The Harvest of the Month (HOTM) featured item for December is kale.  Check out these resources and ideas to celebrate Harvest of the month with local kale!

RESOURCES

School Nutrition Professionals

• • Morning announcement script:  “Good morning students, this month we are featuring kale for our Harvest of the Month program.  Look for this nutrient-packed vegetable in your school lunch today (or on _______ date).  Harvest of the month is our program to feature a different locally grown fruit or vegetable each month.”
  • Menu ideas:
    • Add fresh kale to salads or serve on the salad bar.
    • Serve cooked kale as a dark green vegetable side.  Trying adding kale to soups or stews.
  • Recipe ideas:
    • Kale, Apple and Quinoa Salad – from Bibb County School Nutrition Program.  Tip: Use kale, apples and pecans from Georgia .  Prepare this recipe in advance to allow the kale to soften.
    • Kale Apple Salad – from Butts County School Nutrition Program.
    • Kale Apple Salad – from Carrollton City School Nutrition Program.
    • Kale Salad Meal and Kale Dressing – from Meriwether County School Nutrition Program.
    • New School Cuisine: Nutritious and Seasonal Recipes for School Cooks by School Cooks – Page 74, Kale Pesto, page 138, Cheesy Kale Bake.
  • HOTM Fact Sheet – Kale
  • Kale Marketing Poster 8.5×11
  • Taste test ideas:
    • • Hold a taste test with kale chips.  See the recipe on page 72 of the New School Cuisine: Nutritious and Seasonal Recipes for School Cooks by School Cooks from Vermont FEED, to make crunchy kale chips.
      • Hold a taste test with this Georgia Grown Kale and Blueberry Salad.
  • Kale joke: Q.  Why is kale never lonely?  A. Because they come in bunches.
  • American Kale Association – A public forum for providing about kale and its health benefits.

Students and Families

• HOTM Fact Sheet – Kale
• What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl – Search for recipes using sweet potatoes in this interactive website. The website includes a searchable database for healthy recipes and can help with meal planning, cooking and grocery shopping, from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.
• Simple Green Smoothie – from What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl
• MyPlate 10 Tips: Add More Vegetables to Your Day – A one page tip sheet on adding more vegetables to your meals and snacks, from USDA, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
• MyPlate 10 Tips: Add More Vegetables to Your Day – Spanish