Celebrity chef sells vegetables to school kids

Sophia Arnau, 9, tries tri-colored salad at P.S. 63 on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. The tri-colored salad is a new menu item at New York City public schools and comes from a recipe by celebrity chef Ellie Kreiger. By Rachel Ohm/ NYU.

By Rachel Ohm
       NEW YORK- Children at Public School 63 filled their lunch trays with spinach salad, fat free chocolate milk, whole wheat pasta and a tri-color vegetable salad on Wednesday.

  According to teachers on lunch duty, the room was unusually quiet as they sat down to try a new vegetable they had been talking and learning about in class for two weeks - cauliflower. 

The tri-color vegetable salad, which includes cauliflower as well as broccoli and roast red pepper, comes from a recipe by celebrity chef Ellie Krieger, host of the Food Network show "A Healthy Appetite.”  It is a new addition to the public school lunch menu and was introduced and prepared by Krieger at Public School (P.S.) 63 in the East Village on Wednesday.

"Childhood obesity is a real problem across the country and across the city of New York," said Kimberly Kessler, New York City Food Policy Coordinator. "We need to recognize that nutrition can make a real difference."

Ellie Krieger, registered dietician and host of the Food Network's "A Healthy Appetite," prepares tri-color salad at P.S. 63 on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. "It's really simple," she said. "The chefs in New York City schools have a lot of kids to prep for and this is doable." By Rachel Ohm/ NYU. 

 In 2010 the Department of Education teamed up with schools all over the city to sponsor wellness committees, organizations made up of parents, teachers and staff interested in improving the quality and wholesomeness of foods in school cafeterias.
      Krieger, who is a registered dietician as well as professional chef, helped Michelle Obama lead the "Healthy Kids" Fair at the White House in 2010, and has since become involved in New York City public schools as the head of a wellness committee at Public School (P.S.) 75, where her daughter is a student. 

Because children are notoriously picky eaters many schools, such as P.S. 63 and P.S.75, and their wellness committees have taken initiatives to introduce the idea of healthy eating in the classroom as well as in the cafeteria. 

Ellie Krieger's tri-color vegetable salad contains broccoli, cauliflower and roasted red pepper tossed with olive oil and fresh basil. It was introduced as part of the menu at New York City public schools on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. By Rachel Ohm/ NYU. 

 Sophia Arnau, 9, a fourth-grader at P.S.63 says she only likes carrots and salad, but always tries new vegetables “because they’re healthy.” 

Getting kids to see trying new foods as an adventure is part of what Krieger calls “vegetable marketing,” an idea that she has put into practice through a vegetable tasting program at P.S. 75. 

“So many billions of dollars are spent marketing foods to children that are bad for them, but this is our opportunity to market foods to kids that are good for them,” she said. 

About two weeks before cauliflower was introduced on the menu at P.S. 75, the Wellness Committee entered the classroom, encouraging kids to touch and feel the vegetable and starting conversations about how different families prepare cauliflower and where it is grown. 

The next week they organized a taste test, in which different colored types of cauliflower were served in tasting cups at lunch. 

“When we finally cooked the cauliflower, the kids were so excited,” said Krieger. “They were like, ‘We get to taste cauliflower!’ Some tasted it and didn’t like it, and that’s fine. They just need to try new things and it was so great to see these kids excited about it.” 

The final step in vegetable marketing is communication with parents, which Krieger says can be achieved by sending fliers home with kids and encouraging parents to cook vegetables at home. 

Annalee Sinclair, PTA secretary and a parent of a fifth-grader at P.S. 63, says healthy eating habits start at home and many children have never tasted some vegetables. 

Children at P.S.63 in the East Village section of Manhattan are served lunch on Wednesday, January 26, 2011.  The menu included Mediterranean roast chicken, whole wheat pasta and tri-color vegetable salad, a new item. By Rachel Ohm/ NYU.

 “We need to prepare kids, to give them a sense of awareness and of being involved with the food," she said. "For so long it was just food on a tray and they had no relationship to it.”
     Since P.S. 63 started a wellness committee last spring Sinclair says she has seen the amount of food wasted decrease and has also noticed that more children are eating vegetables. 
     She said her son really likes vegetables, as long as they are not "boring," and says she puts lemon and spices on them at home. 
     Juan Blasencia, a second-grader, agreed that spices make vegetables more appealing. 
     "I really like the pasta because it's good. It's salty and spicy," he said. "I'm going to try the vegetables."