Health Fair a School-wide Event

With the same care he devotes to mentoring with MIKE Program, Tyrell Comeaux took on a culinary challenge at Rosemary Anderson High School’s Health Fair on May 23. As acting chef for the student-led event, Comeaux worked his knowledge and magic to attract the teenage palate to some healthy grains, beans and nuts.

In what has become a school tradition, the annual school health fair provides MIKE Program youth a fun way to share a health message with their peers, as part of their health leadership project. Donned in their student-designed hot pink t-shirts featuring the message, ““You are what you eat, Keep your heart pumpin’,” the teens selected a host of healthy snacks, dishes and activities to keep their peers moving throughout the four-hour event.

For Comeaux, cooking behind the scenes in the kitchen for most of the event was easy fare. Comeaux is surrounded by nutrition and food during most all of his waking hours. Besides being a supervisor of nutrition at Legacy Health in Portland, Comeaux is working toward a master’s degree in applied nutrition with a concentration in nutrition education through Northeastern University in Boston.

Although his job and schooling keep Comeaux busy, he pursued a chance to mentor this year with MIKE Program to guide youth toward healthier lifestyles and help stem the rise in adolescent obesity. Each Wednesday morning he volunteers with MIKE Program youth at Rosemary Anderson High School in north Portland as guide, supporter and role model.

One ongoing task for all MIKE Program mentors is bringing healthy snacks to class. Mentors may choose unique food combinations or more traditional pairings to reinforce healthy eating patterns. At Rosemary Anderson, Comeaux shares this responsibility with peer mentor and Portland State University biochemistry major Palistha Shakya. Before the Wednesday morning lessons begin, Comeaux and Shakya prepare and handout the snacks. For most of MIKE Program youth, the snacks are a welcome addition, allowing the teens a chance to try new foods which offer greater health benefits. For others it may be their first meal of the day.

At the health fair, Comeaux began the morning in his hot pink t-shirt preparing green lentils, cannellini (white) beans and tri-color quinoa, which were selected by the youth to showcase healthy alternatives to pasta and rice. Bob’s Red Mill donated the healthy food options for the event and The Heart’s Kitchen provided recipes that matched the likes and interests of MIKE Program youth who hosted the event.

Lori Sobelson, director of corporate outreach for Bob’s Red Mill, visited Rosemary Anderson High School in preparation for the health fair to introduce a host of product lines which offered some delicious options for the youth. She teamed with Mollie Dickson, co-founder and food and nutrition consultant at The Heart’s Kitchen, who selected recipes for pumpkin seed pesto, pico de gallo and hummus to complement the cooked grains and beans.

“The thing I like to focus on is making cooking easy,” Dickson told MIKE Program teens on May14 at the school. “It doesn’t need to be hard when using fresh ingredients.”

Her new career in nutrition education began after meeting Kent Thornburg, director of the OHSU Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness. