Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge Moves Into Final Judging Stage

Last September, First Lady Michelle Obama and the USDA launched the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge with the aim to find new healthy, delicious recipes to serve in the National School Lunch Program. Now the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge is moving into the final judging stage.

Teams

Teams composed of at least one student enrolled in grades 4-12, one chef, one school nutrition professional, and one parent or community member submitted 340 recipes to be judged. Each recipe had to fit in one of three categories: Whole Grains, Vegetables (Dark Green and Orange), and Legumes.

Prizes and Judging

Fifteen recipes – three in each category – made it to the final judging stage. Each recipe will be judged based on nutrition, creativity and originality, ease of use in schools, recipe presentation, and student involvement.

A first prize of $1500 and a second prize of $1000 will be awarded in each category. Also, a grand prize of $3000 for the best recipe overall and a Popular Choice Award of $1500 will be given. The Popular Choice Award will be given to the recipe from among the fifteen semi-finalists that receives the most votes online.

Fifteen Semi-Finalist Recipes

The fifteen recipes are:

Legumes

Lentils of the Southwest
Fiesta Wrap
Confetti Soup
Spanish Chickpea Stew
Tuscan Smoked Turkey and Bean Soup

Vegetable

Tasty Tots
Central Valley Harvest Bake
Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap
Crunchy Hawaiian Chicken Wrap
Stir-Fry Fajita Chicken, Squash, and Corn

Grain

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Chic’ Penne
Chicken Alfredo With a Twist
Porcupine Sliders
Stir Fried Green Rice, Eggs, and Ham

Voting for the Popular Choice Award is going on right now.  All the submitted recipes are online, so you can see what everyone came up with.

Image by Aleutia, used with Creative Commons license.