Chef “K” is LIVE! From Jaspers Kitchen…..Again!

                

They had so much fun the first time, they just couldn’t resist doing another show.  Chef Jasper Mirable has asked Chef “K” to appear on his radio show LIVE! From Jasper’s Kitchen this Saturday September 27th at 11a.m. on KCMO radio 710am and will be broadcasting from the Hen House Market at 135th and Metcalf.  So come on down and be a part of the show!  Chef “K” will be making a delicious Tomato soup and Hen House has all the ingredients for you to take home to make for your loved ones.

National Lunch-In during School Nutrition Week

Have Lunch with Your Child in the School Cafeteria. Participate in
a national Lunch-In during school nutrition week (October 13-17, 2008)
to see and taste what kids are eating (and not eating) at school.

Angry Moms Movement

ANGRY MOMS ACTION PLAN FUELS A NATIONAL MOVEMENT

TO SERVE AMERICAN CHILDREN BETTER FOOD IN SCHOOLS

Weston, CT, September 8, 2008 – Angrymoms.org, a grassroots
organization dedicated to advocating for better food in schools, is
launching a national call to action for all parents, teachers,
administrators, legislators and government officials to work together
for better food in schools.  With the movie Two Angry Moms as a tool to
convey the urgency of the issue, the goal is to get two million moms to
sign a petition and get actively engaged in making excellence in school
food the norm in America. This will create a powerful catalyst for
change to mitigate the epidemics of obesity, Type II diabetes, asthma,
and learning, behavioral and emotional disorders among America’s
children. 

Why Two Million?

Former Texas Secretary of Agriculture, Susan Combs, commented that,
“…it will take two million angry moms to change school food.”
That kind of collective force will be difficult for administrators and
legislators to ignore in either local settings, or on a national scale.

This quote came out at about the same time that Amy Kalafa, an
award-winning filmmaker, and Susan Rubin, an active mom who gave up
dentistry to build a grassroots advocacy network called “Better School
Food,” got together because of their shared desire to improve school
cafeteria fare.  Amy created the angrymoms website to raise funds for
the documentary. The website quickly ignited a movement. Her goal, to
activate two million angry moms is now well underway.  The name of the
movie, “Two Angry Moms,” plays on Susan Combs visionary quote, and
it captures the attention and imagination of parents across the country.
It also creates a focal point for people to rally around. The Angry
Moms approach is rooted in optimism, not anger; coalition building, not
combativeness; and constructive collaboration, not frustrated isolation.

“I love how much buzz the name has generated,” said Amy Kalafa.
“The attention it creates has been a huge help in making Two Angry
Moms a catalyst for positive change that will improve what our kids eat
at school every day to promote better health, greater mental acuity and
significantly boost their ability to learn and thrive.”

Two Angry Moms’ Action Plan for Better  Food in Schools

Kalafa created the Two Angry Moms movie as a first step to offer an
entertaining, engaging way to get people together to learn about the
catastrophic effect poor nutrition has on our children.  Kalafa traveled
from coast to coast to document the full extent of the problem and
showcase where people were changing the system to serve healthy,
delicious food in school cafeterias. Among the many leaders featured in
the film are the Edible Schoolyard creator Alice Waters and the Renegade
Lunch Lady, Ann Cooper.  The movie highlights schools that created
continuity between the cafeteria and the classroom.  That means first
eliminating processed foods loaded with excessive sugar, hydrogenated
oils and other chemicals from school lunches.  It also requires
integrating food education throughout the curriculum through active,
hands-on cooking and gardening classes, education around the commerce of
food, and experiential learning about the life-cycle of food.  This
enhances our children’s awareness of the difference in flavor,
texture, scent, color and nutritional value of organic versus
conventionally-produced food, fresh versus frozen food, and processed
versus whole foods.  As this awareness grows, kids intuitively begin to
choose healthier food options.

The film is the cornerstone of the Two Angry Moms action plan for better
food in schools.  It is a catalyst that moves people from awareness to
action.  Step one is viewing Two Angry Moms with others to create a
community of like-minded individuals who can have a far greater impact
working together than they can when working alone. 

The action plan calls for:

•    Holding Screenings of the Two Angry Moms Movie
•    Signing and Circulating the Two to Two Million Angry Moms Petition
to show support for national adoption of nutrition policies that promote
a safer school food environment.
•    Having Lunch with Your Child in the School Cafeteria. Participate in
a national Lunch-In during school nutrition week (October 13-17, 2008)
to see and taste what kids are eating (and not eating) at school.
•    Joining or Forming a Wellness Committee to discuss local school food
concerns.
•    Surveying Your District to find out how many other parents,
students, teachers and staff share your concerns about school food. 
•    Reading Your Contracts to find out if your school food program is
self-operated or run by a food service management company. 
•    Marketing Positive Changes once they’re implemented to ensure
buy-in from the whole community.
•    Cooking with Your Kids and Improving Your Food IQ.  Discover what
foods your family likes best, try new things, read books and take
classes to improve your cooking skills and create a growing repertoire
of recipes that are healthy crowd pleasers at home.  Volunteering at
school to initiate or assist in school gardening programs, alternative
fundraisers or “smoothie days” in the cafeteria are some more action
pointers.
•    Speaking Out to local media, other concerned parents and school
administration to raise awareness of the issue.
•    Calling Congress to let representatives know that you support
legislation that gets advertising and junk food out of schools, and
regulations that encourage sustainable agriculture, small farmers and
local markets.

To learn more about Two Angry Moms, order the film or search for a
screening scheduled in your area, visit www.angrymoms.org.

Organic food to be cheaper than other produce

Organic food could become cheaper than other produce as a result of the rising cost of oil, according to a report.

By Graham Tibbetts
Last Updated: 2:58PM BST 02 Sep 2008

It is currently regarded as a luxury purchase by shoppers, who have been forced to turn to lower cost, intensively-farmed produce by the economic downturn.

But a study suggests that the price of oil could soon make cereal crops grown with fertilisers more expensive than those produced more naturally.

Industrial farming relies on fossil fuels to mine, manufacture and transport fertilisers which replace nutrients in the soil.

Organic farming, however, improves soil fertility through crop rotations and is less affected by oil prices.

With oil predicted to reach $200 a barrel within five to 10 years, the profit margin on organic wheat, barley and oil seed rape would be as much as £411.

This compares with up to £348 for the same crops produced by non-organic methods, according to the study by Andersons, the farm business consultants.

Peter Melchett, policy director of the Soil Association which promotes organic farming, said: “This study suggests that as oil inevitably becomes scarcer and costs more, economic forces will increasingly favour organic farming.

“Organic systems are not perfect, but they do use less energy, generally emit fewer greenhouse gases, can sequester carbon in the soil, provide more jobs and support more wildlife. This report suggests they could also offer a more secure long-term financial future for the UK’s farmers.”

Organic farming is backed by Prince Charles, who has one on his Highgrove estate.

The report comes a week after organic food sales were reported to have dropped by 20 per cent in the past eight months to £81 million in August.

Charles Bourns, chairman of the NFU’s poultry board, said: “I was talking to someone in the NFU and they were saying it’s happening in beef and everywhere, because at the end of the day it’s a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have.”

Kansas City Academy Celebrates Silver Anniversary

Kansas City Academy celebrated it’s 25th Anniversary Sunday, September 14th with a party held at Boulevard Brewer and and catered by the Bistro Kids staff of Merrill, Jodi, C-O-B-Y (and of course… Luke).   They presented the party with the same foods the students eat in the Farm 2 School Lunch program and fresh seasonal produce picked from KCA’s very own garden. 

Everyone had a great time for a great school.  Congratulations KCA you truly are…..something different!

 

 

Chef “K” on LIVE! From Jaspers Kitchen

Chef “K” appeared on Chef Jaspers radio show today to talk about the Farm 2 School lunch program and to make a delicious chocolate soup.  We’ve posted the recipe here for the chocolate fanatics!

CHOCOLATE SOUP

8 oz guanajau 70% chocolate

2oz cocoa powder

6 oz cream

10 oz milk

2 oz sugar

4 oz creme fraiche

In a doube boiler melt the guanajua and cocoa power

In a seperate sauce pan heat the milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved.

Whip the cream separately.

Add the milk/sugar mixture slowly to the melted chocolate, stirring until smooth.

Fold in the whipped cream

Serve in large cups or small bowls….serves about 4-6….topped with a dollop of creme fraiche.

                   

                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids’ Concentration in School – Do Healthy Lunches Make a Difference?

