Keep your kids busy while you get ready for Xmas the It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program is on this week. Download the e-book HERE.  Full of lots of potato recipes co-sponsored by Potatoes New Zealand, will run live online on Thursday 20th December @ 10am!

The interactive show is the brainchild of food and nutrition educator Glenda Gourley, and her 18 year-old daughter Claire. Already it’s been hailed by celebrity chef and healthy food promoter, Jamie Oliver in his blog.

By encouraging children all over New Zealand to learn to cook their family dinner and eat together, the program also supports the Ministry of Health Food & Nutrition Guidelines for children and young people aged 2-18.

“We want to help children get savvy and confident with food in a way that’s fun, but also delivers results,” says Glenda.  “It’s simple – kids who have food skills make better food choices.”

“The online program is a win-win. Parents can sit back and have their dinner cooked while their children learn healthy food skills, and enjoy hanging out with other kids learning to cook online,” she says.

“We encourage kids to start with simple and healthy dishes like mashed potatoes with spices or herbs, we’ll have them whipping up a scrummy potato salad, show them how to make healthy hash browns on the barbecue, or oven baked potato wedges with salsas and salad.” says Glenda.

The cooking session is highly interactive with the mother-daughter team giving step-by-step instructions direct to children. A range of activities encourage sharing and creativity through live-chats and fun games such as origami puzzles, Christmas gift ideas, and tips and tricks to make the food festive.

The class also recognises other aspects of food health and safety.  “We include lots of other foodie things like how to make food choices, kitchen safety and helping children gain confidence both in the kitchen and on the computer,” says Claire.

Originally trialed as a pilot in April 2012, the response from participants was overwhelmingly positive. The program is supported by 5+ A Day.

For more information and to register online go to www.foodsavvykids.com

For more information contact:

 Glenda Gourley, Potatoes NZ, 027 428 1646

Fiona Morris, Ideas Shop, 027 224 2542

It’s official, the best nutrition and education brains in the country have made a recommendation*, parents are advised to involve their kids in food shopping and cooking family meals. (Especially those involving POTATOES!)

This is a trump card for any parent. It is not just you nagging to get your kids to help – evidence from the experts actually backs you up!  Your kids are likely to be healthier if they help with dinner because study after study shows that a child who has practical food skills makes better food choices.

The challenge, as always, remains to convert guidelines into action. Juggling the demands of work, school and family mean many parents struggle with the practical reality of making it happen.  For example, most of us know our kids should eat more fruit and vegetables but get stuck on the ‘how-to’. An innovative online cooking program, supported by 5+ A Day, addressing this may be what you are looking for.

Utilizing the inspirational skills of food educator Glenda Gourley and her teen daughter Claire, the mother-daughter team created It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program. It harnesses the power of role models by using a teen to inspire children. Running 2-4 October this program gets your children cooking your dinner, in your home, using your food.

Originally trialed as a pilot in April this year, the response by participating parents and kids was overwhelmingly positive**. The program is also gaining international attention, the Jamie Oliver Foundation recognized, praised and blogged about it on their website. Closer to home, the positive impact of Claire’s cooking strategy was the major question in NCEA Home Economics level 1 final exam last year.

The children learn to cook while they hang out with other kids online. It’s not just cooking, they slip in all sorts of other foodie things – like making food choices, reading labels, kitchen safety, plus they gain confidence both in the kitchen and on the computer. Activities and competitions encourage the children to share, contribute, be creative, create an occasion to eat together and do something nice for other people.

So here is a clear action plan to implement the new guidelines. Enroll your kids in the It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program at www.foodsavvykids.com and sit back while your kids have fun, learn food skills and cook your dinner. The ultimate win;win, for parents. No, you are not being lazy insisting your children cook you dinner – you are encouraging your kids to get food skills that will last a lifetime.  The school holidays could well be a holiday for you too!

*The Ministry of Health released Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (aged 2-18 years) were released on August 6th. Full details may be found on www.healthed.govt.nz There are a range of recommendations including eating together as a family, eating from the four food groups daily, drinks, ensuring food safety and physical activity.

** Feedback from parents and children who particiapted in the April cooking program may be viewed under ‘rave reviews’ http://cookingprogram.itsmyturntocooktonight.com/rave-reviews

 ENDS

For more information:

Glenda Gourley

Mob 0274 281646

glenda@foodsavvykids.com

skype; glendagourley

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release , 24 June 2011

Potatoes New Zealand believes New Zealand media coverage of a recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week is misleading and that the findings are of little relevance in a New Zealand context.

“Potatoes are an important, nutritious part of almost every New Zealander’s diet,” said Glenda Gourley, food and education consultant for Potatoes New Zealand. “Coverage in the Dominion Post may have caused concern for many readers because of claims eating potatoes will make you fat.”

The U.S study claimed that people who ate an extra serving of french fries every day gained an average of 1.5 kilograms over a four-year period.

Mrs Gourley is disappointed at the U.S study’s claims. “Potatoes are one of the most nutritious and affordable food people can eat. Of course if a person chooses to eat an extra serving of any food they can be expected to gain weight over time.”

Sue Pollard, CEO at New Zealand Nutrition Foundation says the study needs to be put into context, “A key message from this research is that weight gain is more about food intake than exercise. People can take simple steps, such as avoiding adding extra fats while cooking and using a smaller dinner plate – they don’t need to worry about their potato consumption.”

In stark contrast to the findings reported, recent research conducted by the U.S National Centre for Food and Safety Technology showed people can include potatoes in their diet and still lose weight.

Dr. Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, MS, the lead researcher on the project, says, “The results of this study confirm what health professionals and nutrition experts have said for years; when it comes to weight loss, it is not about eliminating food or food groups, rather it is reducing calories that count.”

To learn more comprehensive potato nutrition facts and research, visit the Potatoes New Zealand website at www.potatoes.co.nz.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Sue Pollard
CEO at New Zealand Nutrition Foundation
09 4893 417

or
Glenda Gourley
Food and Education Consultant, Potatoes New Zealand
027 4281 646

This week is Food Week – an initiatve from the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation encouraging Kiwis to ‘just get in the kitchen and cook’. Food Week aims to build back confidence in homes that a home-cooked meal with basic ingredients and seasonal produce is inexpensive, easy and tasty. (more…)