Challenging Youth to Learn Life Skills in the Kitchen

Challenging Youth to Learn Life Skills in the Kitchen

The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation is encouraging Kiwi school students to take up the challenge and get creative in the kitchen with the Just Cook Create a Family Meal Challenge.

The challenge, which is part of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation’s Food Week campaign, aims to build young Kiwis’ confidence in the kitchen and encourages them to create a quick, delicious and affordable meal.

Students must create an original recipe, for a family of five, based on the ingredients from the Just Cook Food List – a selection of pantry and fridge/freezer essentials that all New Zealand households should have on hand as compiled by the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation.

Students have the option of entering four different categories including:

1. I Love Eggs Challenge: Make eggs the hero by including them as the main ingredient in a dinner dish

2. Tegal Challenge: From the freezer to the table, create a dinner dish using Tegal frozen chicken pieces

3. Sanitarium Challenge: Make it plant based by creating a vegetarian dinner dish

4. Beef and Lamb NZ Challenge: Meat in a flash - make a dinner dish that can be prepared in 20 minutes or less which includes New Zealand Beef or Lamb

Sarah Hanrahan, Nutritionist for the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation, says that the Just Cook Create a Family Meal Challenge is a great way to get youth thinking about being actively involved in the kitchen and cooking easy and delicious family meals.

“Cooking is an essential life skill. We want teens to get into the kitchen and show us the sort of family meals they like to eat and inspire their peers to get cooking as well,” she says.

“Meals cooked at home and eaten together as a family are a great step to better health and well-being,” Hanrahan adds.

Each category winner of the Just Cook Family Meal Challenge will receive a 32GB iPod Touch along with a selection of cook books. The overall winner will receive a Kenwood Titanium Major Kitchen Machine worth $1,800 for their school and the runner up a Kenwood Multi Pro Excel Food Processor worth $1,000 for their school. Each recipe that includes two or more types of vegetables will also go into the draw to win one of five iPod Nanos.

Students can enter by downloading an entry form from www.justcook.co.nz and sending their recipe, along with an attached photo of their dish to sarah@nutritionfoundation.org.nz or by mailing their entry to The New Zealand Nutrition Foundation, PO Box 331 366, Takapuna, Auckland 0740. Entries close Sunday 9 June at 5pm and the winners will be announced on Monday 28 June.

Food Week runs from 20 - 26 May 2013. For more details on Food Week visit www.justcook.co.nz

ENDS

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