OHEA member Pat Moynihan Morris, P.H.Ec., was at Cawthra Park Secondary School in  Mississauga teaching Grade 12 students how to make a delicious turkey chili.  Thanks to Ontario Turkey, these students are well on their way to achieving 6 by 16! (www.sixbysixteen.me). For more turkey recipes, please visit the Ontario Turkey website here.

OHEA was invited by the St. Elizabeth A. Seton School Parent Council, in the Ottawa area, to present ideas for healthy school lunch options to parents at their Parent Engagement Workshop on November 16th. Lucky for us, Mary Carver, P.H.Ec, and Linda Reasbeck, P.H.Ec., both from the Ottawa Home Economics Association (and OHEA) volunteered to help.

Mary covered food literacy, the online OHEA petition, status of Canada's Food Guide, tips/tricks for lunches, information about OHEA, where to find credible nutrition information, getting kids in the kitchen to cook real food. This was followed by a Question and Answer period.
 
Linda had a hands-on exhibit with samples of lunch containers, healthy mini-muffins to sample, fruit and veggie kabobs, hard-cooked eggs, lean meat, whole grains etc. and presented with the help of a capable and keen male student - it was great fun. Emphasis was on healthy, quick to assemble, fun and colourful real food that kids will eat – not discard. Minimizing salt, sugar, fat and and overly processed foods.
 
Handouts included:

• Dairy Farmers of Canada info on feeding kids, calcium intake, Canada's Food Guide, healthy snacks;
  
• Six by Sixteen information cards
  
• Food Literacy – a Lifetime Commitment media release
  
• 2 muffin recipes. Pumpkin Oatmeal from Homegrown and a  recipe from Light-hearted Everyday Cooking, A. Lindsay; Blueberry Muffins – Quinoa Cookbook (with Whitecap permission)
• a list of reliable online resources including, OHEA, Food Literacy site,  DC, Foodland Ontario, Yummy Lunch Club, Healthy Kids, Health Canada, Six by Sixteen and more.
  

A big thank you to Mary Carver, P.H.Ec., and Linda Reasbeck, P.H.Ec., for making this such a successful event. Information submitted by Mary Carver, P.H.Ec.

Chipotle Black Bean Chili
By Teresa Makarewicz, PHEc
 
Excerpted from Homegrown, by Mairlyn Smith. Reprinted with permission of Whitecap Books, 2015.
 
Chili is pure comfort food and so easy to prepare. It’s delicious served over cooked barley, or spooned over a baked or microwaved sweet potato and serve with one or more of the suggested toppings below.
 
INGREDIENTS
 
2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 carrots, scrubbed well and diced
2 Tbsp (30 mL) chili powder
1 Tbsp (15 mL) paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin
Two 19 oz (540 mL) cans black beans, well rinsed and drained, divided
One 28 oz (796 mL) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) fresh or frozen corn, no need to thaw
1/2 cup (125 mL) water
2 Tbsp (30 mL) pureed canned chipotle pepper with adobo sauce (see note)
 
Ingredient Note:
 
Chipotle Peppers—Look for canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Mexican section of most grocery stores. To freeze leftovers, puree the entire can of chipotles with adobo sauce until smooth. Spoon 1 Tbsp (15 mL) portions on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm; transfer to an airtight container and freeze to use for the next spicy chili attack.
 
METHOD

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat; add oil, garlic, onion, red pepper and carrots; sauté for 10 minutes or until the onion is softened and slightly browned. Stir in chili powder, paprika, oregano and cumin; sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant.
2. Puree 1 cup (250 mL) of the beans in a food processor or mash well with a potato masher. Add the pureed and whole beans, tomatoes, corn, water and chipotle pepper to the pot, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve with your choice of topping.

 
Suggested toppings: thinly sliced green onions, chopped fresh cilantro, plain yogurt, shredded Canadian old Cheddar cheese
 
 
PHEC Tips:
• Freeze leftover chili for up to 3 months and keep it ready for a lunch or busy weeknight dinner option.
• Upon standing, this chili will thicken. When reheating, add more water if you like and thin to desired consistency.
• The family that eats together stays together, so make dinner a family friendly event by setting out small bowls of any of the suggested toppings and then let everyone create their own signature bowl of chili.

