Nachos and popcorn get kids’ top tick
Nachos and popcorn top the popularity contest in a Year 7 food technology class at South Auckland’s Sancta Maria College.
When the Herald called in this week, the class was learning the key things to look for in the ingredients data on the back of products such as potato chips and cereals. They know what is good for them.
“Last night I made some fresh salad from the garden. You go outside and get it from the garden,” said Jade Coldicutt-Trotter, 11. But ask her classmates what they love to cook and the answer’s different.
“We had to design a meal that was nutritious and stuff, and we made nachos,” said Sophia Connell, also 11.
Xavier Saunders, who has just turned 12, nominated popcorn.
“In Years 7 and 8 it’s all about having fun,” explained the college’s head of technology Prue Rehu.
She said teachers might choose meals without vegetables because of their price, preparation time and student preferences. “At the moment fruit and vegetables are so expensive. That is one of the reasons they go with other options,” she said.
She said the typical 55-minute school period encouraged teachers to plan practical lessons about one item at a time, rather than preparing a whole meal.
“If you know kids, they just want to get in the kitchen and cook something, preferably something with chocolate in it,” she said.
“If the schools were able to provide like a two-hour block, that [cooking whole nutritious meals] would be much more doable — although once the students know the basic skills you should be able to put together a meal that includes vegetables in 20 minutes.
“The problem is that the students don’t even know the vegetables, let alone what to do with them.”
— Simon Collins