Did you know that your Bates student sampled kale chips and pumpkin, squash and apple soup during their lunch period yesterday? What a great event this was and attendance was great! Of course, the students have to attend lunch so we had a captive audience. Tara Boyle from Fresh Farms had a farm stand set up. She gave a short presentation about farm stands in the local area which surprisingly fired up the students.
Thank you to Heather Macintosh, our Wellness Chair, along with her committee members who put on this event. Using the Bates cafeteria, they MADE enough kale chips for 750 students. Thank you to Debbie Gill, the Bates cafeteria manager, for sharing her ovens and space with the Wellness Committee. Last, but not least, The Palate Pleasers, in Eastport made the pumplin, squash and apple soup from all fresh ingredients and enough for the entire school to sample more than once. The recipes follow and were handed out to the students.
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
1 bag of chopped kale or one large head of fresh kale.
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ tsp – 1 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F
Carefully cut off the thick stems (ribs) and chop the leaves into potato-chip-sized pieces. Wash under running water in a colander and dry really well using a salad spinner or by patting with a kitchen towel or paper towels.
On a baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and toss like a salad till the oil just coats the kale. Sprinkle with some salt – just a bit “to taste”. Spread out in a single layer and bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.
Makes about four servings.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 169 calories, 42% of calories from fat, 8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 160 mg sodium, 8 g fiber. Kale comes from the family of plants that includes mustard greens, broccoli and other foods in the cabbage, or cruciferous, family. These vegetables are loaded with vitamins (such as A, C, K and B), iron, calcium and fiber
Savory Sweet Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb pumpkin, washed, peeled, seeded and chopped into chunks (have an adult do this!)
1 lb butternut squash, washed, peeled, seeded and chopped into chunks
5 Apples (Stayman, Granny Smith, Gala) – washed, peeled and chunked
2 Onions, chopped
1 ½ Cups low sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cups Apple Cider
Season with fresh ginger, maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste and a squeeze of lemon juice
Directions:
Simmer all together until soft. Cool completely then use a blender to puree until smooth.
