Kaira Mack, St. Martin de Porres
May 2016…Healthy NewsWorks student reporters now have a “taste” for a new, healthy, and delicious way to get even more calcium in their diet. Amy Deahl-Greenlaw, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) working with Healthy NewsWorks, had students and teachers at several Healthy NewsWorks schools taste a kale smoothie she calls “Kale-ci-Yum.” Ms. Deahl-Greenlaw explained that the drink is high in the nutrient calcium because it has yogurt and kale. You need calcium in your diet because it strengthens teeth and bones, Ms. Deahl-Greenlaw said. Get the recipe here.
In the process of taste-testing and making the smoothie, the students also learned other important nutritional facts. For example, Ms. Deahl-Greenlaw explained that when you open a container of yogurt, you might notice a watery liquid on the top, called whey. She said that you should stir it into the yogurt because it’s rich in calcium. She also encouraged the reporters to use plain yogurt because it has no added sugar. In the Kale-ci-Yum recipe, the natural sugar in the banana sweetens the smoothie.
One reporter from the LaSalle Academy Healthy News wrote in her report, “The smoothie tastes like both banana and pineapple. The ingredients are healthy and it only has natural sugars. It is a good afternoon snack.” A Whitehall Healthy Reporter staff member wrote, “It is a delicious great smoothie to have and it does not have added sugar.”
The overall consensus by the reporters was that the smoothie was delicious. “I really enjoyed the smoothie,” said a Marshall Street Healthy Bulletin reporter. “If you like bananas and pineapple and you like being healthy, you will love this smoothie. … My favorite thing was the cold, refreshing feeling.”