 

 

Kids’ Concentration In School – Do Healthy Lunches Make A Difference? The Better Life Experts | September 8, 2008   Absolutely, healthy food makes a big difference in the ability of children to concentrate, period. Many health professionals, including dietician Catherine Kraus, a University of Michigan Health Systems expert, emphasize that a balanced diet enables neurotransmitters to function better, resulting in improved concentration and memory. “Childhood is a crucial time when bodies are growing and brains are developing. It’s so important to fuel the body with good nutrition, and teaching children smart eating habits at a young age is a great idea”, says Kraus. Parents, grandparents, siblings and teachers need to serve as role models for young children and should walk the talk.While many schools strive to add healthier items to lunch menus, they continue to offer plenty of unhealthy foods as choices for children. Making the assumption that children know the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods is mostly false. For example, children may think that nachos are a good choice for lunch – cheese is good and comes from a cow so it must be healthy. What children do not think about is the cycle of food from cafeteria to lunch table. Nachos are made with tortilla chips that are deep fried and salted. The nachos are then loaded with cheese that may or may not be ‘real’ (some cheese products are full of emulsifiers). By the time it reaches your child’s plate, it is a high-fat meal that can make them feel tired and lethargic after lunch. We spend a great deal of time and effort trying to make sure that children go to the best schools in the best school districts and expend too little effort in ensuring that they are offered the best possible food choices in the cafeteria. Think about it.

Kansas City Academy Goes Green

The following article appeared in Greenability Magazine.  For information to subscribe to this bi-monthly magazine go to www.greenabilitymagazine.com or call (816).931.3646

Kansas City Academy

 colors everything green

                                                                   by Kate Duffy

One full school year after Kansas City Academy students decided their school could be a little greener, they have built a greenhouse, planted a large vegetable garden and prepared a report for the school’s board of directors on the amount of energy used to light the building.  A Green Team is in place, locally grown food is served in the cafeteria and the physics teacher is considering placing a wind turbine on the roof to generate electricity.

     It is probably safe to say that, in this 2008-09 school year, students may feel healthier, the administration is less concerned about increasing heating and power costs, and the neighbors are curious about – and maybe even inspired by – the big, hoop-shaped greenhouse in the south schoolyard.  All this marks the beginning of the greening of Kansas City Academy, a small private school housed in a former engineering school at 7933 Main St. in Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood.

     The hoop-shaped greenhouse in the south schoolyard may generate the most attention.  Planted with tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, and other summer vegetables, this greehouse garden is watered with rainwater runoff from the roof that is stored in tanks.  Inside the school, the changes are less noticeable to neighbors, but are just as important as students, grades 6-12 compete to make the “hottest” compost, and school staffers install energy-efficient light fixtures thoughout the building

     All those involved with KCA’s drive toward sustainability seem excited about what’s going on at the school, from board members and community consultants to teachers and the students themselves.

     “We want to be a model for the neighborhood,” says Don Reck, a KCA board member and the director of Habitat for Humanity’s Restore.  “We’re a small private school, and we don’t have a lot of money. We’re in the blue-collar neighborhood and we want to show people that we don’t all live in a 10,000 square foot house.  We could be catalyst.  This will be good for the whole Waldo neighborhood.”

 5 steps to saving energy

Although Kansas City Academy is larger than a family home, the two have much in common when it comes to becoming more energy efficient on a tight budget.

Many schools – and homeowners – worry about enery loss through their windows.  But replacing windows, especially all 56 at KCA is expensive and has a long payback period, a minimum of 20 to 25 years.  To keep conditioned air inside, KCA plans on sealing all the windows and tinting the ones on the west side to cut down on solar heat, according to KCA board member Don Reck.  In cool weather, the school will hang drapes on those west windows to retain the warm air.

Last fall, Missouri Energy Works performed a walk through audit of the school’s lighting, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.  It’s advice is good for both large commercial buildings and individual homes.  The report suggested that KCA:

1. Install more energy-efficient lighting fixtures thoughout the school to increase the light level, while reducing consumption by 30 percent
2. Install a central-energy control system that would turn off or set back/set up temperatures when school is out, reducing both electric and natural gas consumption.  “In conducting these audits, we have found a lot of school systems operate 24/7,” says Bob Housh of the Metropolitan Energy Center.  To reduce costs, schools need to carefully plan off-schedule activities and use energy only when there are events or school is in session
3. Install compact flourescent lights (CFL’s), which save schools 25 percent of energy costs.
4. Keep lights turned off when they’re not needed.
5. Keep heating and cooking equipment well maintained and free from mineral deposits, dirt and dust that can lower equipment efficiency.

     Granted, the Greenability Challenge is a big undertaking, but not impossible.  Greenability created the challenge series in partnership with Bridging The Gap and the Metropolitan Energy Center to help local families make greener choices for their lives.  Although the KCA “family” is larger than most, it still faces many of the same challenges as it adopts a reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy in its daily practices.

