CCSD School Lunch Recipe Challenge- OFFICIAL RULES Introduction The CCSD School Lunch Recipe Challenge is an initiative to get to students and staff involved in creating new, healthier, and kid- approved school lunch menu items. The goal is to revamp the school lunch menu with items that are both nutritious and that students want to eat. The contest will bring together food service staff, students, teachers and community members to develop creative, nutritious, tasty and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into CCSD school lunch menus. Summary of How to Enter and Judging Criteria The contest is open to teams from all CCSD elementary and secondary schools (secondary schools include middle schools, high schools, and middle/high schools) that are enrolled in the USDA National School Lunch Program. Charter schools and special status schools are also eligible to apply. Each Recipe must be entered in only one of four categories: 1) Entrée: Poultry; 2) Entrée: Beef; 3) Entrée: Fish; 4) Entrée: Meatless. Recipes will initially be judged on the following six criteria: 1) Nutritional Requirements (Based in USDA Guidelines); 2) Incorporation of Nutrient Dense Foods; 3) Recipe Presentation and Overall Appeal; 4) Cost to Prepare, 5) Ease of Preparation, and 6) Creativity of Name. The sections below provide a more detailed description, as well as important requirements and restrictions. Develop a School Lunch Recipe Team The School Lunch Recipe Team must have at least the following three individuals as members: 1) a foodservice employee from the submitting school; 2) at least one student; and 3) a community member. However, there is no limit to the number of participants on your team. The school foodservice employee could be a food service director, manager, or cook at the submitting school. The student must be a child that is enrolled at the submitting school at the time of entry. There is no limit on the number of students on each team. However, each school may only submit one recipe; it is up to the school to determine which of the recipes they will submit if multiple groups of students within the school develop a recipe. The community member could include, but is not limited to, a parent, teacher, administrator, local youth leader, member of the school s Wellness Team, or other interested community member.
Submission Requirements Each school will be allowed to submit one recipe. While many groups within the school are encouraged to participate or develop recipes, it is the responsibility of each individual school to select one recipe and one School Lunch Recipe Team to represent their school. Recipe Submission Forms can be found on the Lean Team website: www.musc.edu/leanteam Submissions should be sent electronically to the MUSC Lean Team email address, leanteam@musc.edu. The challenge submission period begins on January 23, 2011 and ends on February 27, 2011. Each School Lunch Recipe Team will be required to provide the following as part of the submission: 1. Recipe that meets the requirements stated below in the Recipe Guidelines Section - Included on the Recipe Submission Form(hyperlink) 2. Names of School Lunch Recipe Team members and their roles- Included on the Recipe Submission Form 3. Nutritional analysis of the recipe including calories, sodium, total fat, saturated fat, and sugar, using an online recipe analysis program such as Tony s Food, or Fit Day. These are both available free of charge at www.tonysfood.com or www.fitday.com (See attached tutorial handouts for information on how to use each program) 4. One to three digital photos of the food that was prepared with the recipe, proving that the recipe was prepared by the School Lunch Recipe Team. Recipe Categories Each recipe must be entered in one of four categories: 1) Entrée: Poultry (turkey, chicken, etc.) 2) Entrée: Beef (ground beef, sirloin, etc.) 3) Entrée: Fish (tuna, salmon, etc.) 4) Entrée: Meatless (should feature a vegetarian protein source, such as enriched pasta, beans, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, yogurt, soy, tofu etc.) While not required, inclusion of nutrient-dense foods in the entrée submission is highlyrecommended, and one of the scoring criteria. Nutrient-dense foods are those that foods that are rich in nutrients and other compounds that have healthy benefits such as fiber, phytochemicals 2 and essential fatty acids 3. Nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables include carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, spinach, berries, apples, cherries, pomegranate and oranges. Other nutrient-dense foods include salmon, tuna, trout, low-fat dairy products, oatmeal and whole grains, soy, dry beans and even some fortified foods. Foods such as casseroles, pizzas, burritos, and soups are considered combination foods, and are also acceptable entries in all categories.
