Category: Recipes for Success

For National School Breakfast Week, we’re celebrating the incredible School Food Professionals who are using their leadership and culinary talents to reimagine what school breakfast can be!

There’s nothing like starting the day with a scratch-cooked breakfast. Kids who eat a fresh, healthy breakfast have better attendance, perform better academically, have fewer behavioral issues and show improved mental health, compared to those who don’t.

Berkeley Unified School District Nutrition Service Director Rich Hannan believes that every child should have access to healthy morning meals. As part of his Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship, he’s helping his district introduce a host of tasty, nutritious, made-from-scratch options for their students. 

“In the past, Berkeley High School had a lot of ready-serve or heat-and-serve items,” Richard said. “I brought in new recipes and bought new equipment so we could offer a scratch-made breakfast for our kids.”

As part of his Fellowship, Rich developed and refined scalable breakfast recipes and service models for Berkeley High School that can be replicated by other sites throughout the district, from wild blueberry breakfast bars, to oat parfait with berry compote, to cheesy egg and veggie bites with whole wheat biscuits. And they’ve been a resounding hit!

After the debut of the scratch-made breakfast items, breakfast participation at Berkeley High School increased, confirming that food quality and relevance directly improve student participation. Especially on waffle day.

“We make them from scratch, using a Belgian-style batter,” Richard said. “When they’re cooking, you can smell them all the way at the front door of the cafeteria. That really brings the kids running.”

Want to cook a tasty breakfast dish that gives kids what they need to succeed in and beyond the classroom? Try this award-winning Baked Blueberry Oatmeal Bar recipe from The Lunch Box.

When students in Southern California’s San Ysidro Unified School District (SYUSD) sit down to eat in the school cafeteria, they get more than just nutritious meals made from quality ingredients. They also get the taste of home. 

“A high percentage of our students are Hispanic, so we make meals that represent what they see in their communities,” said Ana Bush, production coordinator with SYUSD. “Every week, we serve different kinds of made-from-scratch tacos. We’ve done chicken, carnitas, carne asada, and a birria taco with a fresh-made sauce. It’s really exciting.“

When schools serve foods that reflect the cultures and backgrounds of the communities they serve, it creates a more inclusive environment while making students more likely to eat and enjoy their meals. At SYUSD, the result has been a healthier, happier, and more welcoming school community.  

“Our students really appreciate the effort we’re making,” Ana says. “It makes me so happy to see how joyfully they take the plates and eat the meals we serve.”

Ready to cook a healthy lunch that kids can’t get enough of? Try this delicious recipe for Chicken Street Tacos from The Lunch Box.

Students in Oroville, a small city in rural Butte County, California, are getting a taste of cultures from across the globe, right in their own cafeteria. A glance at the Oroville Union High School District lunch menu will take you from the U.S. to Mexico, India, Korea and Italy, all in a single week!

“We’re a small community, and many of our students haven’t gotten to experience food from other countries,” said Nanci Miramontes, food service director at Oroville Union High School District. But the district’s international fare has helped students develop an adventurous culinary spirit and an openness to try new foods. 

The district recently added scratch-cooked Butter Chicken to their menu, a classic Indian dish that combines marinated, grilled chicken with a creamy tomato curry sauce. Originally developed in Delhi, India, in the 1950s as a way to use leftover tandoori chicken, this smoky, mildly-spiced, belly-warming dish is now enjoyed in every part of the planet. While Butter Chicken may be new to many Oroville students, that didn’t stop them from coming back for seconds.

“It’s so fun to watch students fall in love with something new, especially something that our team makes in-house,” Nanci said.  

Want to take your family on a globetrotting trip without leaving the kitchen? Try this delicious Butter Chicken recipe from The Lunch Box.

If there’s one thing students can agree on, it’s pizza day. When there’s a flavorful blend of cheesy goodness, chewy crust, and fresh, vibrant toppings on the menu, the lines stretch out the door. 

And though pizza may have been born in Italy, it’s a worldwide treat. San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s School Food Professionals give their vegetable pizza an intercontinental touch by replacing the crust with naan, an oven-baked flatbread popular in India, Southeast Asia, and many other parts of the world. They top it with pesto sauce, mozzarella, and a mixture of fresh-from-the-Earth local vegetables. Next, they add some of Chef Cory Bidwell’s oven-dehydrated diced tomatoes – coated with Italian spices to give them a flavorful kick – and put the pizza into the oven. Once it’s done cooking, they top it with arugula and Italian dressing. The result is delicious and packed with healthy veggies. As Food and Nutrition Services team member Teresa Vigil said, “It’s so good that I make the recipe for myself at home.” 

Ready to cook a healthy lunch that kids can’t get enough of? Try this mouthwatering pesto pizza recipe from The Lunch Box.

When wings are on the menu, students come flying. They’re bite-sized, packed with flavor and perfect for any number of tasty sauces. From Buffalo sauce to barbeque, ranch and more, you can tailor wings to include the tastes your kids love.

