Jan 28, 2010 10:53 am US/Central
Teacher's Challenge Has Kids Trying New Foods
WYLIE (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Some kids absolutely refuse to "just try" certain foods at the dinner table, and most parents often give up the fight. But a teacher in Wylie has found a way to get those kids to try things like snow peas, dates and even the dreaded brussel sprouts.
Every student who attends Lesa Gage's physical education class knows what is coming. "With the acorn squash, it almost made me throw up," said student Jackson Clasen.
Third and fourth graders at Wylie Prepartory Academy are challenged each semester to line up and take a bite of something they may have refused to eat at home -- sugar snap peas, squash, red bell peppers. Gage calls the class 'Food Fear Factor' because, while adults see a simple brussel sprout, kids often see a gross blob or a vat of bugs.
But there are no bugs or exotic delicacies here. It is simply an effort to get kids to try some new, healthy foods. A buffet table is set up and each student takes a sample from each plate. "Let me tell you what you're eating today," Gage explained. "These are Asian red pears, these are dates, mangos, apricots."
Then, the kids eat.
And sometimes, they even enjoy the stuff they sample. "I actually thought it was pretty good," student Easton Kerr said about acorn squash. "It's a good experience to try out foods that kids here have never even heard about."
As CBS 11 News watched the experiment unfold, not every student agreed with Easton. But in the end, they conquered the challenge. And some kids found a new food to add to their diets -- one that might make Mom and Dad proud. "I think it's encouraging them to look out for healthier foods, instead of junk foods that they would eat," Gage said.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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