KCA’s outside resource team includes:

• Bob Housh of Kansas City’s Metropolitan Energy Center, which conducted the school’s energy audit through its Missour Energy Works division.  Housh also assists the school with energy educatjion for its science curriculum.
• Andrea Matthew of Kansas City community Gardens Schoolyard Gardens Program, which advised the school about its garden and greenhouse.
• Kiersten Firquain and Coby Bryars of Bistro Kids Farm 2 School Lunch Program, a local company providing healthy and kid-friendly school lunches using locally grown foods as much as possible.  Starting this fall, KCA’s gardens will supply some of the food served in the cafeteria.
• Don Reck, director of Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, and Bill Lepentis, an architect with Gatinger Walker Harden Architects, both of whom are KCA community board members
• Stacia Stelk, a consultant to Bridging The Gap, who assisted the school’s Green Team with its strategic planning process.

     So just how does a 49-year-old, 27,574-square-foot, 25-room brick school, with 56 windows and 75 students go green? 

     “It started at the student level last fall when we were revising our strategic priorities,” explains Kathy Baldwin-Heitman, KCA’s admissions director.

     Teachers listened carefully to the students who requested that the school take on sustainability as one of its projects.  Some of the students were already recycling at home, but they wanted to do more at the school.  Like any good group of educators spotting a teachable moment, the staff encouraged the students to develop their ideas and then present them to the school’s board of directors. 

     Kansas City Academy uses hands-on projects and real-world problems in its curriculum, so adding sustainability to the mix of subjects was a good fit.  Teachers and students regularly do field research and make a point of involving the community in their projects.

     The school went to the community again when it formed its eight-member Green Team, which is commprised of two community members, two faculty, two parents and two students.  This planning group selected five initiatives and presented them to the administration and KCA Student Council, which then assigned the initiative to an eight-member crew.  Every person in the building is on a crew, and therefore involved with the greening of the school.

Here’s the first group of initiatives:

• Install recycling bins in classrooms and halls to collect paper, plastic and cans.
• Support carpooling and alternative (low-carbon) transportation
• Sonsor a campaign to turn off lights and computers, and adjust the thermostat.
• Compost regularly
• Eliminate disposable water bottles.

     In Carol Eschen’s science class last spring, students experimented with different compost recipes to see which would generate the most heat, proof that bacteria were hard at work turning the vegetable scraps from the kitchen, and leaves and dirt from the yard, into rich organic fertilizer for the student garden.  The winning formula included a splash of beer, based on advice students had received during a visit to a garden store.

     “One of the staff members there had mentioned that he had good luck with his compost by adding beer to it,” Eschen says.  “When we got back to school, one of the students asked if he could add some to his, and his compost won.  Beer easily breaks down into sugars, and bacteria need that to work.”

     At the same time, Anne Goldcamp’s physics students were studying the school’s energy usage and cost to light the building.  They determined the building was actually under-lit, and presented their recommendations to the school’s board of directors.  This fall, Goldcamp’s students will continue studying the school’s energy usage, but this time on a larger scale as they learn about the electic grid and ways to conserve their own power usage.  They’re also looking at alternatives for making power, Goldcamp says, and are considering installing a little turbine on the roof.

     All in all, things are greening up at the Academy.

Bistro Kids And community garden serve up healthy food

     Two organizations are working with Kansas city Academy to provide healthier lunches and a closer connection between students and their food.

     The one-year-old Bistro Kids Farm 2 School Lunch Program (www.bistrokids.com or 913.710.5171) places a chef in the school who uses locally grown foods in preparing students’ lunches.  Owner Kiersten Firquain partners with local farmers and local grocers, like Hen House, to use food that is produced within a 200-mile radius of Kansas City.  The student lunches include hormone-free-milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-fed meats and whole grains.

     KCA’s garden fits neatly into Bistro Kids’ philosophy.

     “There’s a great need for this kind of hands-on education about food for students,” Firquain says.

     KCA’s second food-related partner is Kansas City Community Gardens’ School Gardens program (www.kccg.org or 816.931.3877), which works with 1,700 students across the metropolitan area in cultivating school gardens.  In addition to seeds, tools, fertilizer and tilling services, schools also receive training for teachers in incorporating science and nutrition into the school’s curriculum.

     “It’s never to early or late to teach kids about gardening,” says Andrea Matthew, KCCG program coordinator.

Take the greenablility Challenge

Are you and your family ready to learn how to change your lifestyle to help save the environment?  Each “challenge famil” receives a free energy audit valued at $500 and many suggestions for making your lifestyle more eco-friendly.  Apply for the Greenability challenge at www.greenabilitymagazine.com

Oakhill Trivia

We here at the Bistrokids Blog love trivia! 

Question: What is Oak Hills faaaaaaaaaaaaavorite apple? 

P.S. If we stumped you please don’t admit it.  :O)

OAKHILL ROCKS!!!!!!!  Plus they loooooooove Royal Gala Apples.  (If you are still stumped and don’t know the answer…….go grab a Royal Gala Apple, then come back and guess!)