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Kettering school-lunch recipe is one of 15 semifinalists in Michelle Obama contest
A Kettering school-lunch recipe has been selected one of 15 semifinalists nationwide in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.
Online voting has begun and will extend through May 15 to determine a “Popular Choice” winner among the 15 semifinalists, which itself carries a $1,500 top prize. But a $3,000 grand prize is available to the overall winner of the contest, with several other runner-up awards of $1,000 to $1,500, that will be awarded through a judging process separate from the online voting. A tasting panel of U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives and others will visit Kettering’s Van Buren Middle School in the coming weeks to evaluate the dish — entitled “Chicken Alfredo With a Twist” — to see whether it measures up to become one of three finalists. Then top three school teams will compete in a national cook-off to determine the grand-prize winner.
The Chicken Alfredo With a Twist recipe was developed by Louise Easterly, supervisor of food and nutrition services for the school district, with the help of a team of students from Van Buren, Cincinnati-area chef Rachel Tilford and school nurse Mary Kozarec, who all worked together on a project earlier this year to develop healthy, “kid-approved” recipes to be served in Kettering’s cafeterias.
The “twists” in the recipe are lowered fat content from the inclusion of fat-free half-and-half and the use of whole-grain pasta, as well as of a low-sodium cream of chicken soup, Easterly said. When the recipe was first served to the small group of students working on the project, the feedback was very positive, she said.
“It’s an honor to be picked among 340 entries,” Easterly said.
Readers can vote for the Kettering Van Buren Middle School recipe here.
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