The mood was festive and bright on a chilly Thursday in McDougle Elementary School’s atrium, as class after class of Dolphins filed in, one or two at a time; they sat on the floor and learned about whole grains, MyPlate and especially, the star of the day, Quinoa. Advertised by Chartwells Child Nutrition as a sampling and education extravaganza, a full team of CHCCS Chartwells staff partnered with Chef Jay-Z from InHarvest to present a quinoa-palooza that was pleasing to both the palate and the eye.
March is National Nutrition Month, and Chartwells has been busy throughout the district with various special events, but the spotlight is on quinoa. The March lunch schedule notes that “Quinoa contains all 9 amino acids- a complete protein with 5 grams in one cooked cup.” It’s an intact grain, gluten-free - and there are 120 different types of quinoa. The signature dish presented by district chef Jordan Keyser, chef Jay-Z(iobrowski) and the team at Chartwells is Cilantro-Lime Quinoa, served in crunchy tacos with chicken or beef, or as part of the SONO lines in the high schools.
Lynne Privette, CHCCS registered dietitian, led the initial lesson and game of “Guess the Grains” when she showed the students displays of oats, wheat berries and mixed rice. They learned how to say “kamut” and “legumes,” but when it came time to introduce the children to the correct pronunciation of quinoa (with a large poster that spelled out “Keen-wah”), the Chartwells team smiled as most of their audience called out the perfectly inflected word, without the phonetic spelling assistance. “Only in Chapel Hill-Carrboro,” whispered one adult observer.
Next up was Chef Jay-Z, who talked about the MyPlate app, and he showed them how a healthy plate contains at least a quarter of whole grains for each meal. “You want to eat a breakfast of whole grains instead of Pop-Tarts,” he told them. “You’ll stay awake longer, your brains will work better and you’ll get better grades.”
And how did students respond to the lesson on nutrition, and the follow-up sample of cilantro-lime quinoa and chips? Tamara Baker, communications and project director for No Kid Hungry NC, attended the full event and shared this feedback. "The excitement and joy on the children's faces at the whole grains nutrition learning event at McDougle Elementary sent an important message: They loved the tasty morsels! We need to spread the word that healthy foods that are both tasty and provide mega-fuel for growing bodies and minds are available at lunch and breakfast in our schools!"
Even the youngest children, the Pre-K students, sat rapt, waiting patiently to receive their portions, and most of them tucked right in. “Awesome,” and “so good” and “I love it” were the reactions from many.
As a kindergarten class filed back out of the atrium, one boy said, “For some reason I feel like running real fast now.” Another child said, “My grandma needs some ‘cause she broke her hip.”
Lessons learned, and when those quinoa tacos show up on the lunch line the next two Tuesdays at McDougle Elementary, there’ll be a lot of intact grain experts, ready to recap their knowledge and chow down.
Liz Cartano, the CHCCS director of child nutrition, shared her reminder about the importance of the Chartwells commitment to Eat Lean and Live. “We are not only about the food we serve each day in the cafe but about how we impact the child through food, nutrition ed and the importance of being dedicated to the community that we live in.”
No Kid Hungry NC
InHarvest
March is National Nutrition Month, and Chartwells has been busy throughout the district with various special events, but the spotlight is on quinoa. The March lunch schedule notes that “Quinoa contains all 9 amino acids- a complete protein with 5 grams in one cooked cup.” It’s an intact grain, gluten-free - and there are 120 different types of quinoa. The signature dish presented by district chef Jordan Keyser, chef Jay-Z(iobrowski) and the team at Chartwells is Cilantro-Lime Quinoa, served in crunchy tacos with chicken or beef, or as part of the SONO lines in the high schools.
Lynne Privette, CHCCS registered dietitian, led the initial lesson and game of “Guess the Grains” when she showed the students displays of oats, wheat berries and mixed rice. They learned how to say “kamut” and “legumes,” but when it came time to introduce the children to the correct pronunciation of quinoa (with a large poster that spelled out “Keen-wah”), the Chartwells team smiled as most of their audience called out the perfectly inflected word, without the phonetic spelling assistance. “Only in Chapel Hill-Carrboro,” whispered one adult observer.
Next up was Chef Jay-Z, who talked about the MyPlate app, and he showed them how a healthy plate contains at least a quarter of whole grains for each meal. “You want to eat a breakfast of whole grains instead of Pop-Tarts,” he told them. “You’ll stay awake longer, your brains will work better and you’ll get better grades.”
Even the youngest children, the Pre-K students, sat rapt, waiting patiently to receive their portions, and most of them tucked right in. “Awesome,” and “so good” and “I love it” were the reactions from many.
As a kindergarten class filed back out of the atrium, one boy said, “For some reason I feel like running real fast now.” Another child said, “My grandma needs some ‘cause she broke her hip.”
Lessons learned, and when those quinoa tacos show up on the lunch line the next two Tuesdays at McDougle Elementary, there’ll be a lot of intact grain experts, ready to recap their knowledge and chow down.
Liz Cartano, the CHCCS director of child nutrition, shared her reminder about the importance of the Chartwells commitment to Eat Lean and Live. “We are not only about the food we serve each day in the cafe but about how we impact the child through food, nutrition ed and the importance of being dedicated to the community that we live in.”
No Kid Hungry NC
InHarvest
