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Saturday, May 28, 2011

3 Dips are Better than One!

We had our third grade class join us at beHealthy Institute for a hands-on experience. We divided the class of 21 students into 3 groups and whipped up some appetizing dips for our fresh vegetables. One group mixed up some super fresh guacamole, another prepared a white bean dip with cannellini beans, garlic, tahini and lemon and the third blended up mango smoothies. The students enjoyed cutting, chopping, mixing, mashing and grinding all the ingredients. Then they got to enjoy tasting their culinary delights.
The veggie trays overflowed with freshly sliced sweet orange and yellow peppers as well as broccoli, snap peas, carrots and asparagus. Fresh seasonal raw asparagus was the hit of the veggies with these students. One boy asked if he could take home a to go package of asparagus spears as he said, "My mom and I love asparagus!"

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Curious Garden -- Kindergarten Classes Listen to a Story and Sample Crunchy Veggies

beHealthy Institute and Seeds of Living Education welcomed 2 more kindergarten classes to its Kitchen to crunch on fresh veggies and sample mango smoothies. Jean Gunner read a story called The Curious Garden by Peter Brown about a little boy who helps a garden magically grow and spread throughout a city where once no garden grew.

Kindergarten Classes Taste a Bit of India and Love Their Veggies

This season students will be sowing many seeds of India in The Giving Garden. Students will taste dishes made with herbs like coriander and fenugreek, as well as many veggies like peppers, cauliflower, zucchini and eggplants to be used in traditional Indian cuisine that the children will help create. One kindergarten class experienced a tiny taste of Indian cuisine at beHealthy Institute on May 17th. Along with a fresh tray of raw veggies, they sampled sweet mango lassies (a traditional drink of India which is very refreshing and similar to a fruit smoothie made with plain yogurt, fresh mango, honey and ice mixed in a bledner). All the students were willing to try some fresh veggies laid out in an array of color with organic ranch dip and finish their tasting experience with sweet rice balls.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Rainbow of Veggies

The kindergarteners helped name a rainbow of veggies during their trip to beHealthy Institute of Hamburg. They had fun learning and munching on healthy veggie snacks with ranch dressing.

Kindergarten Class Builds Edible Veggie Gardens

Another class of 5 and 6 year olds comes to beHealthy Institute on Main Street in the Village to explore a rainbow of fresh veggies. The students fashion a veggie garden cup using crushed multi-grain crackers, organic ranch and fresh vegetables. One parting remark by a student with his to-go baggie of broccoli -- "This is the first time I ate broccoli and I never knew that I liked it."

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Snacking in the Morning -- Veggies Will Do!

Maureen Thiel, one of SOLE's volunteers, gives her take on healthy snacking and the importance of eating well from the start of your day.

Our 4th Grade Students Truly Love Their Veggies

After an hour in the morning helping sow and plant veggies for The Giving Garden's Great Veggie Adventure, our 4th grade students devoured a platter of fresh cut veggies. Without hesitation, they hungrily dipped asparagus spears, red pepper slices, broccoli florets, snap peas and baby carrots in Organic Hidden Valley Ranch. When kids are hungry they will eat veggies without hesitation! So put a plate of veggies in front of them and hold the cookies and other sugary snacks.

4th Graders Sow Seeds for the Great Veggie Adventure

Today a class of 4th grade students visited The Giving Garden. They were ready for some outdoor fun after a week of state testing -- they for sure earned some time in the garden! They were enthusiastic gardeners sowing purple carrots and pole beans in our Great Veggie Adventure bed. Tiny, fragile onions joined the veggie adventure along with brussel sprouts transplants. They added herbs like Thyme, Italian Parsley and Cilantro into our Italian/Indian bed. Big, brown, juicy worms came up from undercover to greet the students, almost as if on cue. After they were all through planting, they enjoyed, and by enjoyed, I mean devoured, a plate of fresh cut veggies with ranch dip. This goes to show that if kids are hungry after working up an appetite, they will eat whatever is before them, including raw veggies like asparagus, snap peas, carrots, red peppers and broccoli. What a fun and nutritious morning!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Learning about Veggies is FUN!

Jean Gunner, S.O.L.E., having some laughs with the kindergarten students while teaching the children about healthy veggies!

A Plate of Veggie Critters

Take a look at the Veggie Critters on this plate.

Kindergarten Students Love to Dip their Veggies!

30 Kindergartners Love to Eat Veggie Critters!







We had 30 kindergarten students join S.O.L.E. at beHealthy Institute to hear a story about a young girl who learned to love her veggies. The children had lots of fun being creative with a fresh rainbow of vegetables. They made critters using cut up veggies like red peppers, snap peas, asparagus, broccoli and shredded carrots. Butterfly, catterpillar and cherry tomato ladybug creations came to life on their plates using a creamy blend of Organic Hidden Valley Ranch and low-fat cream cheese as the "glue" to hold the critters together. Just in time to pop into their hungry mouths.