Chase Teens Talk Food
Recently I had the pleasure of participating in Career Day at Chase Middle School. I asked students to jot down their thoughts about food and nutrition. As you can imagine, the opinions were as diverse as the writers.
Here’s a sampling of quotes:
“Right now I’m young and I don’t diet or deprive myself, but I’m completely prepared to do so when I get older.” - Lindsay Lawson, age 14
“Food is one of the best things on earth.” - Robbie Hyslop, age 12
“I like Twinkies: Hostess rules.” - Tyler Salvage, age 14
“To have a lot of energy and be off to a good start, have a decent breakfast and don’t skip any meals.” - Mandy Rasler, age 14
“I love when my dad makes pepperoni lasagna.” - Caitlin Cleveland, age 13
“People should eat more oranges.” - Diana McCormick, age 14
“Nutrition is important but I don’t eat nutritiously because a candy bar is more appealing than a carrot.” - Elizabeth Moorhead, age 14
“Desserts are OK sometimes as long as you don’t get carried away.” - Zachary Goodman, age 12
“Nutrition is very important and, like people say, ‘You are what you eat.”’ - Chris Aldrich, age 13
“I’ve always tried to have a good diet, but with a busy life, I don’t always get a chance to be on a perfect diet.” - Kristy Wolcott, age 13
“I’m a vegetarian and people think I’m weird. I know that meat is bad for you.” - Holly Elliott, age 14
“I think a lot of people at Chase question the food we have for lunch. I myself love fries and nachos but it’s just too fattening.” - Jennifer Garza, age 14
“I think food should have less fat and cholesterol in it. If food was healthier more people wouldn’t be overweight. It could stop diseases.” - Ian Moss, age 13
A big thanks to these students and all others for their contributions.
Potato-Chip-Encrusted Fish
From “Clueless in the Kitchen, A Cookbook for Teens,” by Evelyn Raab (Firefly Books, 1998), this is described as “absolutely juvenile, totally unsophisticated and very delicious.”
1/2 cup fat-free Italian vinaigrette salad dressing
1-1/2 pounds fish fillets
3 cups potato chips
1 cup shredded nonfat Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour salad dressing into a shallow bowl. Dip each fillet into the dressing, coating both sides, then arrange in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet.
Put the potato chips in a large, heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag and zip it shut, leaving a tiny opening for the air to escape. Using a rolling pin, crush the potato chips into smithereens. Sprinkle the smithereens evenly over the fish on the baking sheet. Top with the shredded cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until fish flakes when you test it with a fork.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 289 calories, 7 grams fat (21 percent fat calories), 11 grams carbohydrate, 42 grams protein, 84 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 760 milligrams sodium.