What I Did on my Summer Vacation By Deb Glasser, MS, RD

First day of school? Cue the requisite “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” project. For my second grader, this took the shape of a paper cut out of over-sized sunglasses with instruction to write a favorite summer experience on each lens. She wrote of our family trip to the Midwest to see grandparents (chock-full of fireflies and thunderstorms-both of which are anomalies to my California girls) and on the other lens, she gushed about her experience at science camp and the solar system project she tackled. Her excitement over the moon specifically was palpable.

With the knowledge that our R + D kitchen was in full swing over the summer, I asked some of our SNP chefs the same question: What did you do on your summer vacation?

Co-owner and Executive Chef, Brandon, spent his summer working on the design of our new SNP kitchen (P.S. stay tuned!) but took some time away from the building to create and cook new menu items. His chicken & bean torta with braised shredded chicken and perfectly seasoned pinto beans on fresh whole wheat bread is destined for greatness.

While cultivating an amazing garden, Executive Sous Chef Luis, developed and refined the fresh mini veggie cheeseburger incorporating bell peppers and onions into the ground beef. “It is the perfect size for a kid’s hands to grab and eat, and it is delicious.”

Chef Jason spent time on the river wakeboarding, relaxing, and then headed back to the kitchen to perfect his chipotle chicken and brown rice bowl. “It tastes great and it has all of the necessary veggies, grains, and protein in one bowl.” Sounds like it will be amazing.

I am especially eager for our students to sample the SNP Epic Green Smoothie. I have been working with Chef Luis to perfect this smoothie recipe full of spinach, cucumber, and pineapple. Both the quality and the quantity of veggies that this smoothie packs into a single serving make this Dietitian extremely pleased and proud.

While the bulk of school lunch media attention is focused on the reauthorization of the HHFKA, I am excited to showcase the amazing work that our chefs do every single day both during the actual school year and over the summer. The students we feed will benefit from the long hours spent in the SNP kitchen creating and perfecting new menu items that will appear on their trays throughout the school year. I hope your students enjoy our food as much as we enjoy cooking it for them.

Cheers to a wonderful and successful 2015-2016 school year.

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