Healthy Rice Bowls 2009

Healthy Rice Bowls Right for Schools

Rice Bowls are a smart, nutritious choice for your school lunch program. Students and teachers give them high grades for taste, appeal and meal variety.

Adding Rice Bowls to your menu:

• Helps promote healthful eating habits for your students
• Is easy to plan, prepare and serve
• Stretches ever-tightening budgets to better balance lower-cost/commodity ingredients like rice with higher-cost proteins
• Let school menus reflect the hottest trends in foodservice today and allows students to "customize" their food options
• Fits the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid recommendations to eat more grains, including whole grain
  brown rice

But don’t just take our word for it:

The USA Rice Federation sponsors an annual "Healthy Rice Bowls Contest" so that school foodservice directors across the country can share their ideas and success stories for serving healthy meals for school lunch. This year’s contest entries were creative, inspiring and demonstrated ingenuity in menu planning. Our 2009 winner will receive $250 towards her school’s education fund and two Aroma rice cookers – one for her school’s kitchen and one for her home kitchen.
Sylvia Kravitz, Product Development Technician for San Diego Unified School District's (SDUSD) Middle & Secondary Schools for her Sweet & Sour Shrimp, Teriyaki Chicken with Asian Vegetables, Beef with Broccoli and Fajita Chicken Rice Bowls. After testing products with students, several rice bowls were added to the school district’s grab-and-go lunch menu and introduced a fun and creative way to deliver a complete, nutritious meal of grains, vegetables and proteins to over 130,000 students daily. "Students told us they wanted something appealing, filling, fast, easy to hold and most important - great tasting food. Rice bowls fit the bill," said Kravitz.
Runners up: Mark Baida, Executive Chef for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for his Orange Chicken Brown Rice Bowl. The LAUSD serves 690,000 students daily. "Rice bowls are an all-in-one healthy and enjoyable meal for our customers. The students think they are fantastic and say they taste like the meals at the mall, which they love!"
Rachel Kovich, Foodservice Director for University of Chicago Laboratory Schools for her unique Asian Rice Bowl Bar. "They love them, and enjoy being able to put together their own rice bowl with their choice of rice and protein. Rice bowls are also a healthy way for kids to enjoy classic Asian cuisine and help us to provide a nutrient packed meal in a fun way."
Honorable mentions included:
Eileen Matt, Nutrition Service Manager for LinnMar School District in Marion, IA, for her Taurasi's Teriyaki Rice Bowl. "Rice is low in fat and sodium and a good source of iron. Both staff and students love rice bowls and chicken/beef teriyaki was the team's favorite choice during National School Lunch Week. They all asked us to serve them again!"
Dorrie Dunham, Foodservice Director for Red Jacket Central in Shortville, NY, for her Beef Teriyaki & Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls. "They are very nutritious and the students love them!"

Previous notable K-12 chefs and foodservice directors who rave about the benefits of offering Rice Bowls:

• 2008 Healthy Rice Bowls Contest winner Cynthia Dawso Van Druff, foodservice director at Upper Moreland Middle School in Willow Grove, PA. "Our children are asking for many different choices. Currently our menu is a grab and go and often that is associated with just wrapped sandwiches. This new feature offers grab and go—in a BOWL. They LOVE IT!" Her "Asian and Fiesta" rice bowls introduced a fun and creative way to deliver a complete meal that's full of flavor and packed with nutrients. For added visual appeal, the Rice Bowls were served in a clear container to further increase students' interest in a healthy quick meal.

Also, read our Chef's Corner feature about Chef Jeff Denton, Director of child Nutrition for Ponca City School District in Oklahoma to see why he's become a larger-than-life character and how his passion for food is being passed on to future generations.

Need help getting started? Download our "Kids Love...Rice Bowls" brochure:

The brochure offers tips on planning a Rice Bowl station, planogram showing how bowls can be assembled, and menu suggestions for implementing ethnic, regional american, contemporary and breakfast concepts. Try a Sweet-and-Sour Bowl, Chili Bowl, Pizza Bowl, or Huevos Breakfast Bowl!