According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Empty calories from added sugars and solid fats contribute to 40% of daily calories for children and adolescents age 2–18 years—affecting the overall quality of their diets.” But most people who work with middle-school-aged children know that this group is not easy to influence when it comes to healthy behavior change.

Despite the odds, the youth services coordinator at Conner Middle School and the nutrition education assistant from the Boone County Extension teamed up to challenge 10 students in an after-school hands-on cooking program.  Over a 6-week period, they spent 9 hours exploring MyPlate, the USDA’s recommendations for healthy eating. They learned valuable cooking skills to decrease the consumption of prepackaged foods and to encourage a love of cooking.

Each week they focused on limiting sugar, salt, and fat and increasing the consumption of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Recipes that included raw vegetables, fruit as a natural sweetener, and pancakes made with whole oats and topped with yogurt and fresh fruit, replaced typical cheese quesadillas, cookies, and pancakes served with butter and syrup. The students asked poignant questions such as whether it was helpful to mix sweet tea with unsweet tea to make it healthier. They demonstrated through their enthusiasm and questions that they were thinking about how their diet affected their health. According to a beginning and ending survey using a national data collection system, 40% of the students increased their consumption of fruit and whole grains, and 70% demonstrated increased knowledge of measuring ingredients.