By Pueblo a Pueblo | School Health and Nutrition
The 2019 cycle of the School Nutrition project is in full swing here on Lake Atitlán! Sandy spent March planning and leading the first round of healthy cooking workshops in each of our five partner schools. The most recent training took place on March 19th at Chacayá Primary School.
The day of the training, Sandy rode from Santiago Atitlán to the community of Chacayá in the back of a pickup truck, a common form of public transportation in rural Guatemala. She paid the driver a little extra to take her right to the school, which sits on top of a very steep hill with a beautiful view of Lake Atitlán’s volcanos and the lagoon below. The extra boost was much needed—Sandy had some pretty hefty luggage with her, including a big sack containing no fewer than eight heads of cabbage!
Sandy set up her things in the school kitchen. When all of the participating mothers—each with one of their children in tow—had arrived, Sandy began the day’s activities. She started with a game to test participants’ knowledge. She handed out cards with a V for verdadero (“true”) on one side and an F for falso (“false”) on the other. “True or false: foods like chips and cookies help your children maintain a healthy weight?” she asked. "True or false: the two best ways to stay healthy are to eat healthy foods and exercise?" The students and their mothers giggled as the correct answers were announced. They listened as Sandy explained the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and the relationship between diet and body weight.
Sandy then announced the main dish of the day: stuffed cabbage! She divided the group into teams and gave instructions: wash and boil the cabbage, mix the meat-and-rice filling, and chop the elements of the day’s side dish: a broccoli and carrot salad. She sprinkled a mix of salt, pepper, clove, and dried garlic over the cabbage filling—and sprinkled some more over the broccoli as it cooked in a large pan. “The only way a lot of people in this community know how to prepare broccoli is in scrambled eggs—and cabbage is usually just boiled plain" she explained later. "I wanted to introduce these families to new ways of preparing these nutritious vegetables." She added, "I use the garlic seasoning because it's an easy way to make vegetables taste delicious! A lot of families aren't used to cooking with garlic, but they like it once they've tried it."
Sandy then showed the students and their mothers how to fold the cabbage leaves around the filling. Together, they filled up two huge pots with the stuffed leaves. While the dish cooked, everyone cleaned up and enjoyed a little down time together. At last, Sandy announced that the stuffed cabbage was done cooking, and the mothers filled up plastic containers with the final product to take home to their families for dinner!
The next months will bring new foods and new recipes into the kitchen at Chacayá Primary School—recipes that participating mothers can then make in their own kitchens at home. Sandy’s work introduces families to easy and affordable ways to incorporate nutrient-dense vegetables into their diets—invaluable knowledge when it comes to the healthy development of children! Your support helps mothers put healthy food on their families' dinner tables here in rural Guatemala. Thank you for believing in the power of education and the importance of nutrition!
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