Grand Rapids — With winter holidays and family gatherings on the horizon, Grand Rapids Public Schools’ Family & Community Engagement department partnered with Corewell Health Family Kitchen to teach families how to make delicious and nutritious meals.
Taste Buddies, a cooking course led by GRPS to empower caregivers to be strong advocates for their scholars, was hosted at the Downtown Market.
Jennifer Williams, director of Family & Community Engagement, said the goal of the class was to encourage families to come together, make a meal and have valuable discussions around the dinner table.
Taste Buddies started virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams said. GRPS staff members hosted cooking demonstrations over Zoom to share their favorite recipes. The Family & Community Engagement department made grocery shopping lists, shopped for families and delivered meal ingredients to their homes.
For the in-person event, GRPS and Corewell Health chose recipes that put a nutritious spin on favorite holiday meals and provided all ingredients, supplies and appliances. Menu items included butternut squash mac and cheese, pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies and a meatless gumbo made from assorted vegetables.
While preparing the meal, students learned creative ways to incorporate math, reading, problem-solving and time management skills into the cooking experience.
Bettina Jones, a dietitian with Corewell Health, also gave parents and their kids tips for making healthy choices and maintaining sleep and exercise routines during the holiday season.
GRPS student Malachi and his mom, Laura, were in charge of making the maple mustard Brussels sprouts. Malachi learned how to carefully measure a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to sprinkle over the well-oiled sprouts on a tray.
“I think this will make them spicy and oily,” he said.
Malachi said he was also excited to try the cornbread muffins.
“Do you know how many muffins I’m going to eat? Seven,” he said. “If I love it, I’m going to eat a lot of it.”
Corewell Health cooks visited each station, assisted families with their recipes and explained some of the ingredient swaps — like using applesauce instead of oil, and flaxseed instead of egg for the cornbread muffins.
“When you replace the egg whites with flaxseed and water, it becomes like gelatin,” explained Corewell Health sous chef Michael Leaver.
Students and their parents were encouraged to try at least one bite of new foods before deciding they didn’t like it. Said Williams, “When the kids get their hands in it, they’re more willing to try the foods they made.”
After all elements of the meal were out of the oven, presented on a tray or in a serving bowl, families filled their plates and discussed their most and least favorite courses.
“My favorite part is when everyone sits down and students take the first bite of food they prepared, and the rich conversation that happens around the table,” Williams said.
The brussels sprouts were a group favorite despite some of the young chefs’ speculation that they would not enjoy eating green vegetables, though the mac and cheese left some missing the cheese.
Families went home with healthy snacks, leftovers, recipes for everything they cooked, a plant-based cookbook and a meal prep bag.
“We hope families take away wonderful memories and connections with other families from across the district,” Williams said.
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