Are you taking part in Food Revolution Day this Friday, May 15th? Over 830,000 people have joined Jamie Oliver in his fight for food education, and we want YOU to get involved too!

Jamie’s Vision 

“My wish is to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to put food education back on the school curriculum. By educating children about food in a fun and engaging way, we can equip them with the basic skills they need to lead healthier, happier lives, for themselves, and their future families. In short, by fighting for every child’s right to food education, we can help to reverse the rise in obesity levels and diet-related disease.

The Global Obesity Problem

* By 2030, it’s predicted that 41% of the world population will be overweight or obese.

* Worldwide, there are more than 42 million children under the age of five who are either overweight or obese.

* Diet-related diseases, which include heart failure and stroke, are among the world’s biggest killers.

* For the first time in human history, the world has more people that are overweight than underweight.

Take Action!

* Sign and Share the petition. change.org/jamieoliver Jamie’s launched a global petition to get practical compulsory food education in schools across 20 countries. Jamie believes that the only way to reverse the alarming rise in obesity-related disease is to teach every child about food, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies.

* Get involved. There are plenty of ways you can get involved, from whipping up delicious recipes with your kids, hosting a foodie event in your community or challenging your workmates to a cook-off to sharing your photos and the #FoodRevolutionDay via social media.

* Tell your local school. Get your local school involved in Jamie’s online classroom lesson! Teachers can download brilliant free teaching materials, watch a lesson plan video, and make a recipe on Friday, May 15 in the classroom watching Jamie online. Go to foodrevolutionday.com/schools

Cant Take Part on Friday? No Worries!

Jamie’s lesson will remain available on the Food Revolution Day website after the day, so if you aren’t able to participate this week you can still sign your school up and do the lesson after the event!

Go to foodrevolutionday.com for petition information, ideas on how you can get involved, resources, exclusive Jamie videos and lots of new recipes.

Sign it. Share it. Support @JamieOliver on #FoodRevolutionDay change.org/jamieoliver

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes

1 cup strawberries

1 mango

2 kiwifruit

1 seedless cucumber

2 different colored bell peppers

1 15.5-ounce can cannellini  beans

1 8-ounce can corn

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 limes

olive oil, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

chips (baked chips for a healthier option)

Instructions:

1. Dice tomatoes, strawberries, mango, kiwifruit, cucumber, and peppers and place in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add beans and corn to the bowl and stir together.
3. Tear or chop cilantro leaves and add to the bowl.
4. Dress salsa with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste. Mix well and eat with chips!

Tips & Tricks: 

• Dice the ingredients small, so you can challenge your children to fit as many colors as they can into one bite!
• Kids can help cut fruits and vegetables with a kid-friendly safety knife.
• Even the youngest helpers can wash the produce and tear the fresh herbs.
• Give them options! Ask kids to pick three favorite fruits instead of the fruits listed above; have the family choose between cilantro and mint.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

As much as we love to cook and eat, ultimately we know it’s all about balance and it’s important to make time for exercise to keep ourselves at our best! This is especially true for our little ones—more and more activities now center on sedentary work (i.e. computers, iPads, video games, etc.) both for school and for fun so it’s important to get them into action to prevent future health issues and obesity. Washington Sports Clubs has 18 locations throughout the DC, MD, and VA area. We are what our children model after, so it’s crucial to instill the habit of incorporating exercise through example. But if we’re in need of a little motivation, we can look to “…a notable fitness enthusiast and former senator from Illinois [who] was known to work out…” at the Capitol Hill location for some inspiration of our own!

Children seem to be busier and busier these days and maintaining a balance can be tricky at times. Washington Sports Clubs offers an array of classes for grownups as well as some for children, including swimming lessons. But of course, it’s always more fun to exercise together, so why not take what’s learned in class and share with the children? Not to mention, keeping ourselves in shape allows us to be at our best so we can play with our children and keep them just as active!

Flavorful Features

Information regarding the schedule of classes and membership options are available on their website. Washington Sports Clubs also offers birthday parties and summer camps for the kids!

Mix It Up!

We can’t wait to get moving and shaking with the Washington Sports Clubs at the Kids Food Festival in Washington DC’s Union Market and we hope to see you there! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Who knew a selling point for a good-for-you food would be bugs? Children and parents alike will love Lifeway ProBugs™ Organic Whole Milk Kefir squeeze packs for this reason and many more. The packs are made to hit the road and keep your little ones up to speed and running at their best with a healthy dose of live and active cultures to keep their defenses up and insides running smooth. Parents will be thrilled at how easily their kids can help themselves to these delicious and healthful snacks, and how readily they fit in as a great addition to breakfast or snacktime!