To find a school district that’s cracked the wing code, look no further than Azusa Unified School District, the winner of the Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation in the Powered By School Food Professionals Awards. Azusa’s team starts with organic wings sourced from a local producer and oven-bakes them to keep them healthy without sacrificing that delicious crunch. Finally, they coat the wings with a wide range of sauces, so that there’s something to match just about every student’s tastes. 

Ready to up your lunch game with a spicy, out-of-this-world dish? Try this mouth-watering hot wings recipe from The Lunch Box.  

Pasta dishes can be a great way to help the picky eaters in your life try new veggies. Combining a food they’ve never tried before with a familiar favorite like hearty noodles, a tangy pesto sauce or a classic marinara can help get them over their hesitancy to taste something different. 

Nevada City School of the Arts took this idea and supercharged it, working with local producers to create an award-winning whole-wheat penne pasta recipe that’s popping with farm-fresh flavors. By combining surplus harvest ingredients — such as arugula, basil, eggplant, fennel and tomatoes — with, whole-wheat pasta, they created a tasty new dish that can convert even the most determined vegetable skeptic. 
Want to make a delicious, fresh and healthy pasta dish for your family? Try this tasty Tuscan bean pesto penne pasta recipe from The Lunch Box.

Focaccia is a classic flatbread that has been made in Italy and around the world for hundreds of years. The dough is often brushed with olive oil, salt and fresh herbs before baking, resulting in a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside loaf that makes a savory and tasty treat at any time of the day. 

It’s no surprise that the focaccia at San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) is such a huge hit with students. It’s made from scratch using locally grown ingredients and no added sugars whatsoever, and it uses a long fermentation time to bump up the flavor. The recipe was created by SLCUSD’s own Chef Cory Bidwell, who comes to the district with years of experience in the restaurant industry. The district’s commitment to farm-fresh, healthy and delicious school food like their house-made focaccia has made them a magnet for skilled restaurant professionals who want to use their skills to make a difference in the lives of students.

Want to make a version of this classic bread for the children in your life? Check out this delicious and healthy whole wheat focaccia recipe from The Lunch Box!

“We have all these students that come from different backgrounds and different origins. We want to represent them and give them food that’s oriented to their palate.” – Ashley Rothschell, Child Nutrition Services Senior, Cypress School District 

When you tailor food to your students’ tastes, they’ll enjoy coming in to get it. The School Food Professionals at Cypress School District are always trying to cook foods that speak to who their students are, where they come from and what they like. “We’ve got a large Indian population here, so we started serving dishes like tikka masala,” Ashley said, “and they were a hit.” 

These efforts not only celebrate students’ heritage but also encourage other kids to expand their tastes and try something new. “We’re like ‘Here’s this interesting dish that you normally don’t eat. Give it a try,’” Ashley said. “We let them have a little sample, and, if they like it, they can have a full meal of it. And a lot of times, that’s just what happens.”  

Cypress School District’s tikka masala is just one example of how culturally inspired meals can have a meaningful impact and spark curiosity about new flavors. 

Interested in making delicious and healthy recipes inspired by Indian cuisine for your kids? The Lunch Box has several simple and scalable options, such as chana masala and butter chicken.

“The birria tacos have been on our menu all month, and they’re a big, big hit. “ –  Kat Soltanmorad, RDN, Director, Food & Nutrition Services, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District

And it’s not just with the students, either. Tahoe Truckee teachers and staff love the district’s healthy and delicious meals. “Principal Mitchell from North Tahoe High School buys food from the cafeteria all the time,” Soltanmorad said. “She Facetimed me during lunch to tell me how much she and students liked the birria tacos.” (Recipe credit: Chef Ann Foundation)

All the School Food Professionals at Tahoe Truckee take pride in their work, and it shows. Team members regularly come up with new recipe ideas and new approaches to old favorites. The result is a school food program that’s always evolving, growing and improving. And students are taking notice. “I see students bringing them notes and cards, it’s just outstanding,” Kat said.   

Want to make a healthy dish like this for the kids in your life? Check out these simple and delicious beef birria tacos from the Lunch Box!

“We want students to feel like they’re at home when they’re eating. Our team creates great recipes incorporating the foods and flavors we serve our own families, and the kids love them.” – Michelle Pruitt Roybal, Nutrition Services Supervisor, Azusa Unified School District

The School Food Professionals at Azusa Unified School District are always looking for new ways to give their students home-style meals. To come up with the perfect recipe for pozole, a delicious and hearty Mexican soup, they held a contest. Staff gathered, cooked and voted on their favorite pozole recipes, and they served the tastiest one in their schools. 

The secret to a delicious pozole recipe is great ingredients – flavorful hominy, high-quality chicken or pork, fresh chilis and a rich broth – that provide a hearty meal that fills students up with flavor, warmth and joy. “We want them to have a big smile on their face,” Michelle says. “We want them to be really happy that they’re coming to school to eat.”

Want to make a healthy dish like this for the kids in your life? Check out this simple and delicious pozole recipe from the Lunch Box!