeks. And for me, this was the star of the evening. I caramelized a bunch of leeks in a pan with olive oil, added a dash of sea salt, then added 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and let the vinegar reduce until the leeks were covered with a syrupy coating. I took out the leeks, then cubed and cooked two small zucchini the same way and combined them with the leeks. It was so delicious with the sweetness from the vinegar and the nuttiness from the browned leeks. So good. I could have eaten that all day.

Spinach. I had a bag of spinach that I needed to use so I wilted a bunch with feta cheese. Tasty. And Henry took a good liking to it. See the video below for proof. This was not from my garden.

Protein. I had a leftover frozen salmon fillet that I defrosted and pan fried with some garlic and herbed breadcrumbs. Simple. And again, Henry went nuts eating the salmon. Really. Again, see the video.

Sometimes cooking is simple. Try not to use too many ingredients and keep fresh food tasting fresh. This was a (mostly) garden meal fit for a king. And sadly, it seems to have been my last one for a couple of months.

Science of Green: New Research Documents Benefits of Green Cleaning

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

When Healthy Schools Campaign began working on green cleaning issues in 2003 we had a simple premise: clean for health, reduce the use of nasty chemicals, and we'll have a healthier learning environment as a result. I must admit that we took what I consider a very logical and acceptable leap of faith. (I mean, it doesn't take much to think that if you choose to not put contaminants in a room, you'll have a room with fewer contaminants in it.)

Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has put some science to our premise. The group just came out with a fantastic report that gives us some concrete research documenting the benefits of green cleaning. When you clean a classroom with a "green cleaner," do you end up with fewer toxic chemicals in the room? The answer is a resounding YES.

In short, EWG tested several "green cleaners" as defined by Green Seal or EcoLogo; their testing showed that these products cleaned effectively while polluting the indoor environment significantly less. Actually five times less:

• Green cleaners released a lower overall number of measurable air contaminants. The conventional cleaners analyzed produced three to five times more air contaminants than green general purpose cleaners.
• Green cleaners produced lower levels of one important class of air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Total VOC levels measured from conventional general purpose cleaners were six times higher than their green counterparts.

http://www.ewg.org/files/2009/10/school-cleaners/general-purpose.png

Of course, what you also see in the graph above is that green cleaning isn't perfect, so there's still room for improvement. From my perspective, there are two take-aways here:

First, green cleaning isn't just about switching out traditional chemicals for "green" chemicals. It's also about processes, procedures, and training. Yet this study only looked at swapping out traditional products with green products. The greenest chemical in the world isn't very green if it's over-used. Even better than using green chemicals alone is also finding ways to reduce overall chemical use, such as:

• Stopping dirt before it gets into the building (by putting proper mats at doorways, for example)
• Adapting processes to reduce the need for chemicals (microfiber cloths can do wonders if used properly) 
• Using innovative technologies that reduce or eliminate chemicals all together (have you heard of the Active Ion or the Tennant Ec-H20?) 

This means that the report may actually over-estimate the amount of contaminants one would be exposed to when a classroom is cleaned in a green cleaning program. (Put another way: the report may under-estimate the benefits of a green cleaning program as it would be used in real life.) Those properly implementing a green cleaning program not only use healthier chemicals, but also identify ways to use fewer chemicals.

Second, "green" chemicals can still get greener. Will there be a point when we can create cleaning chemicals that produce zero contaminants? It may be possible, but we're not there yet. We still need to work with manufacturers, regulatory agencies, elected officials and school leaders to strive for continual improvement. We all have unintentional and very intimate day-to-day interactions with cleaning products and their residues. Because of this, we need to make sure they are as healthy as possible -- and continue to get healthier.

But most significantly, this research shows how important green cleaning programs are. Green cleaning is very effective, it doesn't have to cost more, and this report documents that green cleaning clearly creates healthier environments.

Rarely in this world can we say we have a win-win-win situation. This is one of them.

To learn more about green cleaning in schools, check out HSC's free Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools.

And thanks to the EWG for such a great and health-promoting report!

Nutrition Labels Don't Tell the Whole Story. . . and Cereal Doesn't Protect You from H1N1

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

Is there anything nutrition labels can't do? They brag about the fiber in cereal, urge us to see the health benefits of mayo, and now they even alert us to the ways that breakfast cereal can keep us safe from swine flu!

