BEANS Cooking Club Begins at Nokomis Elementary School in Ukiah

Adriana and Montana, BEANS teen peer educators, were greeted with smiles and hugs when they arrived at Nokomis Elementary’s after-school program last Wednesday. The 3rd and 4th graders who are part of the six-week long “BEANS Cooking Club” couldn’t wait to find out what the recipe of the day would be. It was “Apple Smiles”… a sticky, crunchy, crisp apple snack! The students eagerly answered questions about food groups, healthy snacking ideas, and trying new foods… then they each practiced reading and following the recipe. Happy chatter filled the classroom as students tasted their snacks and shared ideas for additional toppings.

After finishing and clearing plates, Adriana and Montana got the kids up and moving for a raucous game of “What’s on My Plate?” where students work in small groups to name examples of foods from a particular food group as quickly as they can, do jumping jacks until all of the other groups complete their task, then run to the next station to work on naming foods from another food group.

As the students returned to their seats, the BEANS teen peer educators asked, “What is one thing you learned today?” Hands shot up and kids said, “I learned how to taste new things,” “I learned about food on MyPlate,” “I tried a new snack and am going to take the recipe home,” “Is there more?”

Adriana and Montana assured the kids that they would be back next Wednesday… “You’ll be helping us cook One Pot Vegetarian Stew!”