Nutrition Programming with Charette High School + CHOP

In Part 2 of our series on culturally relevant nutrition part of a larger series on wellness, 9th graders from Charette High School were able to come to a professional kitchen at CHOP and create a nutritious meal from start to finish, incorporating the introductory nutrition lesson taught in Part 1. Chef Laurdie chose a traditional Haitian dish called Poulet Creole as a culturally-relevant, cost-effective, nutrient-dense, and simple meal. Chef Laurdie explained that Poulet Creole is a versatile dish in which one can use any vegetables on hand, keeping the spices the same- making it easy to use any seasonal or left over vegetables.

Although the 9th graders were not particularly thrilled to see so many vegetables in their dish, many who were tried the dish were pleasantly surprised that vegetables can actually be quite delicious! The primary purpose of this 2-part series was to center the role of nutrition in positive mental health and the mind-body connection. Students learned how nutrition and meeting physiological needs are associated with mental wellbeing, what makes food nutritious (macronutrients and where to get them), how our cultures and backgrounds impact what and how we eat, how to shop for nutritious food on a budget, and of course how to make this delicious meal to tie it all together and bring the lesson into their real life. A special thank you to Chef Laurdie for her leadership in the kitchen, Chef Josh for providing the opportunity, and Charette High School for allowing us to work with students on this Wellness Series.