But wait. That last one has gotten some attention from critics pointing out that Cocoa Krispies, though quite fortified with vitamins, are not a good food for keeping healthy during flu season. The resulting media storm comes as the FDA moves to clarify the rules for "front of food" labels, the colorful ones (like the ubiquitous "Smart Choices" check mark) that go on the front of packages.

It got me thinking about the more traditional and less-controversial Nutrition Facts labels, the ones that have been required on food packages since 1990.

First, a quick quiz:

Below are the nutrition facts from two breakfast cereals. Which one do you think is a healthier option?

Before I tell you which products these labels belong to, I'll share a little story.

Last week, my Sunday paper was delivered along with a free, individual-sized sample of a sugary breakfast cereal. I don't think I've ever actually purchased this cereal before (though I later learned that my wife grew up on it. . . which explains why I later found the empty carton in the garbage), so I was intrigued to read the label.

What stood out to me was how healthy the nutrition label seemed. It was quite similar -- based on the nutrition label -- to the cereal I eat myself, and even to the cereal we feed our son. In fact, at first glance, the nutrition label for the sugar cereal may even look a little better than the label for the cereal I feed my kid. I mean, it lists more fiber, more vitamins. . . not bad. And the packaging even highlights the additional fiber in each serving. Maybe this is health food at its best?

So to the average label-reading consumer, cereal #1 seems great. (Of course, the average label-reading-consumer is already confused by what these labels mean, but that's a story for a different day.)

Labels aside, it didn't make sense to me that a highly processed sugary cereal would be more healthy than a less-processed one. The next step, then, is to check out what's actually in the cereal.

Let's look past the big bold letters of the Nutrition Facts and read the smaller print of the ingredient lists. Check out the lists below and ask again: which one is a healthier option? The labels are in the same order. And remember: ingredients are listed by weight, so the first ingredient is the one that's used most in the product.

To me, this experience illustrated  how unhelpful a nutrition label can be without context and information about ingredients. (And I'll take cereal #2, please.)

In the context of school food, this experience parallels the changes that the Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools move away from nutrition-based menu planning and moving toward food-based menu planning. This would mean that meals would be designed to focus on green and orange vegetables, for example, rather than on certain milligrams of vitamin B6 and Riboflavin. It puts the concept of real food into the way we think about our meal planning -- both at home and for kids at school. It's a simple, common-sense system that can help us avoid the trap of purchasing foods just because the numbers read well on a label.

And for those inquiring minds... Cereal #1 and Cereal #2.

Congratulations to the Winning Student Chefs at Cooking up Change!

Congratulations to all the amazing student chefs who participated in the Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest! All of the teams created tasty, healthy school meals that wowed judges and guests at the benefit. Even more remarkable: the teams met nutrition requirements while ordering from a set ingredient list and spending just about a dollar per meal for ingredients. And they did it with less than six weeks to prepare!

HSC is pleased to offer special congratulations to the winning teams:

School Lunch Awards

First place: Tilden Career Community High School

Chicken Jambalaya with Jalapeno Cornbread and Cucumber Salad

 

Second place: Richards Career Academy

Twice Baked Sheppard's Pie with Pub Salad and a side of Cinnamon Bread Pudding with Spice Sauce

Third place: Chicago Vocational Career Academy

Mom's Chicken Salad with Farmer's Market Vegetable Soup and Harvest Apple Crisp

Audience Choice Award

Corliss High School

Cranberry-Raisin-Walnut Cookie

Cookie-preneur Awards

Chicago Vocational Career Academy

Abracadabra Bars

 

Clemente Community Academy High School

Spiced Pumpkin Cookie

Corliss High School

Cranberry-Raisin-Walnut Cookie

Many thanks to all of the team mentors, judges and culinary instructors behind the cooking contest, and to all of the sponsors and host committee members who make Cooking up Change possible!

 

Crowd-Pleasing Peanut Cedar Salmon

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

I rarely write down a recipe (other than when I'm writing our healthy recipe blogs) but this one was such a success that I wanted to try to replicate it. And it was a huge kid-pleaser. The first time I didn't have a camera with me, so rather than post without a photo, I decided to see if I could replicate the magic -- and bring a few photos along as well.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to a friend's house and both Henry and his friend Cooper chowed down on this grilled salmon that I made. The adults raved about it too. It was my first time using a cedar plank to grill on, and it won't be my last.  

Serves approx. 6 people

2 pounds salmon
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 lime
1/2 cup of crushed peanuts
4 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 small onion
1 teaspoon brown mustard
1 cedar plank

Soak the cedar plank according to directions. Usually for 20 minutes to 4 hours.

