Veggiecation Blog
Cooking in Class - Sweet Green Smoothies

A primary objective of the Veggiecation Program is to make incorporating cooking activities into the school day easy! Today we are highlighting a school that has integrated Veggiecation recipe preparation as a bi-monthly part of their Physical Education and Health program. 

To begin the class a teacher introduces the “Special Veggie.” Talking about all of the simple points on the Veggiecation Informational Poster, students learn what part of the plant the Special Veggie is, what season it grows best in and three reasons why the Special Veggie is so good for our bodies. For example, folate in spinach gives us brainpower!

BoywithSpinPoster

Then the students are each given an opportunity to participate in preparing a recipe starring their Special Veggie.  Children get very excited when allowed to get hands-on with ingredients! In the midst of their enthusiasm, lie math lessons in fractions when discussing 1 cups, ½ cup and ¼ cups.  They are also developing the essential life skill of healthy cooking.

SpinachEnthusiasm

Next, all the children are invited to taste the dish they had a hand in creating.  It is amazing how quickly the initial “Yucks” and “Ewws” can go to “It’s so good!” and “Can I have seconds?” Participation is a major factor in children accepting new foods. 

Lastly, the students are able to color in the Special Veggie – making it their very own. It is heartwarming to hear young children request a copy of the recipe to “show their families how to make it.” Their request is, of course, granted.

FloorColoring

 

SpinachColoredIn

Cooking with kids in school IS possible! Contact us to find out how you can make it happen at your school. 

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Krazy for Kidney Beans!

 

Get to know the Kidney Bean!  Packed with protein, these hearty legumes are a perfect meat replacement. But that is not all they "bring to the table" : 

Folate for brain power! 

Iron for extreme energy! 

Fiber for a full and happy tummy! 

Kidney Beans originated in Peru and were introduced to Europe in the 15th century by Spanish explorers.  Today, they are most commonly produced in India, China, the US and Brazil. 

We recommend swapping kidney bean in place of ground beef for a heart healthy chili or try out our delicious Kidney Bean Slider Recipe.

 

Did you Know?

Eating meatless 1 day per week will help reduce your carbon footprint!

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.

(Courtesty of the Meatless Monday Campaign

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FREE Nutrition Education for YOUR School!

"Students Can Have Their Math and Eat it Too" Giveaway for January 2012

Calling all health-minded students, classrooms, teachers & parents!!!

 

Students can’t help but learn when they are playing.  Students love to eat. Students love to create.  Mix a half a cup of creating, a tablespoon of eating and a gallon of learning and you get a nourished and academically successful child

 

Veggiecation wants your classroom to have colorful materials to teach students math, social studies, science, literacy and art with vegetables as a vehicle.  For FREE.  Transform your school’s education into veggie education with Veggiecation.

 

Schools are already teaching local state standards like persuasive literacy and measurement, right?  Why not transform those persuasive literacy lessons into a Vegetable Poster.  Students create a poster that will convince a group to love broccoli.   Transform a measurement lesson into asparagus as a unit of non-standard measurement.  Students measure desks, tables and white boards with asparagus, noting, comparing and ordering the lengths.  

 

Captivate kids' attention with vegetables. Educate and nourish their brain at the same time.  Help them prove to themselves and their parents, teachers, friends that they do indeed love vegetables.  Eating healthy tastes good.  Getting smart is fun!

 

Free – Your Classroom Package Includes

A Classroom Companion Book 24 Lessons (literacy, math, science, social studies, art) and 5 Games

A Informational Veggie Posters – compelling vegetable characters convey nutrition, geography and science information.

A Family Recipe Book, and Food Service Recipe Book – simple recipes that can be made in class for tastings, in the cafeteria, or sent home with parents to connect the healthy eating habits to the home environment. Perfect for meeting Coordinated School Health goals for nutrition education and parent involvement requirements.

The “Veggiecation Across The Nation” Theme Song CD with Official Dance – perfect for rainy/cold weather indoor recess.

Ballot Box Materials  - challenge students to taste recipes, students vote their preference, tally votes to meet a math standard.

1-Year Member’s Only Access to Veggiecation.com – Fun activities for students, classroom tools and support for teachers, family nutrition tips and recipes for home.

 

If you don’t win this month, enter again next month.  We’ll be giving away a set of classroom materials each month during the 2011-2012 school year.

 

To Enter for your FREE set of Veggiecation materials:

  • Leave a comment on this blog post with the following information:  your state, grade and email address (use this format: name AT email DOT com). 
  • Include the answer to this question:  Why do you want to veggiecate your school?

or

or

  • Share the URL to this giveaway with others via your Facebook page or email.  Leave a comment saying you did so.

 

Winners agree to submit writing from teacher or student perspective.  Topic of writing will be teacher and/or student experiences during implementation of the Veggiecation program.

 

Contest Rules
Only separate comment entries will be counted for extra entries. The contest closes at midnight CST 19th of every month. A winner will be determined by Random.org.  The winner will be notified by email.  The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize by responding to the email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn until prizes are claimed.



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Always Healthy Mom Blogger, Michelle Rowe, Reviews Veggiecation!


 A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to participate in a healthy and positive event for the youth in my area! I partnered with Veggiecation to offer the children a healthy way to eat broccoli and was able to share my passion for children's health at the same time!

The feedback from the event was amazing! E-mails pouring in to share the recipe for Mini Broccoli Trees with Asian Sauce. The kids were able to sample, vote, and learn about healthy eating! I am blown away at the number of children who sampled the demo and "Loved It!" I think many parents were pleasantly surprised too!

 

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Veggiecation gave me the tools to share my passion with my community, with hands on activies geared toward children and the use of positive peer pressure! (This was new to me!) Having done many events in the past, by far this one was most memorable with the help of veggiecation! If you or your community are looking for a way to introduce healthy eating, look no further!

 

As a Health Educator and Nurse I am constantly looking for support on how to teach children about healthy foods!

The answer lies in the Veggiecation program!

Support in...

  • Visuals (posters, pictures, activites)
  • Education Tools (recipe books, stickers, voting ballets and much more)

You will have a successful experience, I guarantee it!

 

Written by Michelle Rowe

Always Healthy Mom

www.alwayshealthymom.blogspot.com

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We're Introducing a New Resource for 2012! The Veggiecation Plate Planner!

We love providing our Veggiecators with new resources!

Our newest addition, The Plate Planner, is based off of and supports the new USDA MyPlate. This kid-friendly tool to help veggiecate our sprouts on the USDA's recommendations for healthy eating is a printable poster perfect for display in the cafeteria, the school hallway or on the lunch line to encourage healthy, balanced choices.


This new resource can be accessed by our clients by logging into the member section of the Veggiecation website. The plate can be found under "Games and Resources" inside the Veggiecators folder.

 

We hope all of our Veggiecators are taking advantage of all our sprout-friendly resources!

 


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