The ProBugs™ squeeze snacks are a fantastic go-to for extra busy mornings or afternoons on the go. Grownups can feel confident offering these to their children knowing they are getting the protein and calcium needed to keep them growing strong, as well as the added benefits of probiotics; it’s yogurt taken to the next level in a fun and delicious way! The no-spill spout and easy-to-grip shape  takes the anxiety of a mess out of the equation and is easy enough for children to help themselves to! Not to mention, the added fun of sharing all the facts about the “bugs” inside the kefir and how it helps bodies become so strong.

Flavorful Features

ProBugs™ squeeze packs come in 4-oz. 4-packs in Goo-Berry Pie, Orange Creamy Crawler, Sublime Slime Lime, and Strawnana Split flavors.

Other products include organic kefir; organic green kefir; ProBugs Blast; BioKefir; Frozen Kefir; Frozen ProBugs; Frozen Kefir Bars; Greek style fro-yo;Low carb Kefir; Cheeses; Traditonal Kefir; and Lassis.

All Lifeway ProBugs™ squeeze packs are:

-Filled with seven to ten billion CFU’s of live and active cultures

-Made from grass fed cows

-Sourced from rBGH and antibiotic free cows and milk

-USDA organic

Read all about Lifeways great assortment of healthy and delicious products on their website and come try some for yourself at the Kids Food Festival in Washington DC’s Union Market! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

“Say cheese!” Finally! For those living a dairy-free life, by choice or necessity, sometimes there is just a little something missing from the equation at mealtime or old-favorites like macaroni and cheese or pizza that just aren’t the same without cheese. Daiya Shreds are the answer to these dairy-free wishes! With all the creamy, stretchy and tasty goodness it offers up, it’s easy to forget it’s not real cheese!

Children will love sprinkling the shreds and adding that melty, gooey element back into their favorite foods! No longer does anyone need to miss out on the fun of a pizza party or the simple comfort of macaroni and cheese! Daiya Shreds are flavorful and have a wonderful, smooth and creamy texture that really mimics the feel of traditional cheeses. It’s allergen-safe and tapioca based which makes it easy to share at birthday parties or other events and meals—no more suffering through other bland, tasteless dairy-free cheeses or missing out on the fun of stretching the cheese from a hot, fresh slice of pizza! It also extends the opportunity to add a healthful spin on old favorites like pizza, nachos, and many more by being able to control what goes into it and knowing that the “cheese” isn’t adding any extra cholesterol or trans-fats to my child’s diet.

Flavorful Features

Shreds come in mozzarella, cheddar, and pepper jack flavors.

Daiya also offers other dairy-free products such as dairy and gluten-free frozen pizzas; cream cheese style spreads; slices; and wedges.

All products are: 

-Dairy, gluten, and soy-free

-Vegan

-Kosher

-Non-GMO

-and contain zero grams trans-fat and zero grams cholesterol per serving

Mix it Up! 

Learn more about Daiya and find great recipe ideas on their website and come experience all the fun Daiya has in store for us at the Kids Food Festival in Washing ton DC’s Union Market! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Creating in the kitchen is always fun, but it always adds to the party when we can play with the colors! GNT is an independent family-owned company that offers a beautiful spectrum of all-natural food colorings that can be added to anything from confections and baked goods to beverages and cereals. All colorings are made from real foods in combination with water or another food to maintain the integrity of the color, which lends only the best results to our cooking fun! Food science at its best to highlight the yum in our tasty creations!

“Colouring food with food” is such a marvelous idea and an even better motto! It’s cringe-worthy when, after crafting a delicious, homemade treat such as cupcakes or birthday cake, to then add in colorful chemicals. GNT’s EXBERRY® Colouring Foods are beautiful, vibrant, and made from various fruits, vegetables and edible plants—finally, an all-natural blue or green food coloring! There are never any artificial elements added, only things of food origin or that are foods themselves.

Flavorful Features

A wide spectrum of colors – in various shades of each color in the rainbow- tailored to their final use (i.e. confectionary, baking, beverages, etc) are available and can be viewed on their color chart page.

 All GNT EXBERRY® products are: 

-All natural

-GMO free

-Kosher

-Organic compliant

 Learn more about GNT’s beautiful food colours on their dedicated EXBERRY® page, as well as during our Kids Food Festival in Washington DC’s Union Market! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

When they say “Happy Family,” they really mean just that! Happy Family prides itself in being a great source of organic superfoods of all shapes and tastes for today’s busy, ever-growing families. They offer food products to meet the needs of babies, toddlers, kids, and grownups alike and provide them in the most sustainable and responsible manner available. From their choice in packaging, to who and where they source their foods from, Happy Family ensures best practices that favor overall health and sustainability for all members of the family as well as for those who help create their products. Best of all, most all of their products are made to travel and many are also resealable as well!