Mince garlic, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and mustard together. Add finely minced onion and peanuts.

Cut salmon into 1-inch wide pieces and coat with olive oil and juice from one lime and sea salt. Place salmon onto cedar plank.

Coat top of salmon with the peanut mixture.

Grill cedar plank/salmon over indirect heat for 30 minutes.

I love the smokiness of the cedar. The combination of the sweetness of the sugar with the crunch of the peanuts makes for a great contrast. It got the big thumbs up from two kids and four adults the first time I made it. The second time around it was equally an adult-pleaser, but the kids this time... well, Henry decided he wasn't hungry and didn't eat anything. Oh well. As they say, the best-laid plans...

Today: Cooking up Change!

Today is the day for Cooking up Change, HSC's annual benefit and healthy cooking contest!

Student chefs at Cooking up Change 2008

We can't wait to taste the fabulous healthy school meals and tasty cookies the teams of culinary students from Chicago Public Schools design. We're thrilled to meet such amazing young chefs, along with their culinary instructors and mentors, and to catch up with so many of our supporters and partners who come together at this fun and meaningful event.

Special thanks to platinum sponsor Applegate Farms, gold sponsor Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality and to all of the other generous sponsors and host committee members at the heart of the benefit's success.

Check back soon for photos and updates from the benefit and healthy cooking contest!

Cooking up Change: What's New This Year?

Cooking up Change, HSC's annual benefit and healthy cooking contest, is tomorrow!


Several years ago, HSC began to include a spotlight on local high school students studying culinary arts at our annual benefit; now, that spotlight has evolved to become an exciting culinary competition in which teams of very talented young chefs from 15 public high schools across the city compete to create healthy, tasty school meals that meet nutrition standards on a tight budget. Their winning meals are served across the city and beyond, highlighting the power of student engagement in healthy change and the need for reform in our school food system.

Cooking up Change is also a celebration, a time to connect with others who care about food, our environment and children's health.

Every year, it seems that Cooking up Change becomes even more exciting. So what's new this year?

• Frozen local produce! This year for the first time, student teams will incorporate local produce in the school meals they create. This may surprise some who know that the students are limited to ordering their food from the same ingredient lists available to their school cafeteria managers. But it's true: the student chefs, like the food service managers in their schools, now have access to locally-grown produce to include in their school meals. The fruits and vegetables, all grown within 150 miles of Chicago, are flash-frozen within 48 hours of their harvest, locking in vital nutrients and -- perhaps just as important to a chef -- the unique great flavor of freshly-picked, locally-grown food. The produce is part of Cooking up Change Gold sponsor Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality's frozen local program.  Through this program, Chartwells-Thompson provides local produce for lunch in all Chicago Public Schools several days a week. Now the teams of student chefs at Cooking up Change will have access to this tasty, bright produce for their entries in the culinary competition!

• Cookie-preneur award! Successful bakers know that it takes more than flavor to make a cookie successful. A cookie that stands apart from the crowd in a bakery or store shelf has to look appealing, stand up to transportation without crumbling, have a reasonable shelf life -- it even needs a descriptive, enticing name. Kenny Muncic, owner of Cookie-preneur sponsor Little Miss Muffin Bakery, will consider these characteristics and more as he selects this year's Cookie-preneur winners from among all the student teams' healthy cookies. Little Miss Muffin will be prepared to manufacture the winning cookie and pitch it to wholesale customers to be sold in stores across Chicago.

• Elevated national profile! This year, all eyes are on Cooking up Change! The students from last year's winning team traveled to Washington, DC to prepare their meal with Sam Kass, chef to the Obama family, at a briefing on the future of school food. On the same day, their meal was served to more than 40,000 students nationwide and in the House of Representatives cafeteria. The young chefs and their fabulous meal garnered the attention of The Washington Post, CNN News, CNN.com, Mindful Metropolis and the popular blog Obama Foodorama. This year, the Cooking up Change judging panel includes influential leaders such as David Lazarus, senior advisor to the Secretary of the USDA. The meals that the students create will be part of a national dialogue on the future of school food, particularly as part of HSC’s advocacy for a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, the federal legislation that provides funding and guidelines for school meals.

We're thrilled about these exciting additions to the healthy cooking contest and can't wait to try the student's creations on Thursday!

You can learn more online at www.cookingupchange.org.