We were given a fantastic opportunity to teach Six by Sixteen cooking classes at the Royal Winter Fair, on November 8th and 9th. Over 100 students from 3 different schools came to learn some essential cooking skills, and cook Chipotle Black Bean Chile, from our cookbook,  Homegrown. The students came eager to learn, and not only learned new skills, but took home their finished product. A big thank you goes out to our OHEA volunteers: Andrea Leisner, P.H.Ec., Ilona Maziarczyk, P.H.Ec., Jan Main, P.H.Ec., Tiina Tralman, RD, P.H.Ec., Rachel Johnstone, P.H.Ec.,  and Barbara Weese, P.H.Ec. We were joined by Teacher Ambassadors from AgScape, who spoke about some of the local ingredients in the chili. All students who attended left with a Certificate of Completion from OHEA and Six By Sixteen, as well as a Six by Sixteen apron.

Blueberry Muffins
Excerpted from The Vegetarian's Complete Quinoa Cookbook, by Mairlyn Smith, P.H.Ec. Reprinted with permission of Whitecap Books, 2012.
By Emily Richards, P.H.Ec.
These muffins are brimming with the antioxidant power of blueberries. Use fresh local berries in season or frozen local berries out of season.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (125 mL) quinoa, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup (185 mL) 1% milk
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cardamom
1/3 cup (80 mL) non-hydrogenated margarine
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, packed
1 omega-3 egg
1 tsp (5 mL) grated lemon rind
2 Tbsp (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 cup (250 mL) fresh or frozen blueberries

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Line 9 muffin cups in a 12-cup pan with paper liners or spray with canola oil.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa with the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the four, baking powder, baking soda and cardamom.
4. In a large bowl, using a wire whisk or handheld mixer, beat together the non-hydrogenated margarine and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, lemon rind and juice until combined. Stir in the quinoa mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir until moistened. Gently fold in the blueberries.
5. Divide the batter among the 9 muffin cups. Add about 1 Tbsp (15 mL) of water to each empty muffin cup to prevent the pan from warping.
6. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
7. Set the pan to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes 9 muffins. One serving = 1 muffin

Nutrition per serving
218 calories                   9 g total fat                2 g saturated fat
22 mg cholesterol        192 mg sodium         32 g carbohydrates
3 g fibre                          15 g sugars                 5 g protein

The Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA), in partnership with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) Six by Sixteen food literacy program and AgScape™ (the voice of Agriculture in the Classroom Ontario), are pleased to be hosting a series of hands-on cooking classes for Ontario secondary school students at the upcoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, on November 8-9, 2016, at Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, on the Burnbrae Farms Food & Lifestyle Stage.

Basic food preparation skills and the ability to prepare healthful meals from scratch, while also incorporating local ingredients, are fundamental to the health of our youth and our agriculture system.

Sadly today, culinary skills are rarely passed down from previous generations and processed foods and fast foods frequently replace basic, nutritious, home-cooked meals. Teaching Ontario youth to make nutritious food choices incorporating local ingredients, and giving them hands-on kitchen skills to create meals from scratch, prepares them to lead healthy, independent lives.

Cooking classes will feature a hearty and nutritious recipe from OHEA’s latest cookbook Homegrown – Celebrating the Canadian Foods We Grow, Raise and Produce – currently shortlisted for the Taste Canada Awards and edited by award-winning cookbook author and TV personality Mairlyn Smith, P.H.Ec.

OHEA is a self-regulated body of professional Home Economists that promotes high professional standards among its members so that they may assist families and individuals to achieve and maintain a desirable quality of life. OHEA supports all efforts to improve food literacy in Ontario through advocacy, outreach and partnerships.

The Six by Sixteen food literacy program is an initiative by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to help young people learn to plan and prepare six nutritious, locally sourced meals by the time they are sixteen years old.

AgScape™ is dedicated to enhancing the learning experiences of students by providing high quality, objective and curriculum-linked agriculture and food related learning materials and professional consultative service to Ontario educators.

For further information, please contact: [email protected]