Happy Family products, from the baby food to the puffs, are always a hit! Children will love shaking up the puffs and squeezing all the tasty yogurts and fruit-sauces! Their website offers the added convenience to find all products containing a certain flavor or allergen, which makes selecting the best products for your child’s needs that much easier! It’s also great to simultaneously find things that are beneficial for the children and grownups as well. The website is very comprehensive and feels very much like a family—open and welcoming with many stories to share about where the food comes from (which the kids love seeing and learning about!) and how those foods help our bodies.

Flavorful Features

Happy Family Brands offer a wide variety of products, with options for meals and snacks, such as yogurts, homestyle meals, baby cereals, puffs, squeeze pouches, meal bowls, bars, snacks (i.e. munchies,) smoothies, and more!

All products are:

-Organic

-Sustainably sourced and packaged

-Socially responsible

-Contain no artificial preservatives or flavors

-Contain no trans fats

-BPA free packaging

Mix it Up! 

Learn more about Happy Family their wide family of organic meals and products through their website and come be a part of the fun with us at the Kids Food Festival in Washing ton DC’s Union Market! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

In the world of kid’s beverages, you could literally drown in the overabundance of sugar and syrups. Honest Tea has found the balance between too watery and too sugary and gotten it just right for the kids! Their Honest Kids pouches are a wonderful and refreshing beverage, sweetened with only natural fruit juices. As with all of their products, the juices are all organic and come in a tasty variety of flavors as well—refreshing all around!

The Honest Tea juice pouches are always a hit with the kids, especially for special events! They are all organic juice and sweetened with real juice instead of sugar. Grownups can feel confident offering these to their children for a special tasty drink, knowing a sugar-high won’t ensue and instead they can just enjoy a refreshing juice without the guilt. Each pouch also contains 100% of their daily recommended vitamin C which further makes me happy to offer this to my child when they want to switch it up from water or milk.

Flavorful Features

Honest Tea Kids Pouches come in Appley Ever After, Berry Berry Good Lemonade, Goodness Grapeness, Super Fruit Punch, and Tropical Tango Punch flavors!

 All Honest Kids pouches are:

-USDA organic

-Kosher/Pareve

-Gluten free

-Contain no GMOs

-40 calories per pouch

-100% daily vitamin C

We are so excited to see what fun Honest Tea will bring to the Kids Food Festival in Washington DC’s Union Market! Click on our logo below for more information on how to attend!

 The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

When kids are immersed in enjoyable activities, they absorb and retain information more effectively. The Kids Food Festival embodies this philosophy of learning through fun with its weekend of family events hosted on November 2^nd and 3^rd at Union Market in Washington DC. Families will cook, dance, laugh, and taste their way to making balanced food choices!

At the Kids Food Festival, presented by The Creative Kitchen, kids engage all five senses through hands-on, food-related activities. The magic of the festival is rooted in the fact that kids are having so much fun participating in the flavorful activities, they don’t realize how much they are learning! Enthusiastic eaters and little epicures alike can attend hands-on cooking classes at the James Beard Foundation Future Foodies Pavilion, where renowned chefs pass on their recipes, skills, and love for all things culinary to a new generation of learners. The Balanced Plate Scavenger Hunt (based on USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov guidelines) is the core educational element of the Festival. Kids bounce between exhibitors and activities to sample tasty, wholesome snacks while learning the importance of achieving balance in their food choices. Families will enjoy live musical performances, a disco dance party, fitness workshops, and more, with each of the activities relaying special messages about healthful eating!

The Kids Food Festival founder and Big Cheese of The Creative Kitchen, Cricket Azima, has a passion for providing cooking classes to children in New York City, “The Kids Food Festival is wonderful because it combats the very serious issue of childhood obesity in such a fun and effective way. We are able to promote and support companies that make healthful living delicious, and kids go home from the events excited about the new, better-for-you foods that they embraced,” Cricket explains. “Through the Festival we get to reach thousands of families in one weekend, and that in itself is incredible.”

General admission to the event is free, and tickets to the hands-on cooking classes in the James Beard Foundation Future Foodies Pavilion can be purchased at http://kidsfoodfestivaldc2013.eventbrite.com. The KFF is excited to support Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Visit www.kidsfoodfestival.com, on the Kids Food Festival Facebook page, and on Twitter at @KidsFoodFestFun!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.