Good Luck to the Cooking up Change Student Chefs: A Message From White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass

Cooking up Change is only a few days away and we're getting excited. Our high school student chefs are finalizing their healthy school lunch menus as they prepare for the competition. We can't say enough about how thrilled we are for their participation in HSC's healthy culinary contest. The meals that the students create will be part of a national dialogue on the future of school food, highlighting the power of student engagement in healthy change.

But we also think that Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass says it better than even we could. Sam got to know Cooking up Change when he prepared the winning meal from Cooking up Change 2008 alongside the student chefs who designed it at a briefing on the future of school food.

Check out his message to the young chefs:

Here's a transcript of Sam's remarks:

How's it going, my name is Sam Kass, I'm an assistant chef at the White House. I'd like to welcome you to Cooking up Change, it's an exciting night. I know all of you guys are a little bit nervous and excited for this big event. But stay calm and relax. I'm really excited to see all of the amazing dishes you guys are going to create.

We all know how important it is to feed our kids healthy, delicious meals every day when they go to school for lunch. This is something that is a top priority for us here at the White House. And we are excited and thrilled by the new energy that you are going to bring to this, all of the creativity that you have, and the fact that you are the future of chefs in America.

So I really look forward to hearing and seeing and maybe tasting what you guys come up with, and see the winning team in Washington.

Good luck!

We couldn't have said it better! So good luck. We can't wait to see you there!

For more details, visit www.cookingupchange.org.

Cooking up Change Healthy Cooking Contest: Returning Champs, Exciting New Recipes!

The big news this week at HSC is Cooking up Change!

What began as our annual benefit has grown to include an exciting healthy cooking contest in which high school students studying culinary arts in Chicago Public Schools create healthy, tasty school meals on a tight budget with the hopes of sharing their meal with peers nationwide. The winning school meal -- as determined by a panel of judges -- will be served in all Chicago high schools and in cafeterias across the country.

Last year's winning meal was served to more than 40,000 students in cities from New York to Denver and in the House of Representatives cafeteria. That same day, the winning team from Richards Career Academy traveled to DC to prepare their meal with Sam Kass, chef to the Obama family. The Richards team will be back at Cooking up Change this year -- with all returning team members! -- to defend their title. We can't wait to see what delicious meals the team of young chefs from Richards and the contending teams from across the city create!

Check out video of the Richards team bringing the Cooking up Change spirit to DC:

Will the Richards team defend their title this year? Or will another team of talented young chefs take the first prize? Stay posted for details about all of the winning school meals and impressive teams of culinary students.

And if you're planning to attend Cooking up Change on Thursday, be prepared to cast a vote of your own! In addition to developing healthy school meals, all of the student teams will create healthy cookies to share with guests at the benefit, who will then cast votes for an audience choice award.

To learn more, visit www.cookingupchange.org.

All-Inclusive Spa Getaway & Culinary Extravaganza at mk: Win Big in the Cooking up Change Raffle!

By Lindsay Muscato, Writer/Communications Specialist

 

Feeling lucky? Don't miss the exciting raffle prizes at Cooking Up Change on Thurs., Oct. 29.

Our first prize is an amazing getaway at Reverie spa retreat with chef Randy Zweiban of Province restaurant preparing a remarkable farm-to-table dinner.  

I recently wrote a profile of Province for Mindful Metropolis, a Chicago magazine that focuses on healthy, eco-conscious living. The perk of any food writing is sampling the cuisine -- and this article quickly became one of my all-time favorite writing assignments. Just thinking about the meal (goat-cheese fondue, braised barbecued lamb and a dessert of salted caramel ice cream over a chocolate brownie) still makes my eyes glaze over.  And afterward, Randy sat with me and discussed his passion for cooking with a nod to Latin American and Spanish influences. 

Raffle prize winners will not only indulge in the mind-bending goodness that Randy cooks up -- they'll also receive all the luxurious pampering of Reverie, a Midwestern day spa with a holistic approach located on more than fifty acres of woodlands in at the southern tip of Lake Michigan.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Second prize is a dinner for up to 12 people plus an exciting day in the kitchen with the masterminds behind the acclaimed Chicago restaurant mk.  The meal will be a seasonal tasting menu chosen by chef Erik Williams, with wines paired by sommelier Patrick Ewald.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

You can get your raffle tickets online here, or at Cooking up Change next week! (You don't need to be present at the event to win.)

And for more chances to score great stuff, check out the amazing items and experiences (Oprah tickets! Weekend trips!) featured in our silent auction. Be sure to join us at Cooking Up Change . . . it may be your lucky day!