Grand Rapids Middle School Students Calcium Chef November 10th Cook-off Pictures
(Click on photo for a Hi-Resolution Image that can be downloaded for reproduction)
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Grand Rapids Middle School Students Become Certified Calcium Chefs
Students from
Riverside and Westwood Schools Compete in Cook-Off
The pride that 60 Grand Rapids middle school students have in their newly
acquired cooking skills is bubbling over! Students now know how to prepare
dishes such as “Mexicam” Enchiladas, Apple Pie in a Glass, and Berry
Delicious Fruit Pie on their own. They’ve had so much fun trying
different herbs and spices, learning how to cook creatively, and
garnishing their creations that many aspire to become chefs. As they
prepare for their grand finale, a cooking competition at Gilda’s Club in
Grand Rapids on November 10, the excitement is heating up like Creole
Jambalaya.
Many of
the Riverside and Westwood students didn’t know what herbs were before
the Calcium Chef program brought food, fitness, and fun to the YMCA of
Greater Grand Rapids after-school program. During one of the weekly
cooking classes, comments such as, “That smells good!”, “Mmm!”,
and “Can I keep it?” filled the room as Raquel Pereira, dietitian with
Spectrum Health HeartReach, passed a fresh basil leaf around for students
to see, touch, and smell. “Is growing herbs hard to do?” Pereira asked
with a smile and a sparkle in her eye, “No – it is so easy. I have
herbs in little pots in my kitchen and just snip some off whenever I need
them.”
The
goal of the Calcium Chef program is to empower kids to eat healthfully and
be physically active. During October, 60 Grand Rapids middle school
students participated in entertaining educational sessions, interactive
cooking classes, and recipe and cookbook development. The program helps
students acquire basic food preparation and physical activity skills and
learn about healthy eating, including the health benefits of dairy
foods.
On November 10, students will become certified Calcium
Chefs, showcase their culinary skills, and receive kitchen gear to
encourage them to keep on cooking. Spectrum Health HeartReach and the YMCA
of Greater Grand Rapids developed the innovative Calcium Chef program. The
program’s implementation was made possible by a $5,000 grant from United
Dairy Industry of Michigan. The
3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education Grant program is implemented by
United Dairy Industry of Michigan to help children adopt an active
lifestyle and develop positive eating behaviors to improve their overall
diet by including three servings a day of milk, cheese or yogurt.
Visit
www.3aday.org
for nutrition tips and quick and easy recipe ideas. Dairy is
doctor-recommended: The American Academy of Pediatrics urges kids to
choose milk, yogurt and cheese for the calcium they need.
(Click on photo for a Hi-Resolution Image that can be downloaded for
reproduction)
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Click Here For PDF File Of Complete News Release
3-A-Day
of Dairy Nutrition Education Grant Awarded
United
Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM) received 20 applications outlining
creative initiatives to empower kids to be advocates for healthy eating,
an active lifestyle, and a healthy weight.
UDIM would like to thank all who submitted grant applications for
their commitment to improving the health of children and teens.
The Michigan grant review committee consisted of
representatives from the Michigan Academy of Family
Physicians, Michigan
Dietetic Association,
Michigan Association of School Nurses and United
Dairy Industry of Michigan. The
grant review committee evaluated each application and selected one winner
to receive a $5,000 grant.
Congratulations to Raquel Pereira, MS, RD, Outreach Community Dietitian
with Spectrum Health
HeartReach Program in Grand Rapids, the 2004 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition
Education Grant Michigan recipient.
The winning program, dubbed Calcium Chef, will be
coordinated by Raquel, Linda Heine, RN, BSN, HeartReach Manager, and Julie
Sielawa, YMCA of Greater
Grand Rapids Service Learning Director.
"Left to Right" -- Julie Sielawa, Linda Heine, and Raquel Pereira were selected as recipients of the United Dairy Industry of Michigan 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education Grant .
The program was inspired
by the
Iron Chef,
a popular international gourmet cooking competition between famous chefs.
The Calcium Chef program is targeted to Grand
Rapids middle school students and incorporates educational and cooking classes, a
cooking competition, and cookbook development to promote healthy eating,
the health benefits of dairy foods, and physical activity.
Family and friends are invited to attend the final Calcium Chef
cook-off.
From past experience
within the community, the project coordinators learned that people believe
cooking healthy is time consuming, expensive, and excludes favorite
ingredients. The Calcium
Chef program will demonstrate how healthy cooking and eating can be
penny-wise and delicious by increasing participant interest, ability, and
self-efficacy for cooking and eating gourmet meals with dairy ingredients.
In the future, the
Spectrum
Health HeartReach Program is planning to transform this project into a
larger, regular program.
Be sure to apply for the 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition Education
Grant in 2005. Visit
www.nationaldairycouncil.org or
www.udim.org in
early 2005 for information about next year’s 3-A-Day of Dairy Nutrition
Education Grant Program.
