Special Guest: Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan, author of My Food Notebook

Through Farm to Table Pittsburgh's school program, the Classroom Tasting Party, we met Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan, author of My Food Notebook.  Elizabeth visited us at the Allentown Academy to discuss healthy eating with our students for the afternoon. My Food Notebook, inspired by the challenges parents often face with picky eaters, allows children to journal about trying new food.  In the journal, they can note food they like/don't like and food they want to try again.

During our Classroom Tasting Party, Elizabeth encouraged children to try new foods they may be hesitant to try otherwise.  Students were given a small tray of various foods, such as: tomatoes, green olives, carrots, prunes, yellow bell peppers, and blueberries.  Elizabeth had a colored die which she rolled to determine the color of food the kids got to sample and made a fun game out of it.

Once students sampled each food, they rated the new foods they got to try.  It was neat to hear the reactions of students as they tasted new foods for the first time.  This game allowed our students to reflect and voice their opinion about foods they liked or didn't like.  Surprisingly, they didn't have a problem trying all foods given to them, even if it was something they never tasted before.

We had such a wonderful experience having Elizabeth join our class, as she encouraged the children not to be afraid to try new foods by making it a fun and creative experience. It's an amazing thing to introduce young children to new, healthy foods that they discover they actually love! 

-Emily