Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8438 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com MARCH | APRIL 2017 goodHEALTH Food Network Chef Promotes Healthy Eating at Schools by AliciaWanek Famous for his appearances on Iron Chef America and as a judge on Food Network’s Chopped: Junior, Chef Jet Tila is an internationally acclaimed chef and restauranteur. He is sharing his passion to promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices through his partnership with Flik Independent School Dining, a company offering an innovative approach to dining at school, including at local Prince of Peace Christian School (POPCS) and Early Learning Center in Plano. The Flik philosophy of Eat. Learn. Live. resonates with Tila and his own mission to help instill a love for cooking and eating healthy in the next generation. “This encourages a relationship with real food,” he says. Immediately upon walking into the school dining facility, it’s apparent that this is not the school lunchroom of our generation. What strikes you first is how colorful it is. The salad bar is filled with over a dozen options, infused water dispensers (cranberry orange and apple with mint) line the wall, posters highlight the month’s food (this month was spinach), and fresh fruit is available for all students to take back to class or keep for their after- school activity; all these features contribute to an atmosphere that’s friendly and bright. The focus is for the kids to not only try new foods, but to experience new foods, not processed, frozen, or canned foods but fresh foods, along with new ways to eat them. Christopher Johns, Executive Chef, says “As long as you can introduce new foods to their palate early on, they are more likely to try new things later.” Davita Lester, Food Service Director adds, “Usually they like it when they try it.” On the day we were there, the options included Korean barbeque beef tacos with pickled radish and fresh cilantro, sweet chili tofu, Thai pineapple fried rice, and grilled broccolini. The superfood highlighted was dark chocolate, and earlier in the week there had been a chef demonstration, preparing the Latin-American dish mole using the dark chocolate with taste samplings for the students. Panini stations are available every day with meats smoked in-house, and though no traditional desserts are served, students can prepare their own parfait with vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola. And the school is doing it all for as little as $3.39 per student. “Now, like at no time before, kids are getting involved in cooking,” Chef Jet says, “…and the secondary benefits are massive.” It’s not only the health benefits. Families are cooking together and eatingtogether,andthathasitsownrewards. Atthe end of Tila’s cooking demonstration, over half the class raised their hand to indicate they want to open a restaurant when they grow up, indicating that this new approach to school lunch is making an impact. And watching a steady stream of high school boys ordering the tofu option with broccolini…. that’s solid proof. “As long as you can introduce new foods to their palate early on, they are more likely to try new things later.” - Christopher Johns, Executive Chef, POPCS “Now, like at no time before, kids are getting involved in cooking and the secondary benefits are massive,”says Chef JetTila, flanked by Prince of Peace Christian School students Landon Hill, left, and KayleeThomas at his recent visit the school.