Meeting USDA requirements Each entrée should meet the USDA guideline for the total amount of meat or meat alternative required at lunch for the given age group, but there are no restrictions for the additional ingredients that can be included in the entrée recipe, outside of a 15 ingredient limit. Meat alternatives are non-meat protein products. Here are some specific USDA guidelines that exist for some foods classified as meat alternatives: Macaroni product with fortified protein may be used to meet only up to one half of the meat or meat alternate requirements when served in combination with one or more ounces of other meat or meat alternative product. Nuts or seeds may be used to meet only up to one-half of the meat/meat alternate component with another meat/meat alternate to meet the full requirement. Acorns, chestnuts, and coconuts must not be used because of their low protein and iron content. Yogurt may be used to meet all or part of the meat/meat alternate requirement. Yogurt may be either plain or flavored, unsweetened or sweetened. Noncommercial and/or nonstandardized yogurt products, such as frozen yogurt, homemade yogurt, yogurt flavored products, yogurt bars, yogurt covered fruit and/or nuts or similar products are not creditable. Four ounces (weight) or 1 2 cup (volume) of yogurt equals one ounce of the meat/ meat alternate requirement. Additional USDA nutrition guideline information can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/cfr-2011-title7-vol4/pdf/cfr-2011-title7-vol4-part210.pdf Additional Requirements for ALL Recipes 1. Recipes must include standard measures and include a complete list of ingredients, complete preparation directions, equipment needed, cooking times, temperature, and yield. 2. Recipes must meet the following nutrient requirements per serving: o 35% of total calories from fat (excludes nuts, seeds, nut butters, reduced-fat cheese); o 10% of total calories from saturated fat (excludes reduced-fat cheese) o Trans-fat free; o 35% of calories from sugar (excludes fruits, vegetables and milk); and o 600 mg sodium for entrees (main dish). 3. Recipes must include no more than 15 ingredients commonly available to school foodservice. 4. Recipes must be replicable in a school cooking environment using conventional commercial equipment. Recipe Judging The Lean Team and judging panel will select the top 10 semi-finalist recipes (5 elementary schools and 5 from secondary schools) from all recipes submitted, based on the following criteria:
Criteria Nutrition Requirements How well the recipe fits with the USDA school lunch nutrition guidelines Incorporation of Nutrient Dense Foods Inclusion of whole grains, dark green/orange vegetables, and/or beans (lists of these foods provided below) Recipe Presentation and Overall Appeal Presentation of recipe in photo looks appealing Cost to Prepare- Recipe can be implemented in a cost effective way and on budget with school lunch costs Ease of Preparation Recipe could easily incorporate into school foodservice menus Creativity of Name Maximum Number of Points Available 1 Point 1 Point Whole Grains These include, but are not limited to: Brown Rice Quinoa Whole wheat flour Whole wheat pasta Bulgar wheat Amaranth The following provides more information on selecting whole grains: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/healthierus/wholegrainresource.pdf Dark Green / Orange Vegetables Acorn Squash Beet Greens Bok Choy Broccoli Butternut Squash Carrots Collard Greens Dark Green Leafy Lettuce Endive Escarole Kale Mesclun Lettuce Mustard Greens Pumpkin (or Hubbard squash) Romaine Lettuce Spinach Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard Turnip Greens Watercress
Dry Beans and Peas Black Beans Black-Eyed Peas Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) Great Northern Beans Kidney Beans Lentils Lima Beans Navy (Pea) Beans Pinto Beans Red Beans Soybeans Split Peas Judging to determine the top winners The judging panel will visit the 10 semi-finalists to determine the top 2 winners (one elementary school winner and one secondary school winner). The 10 semi-finalists will be announced on March 12, 2012. Between April 2, 2011 and April 6, 2011 the judging panel will visit the school to meet the School Lunch Recipe Team and taste the recipe. Each semi-finalist will be granted $200 to prepare a the recipe as part of their school lunch that day. The judges will score each of the semi-finalists on the following criteria: 1) taste; 2) appeal to students; 3) creativity/originality; and 4) appearance / presentation. These criteria will be in addition to the criteria described above, used to choose the semi-finalists. The top two winners (one elementary school and one secondary school) will be recognized at a special recognition ceremony. They will also receive a grand prize of $500 to go towards wellness efforts at their school, and their entrée will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu. Foodservice employees from the two winning schools will receive a plaque for their school s kitchen and a distinctive chef coat.