Success StoryCooking with Confidence



Cooking with Confidence

Author: Vanessa Harris

Planning Unit: Menifee County CES

Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General

Outcome: Initial Outcome

The Menifee County Nutrition Education Program (NEP) Assistant and Agriculture Agent partnered to introduce new foods to a group of 72 fifth-grade students. They wanted to be able to use and cook mushrooms that the students had grown in their classroom. The recipe Chicken and Ranch Mushrooms was chosen. The students were very excited to learn how to cook mushrooms and try them as part of a recipe. While preparing the recipe, the NEP Assistant taught the students the importance of the four concepts to safely prepare foods: clean, separate, cook, and chill. The NEP Assistant also demonstrated how to use a meat thermometer to when cooking the chicken and how to wash produce correctly. To the students’ surprise the recipe was very easy to prepare and they really liked the taste of the mushrooms. The initiative not only promoted nutrition education to the students, but it also gave the students newfound confidence in their ability to cook and to cook safely. The students reflected on the past five years they have had with the NEP Assistant. They recalled the lessons that the NEP Assistant had delivered to them, and that eating healthy, and exercising are important parts of living a healthy lifestyle.     






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