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So, one of the things that's really important about the center and how we approach nutrition
is the personal support of the entire planning process. It is really important to us that
everybody has buy-in to what it is we are trying to do. That is only possible if everybody
in the program is a part of the planning, is part of the whole entire process.
There is never a time when we plan anything at all that has to do with food that Priscilla
is not THE player, that is, the most important player in the plan. As I was explaining earlier,
sometimes I come back from a conference with, I think, some really exciting ideas and never
has there ever been a time when Priscilla has said, "I can't do that!"
It might take me a few days. Ha,ha,ha,ha, but I figure out a way to get it done.
As an example, we have fish that we serve here, and, I do a lot of research. I look
into what is most important for kids to be trying to do early because we know that introducing
nutrition is important in the early years. So when we introduced fish, you know, I said
"I'd really like us to have fish more often, and what did you do?
We started serving fish and I was trying to come up with a healthy way to serve it without
it being fish sticks -- breaded. So, we found that the fish the children liked best was
the tilapia. We are basically just roasting it, baking it with lemon pepper and lemon.
Now, I can't make enough of it. They're eating more than what is required of their meals,
along with the whole grains that we have worked into the program. It's been an eye-opener
to me because I am a 50's generation, we ate white bread, and I've come around to eating
the whole grain breads. We're serving 4-5 whole grains a day and 4 fresh vegetables,
fruits and vegetables a day -- totally fresh. So, I'm excited.
So, we always have whole grains, and when we did do it, you were open, and when we suggested
that, and you found, that it was really easier to include it slowly.
Yes, we had to start with little baby steps, like everything around here, and we've come
a long way in the last nine months to a year, I think.
Yeah, we have. One of the things, and tell me if you think the same thing, is when we
introduced Pro-Pacific, the local produce supplier and its North-state local, that's
been a huge thing for us. When our own garden doesn't produce something, or when we can't
get some things from the fruit stand, we can get it from our local supplier and know that
it is local produce.
Local, fresh and good quality food is the motto. It is much easier to get the kids to
eat it if the quality is there, so, we try to stick with what is in season and what is
going to be the best food for them at that time.
You were telling me the other day, that with the taste tests and how long we've been doing
it, how much more the kids are eating healthy food.
Oh, absolutely. When I first started cooking, the one thing that it brings into my mind
is broccoli. There was me and one other child and the teachers who would eat it. And now,
I cannot cook enough broccoli. I think the biggest reason for that is that we start the
children at 18 months, and our children have been here since then, plus serving fresh food
only. We were doing frozen. We've gone totally fresh. I think that is the key.
It tastes better.
The key to the whole thing is the freshness of the produce -- the fruits and vegetables
You know, when we grew the broccoli in the garden, that is when we really thought, "We
have to have a sink out here," because we were improvising, and the kids were wanting
to just pick it and eat it.
Which some did.
That is why we have the hoses nearby, and we try really hard to make sure we are rinsing
everything. It is a good thing that we don't have any pesticides.
We learned the little trick with the spray containers that we take to the garden, one
with just fresh water and one with soap and water, so we can wash the vegetables and fruits,
and the hands before they eat. That was a key element in taste-testing in the garden.
It was a lot of fun last October when we held our garden event and you did the taste test.
Remember how surprised you were at how the kids liked the raw Brussels sprouts, and now
they are eating the cooked Brussels sprouts. In just what, since October, how far they
have come with eating fresh Brussels sprouts. Amazing! I thought that would be a vegetable
that would be hard for them to get past that little bit of bitter taste. The taste did
not bother them at all.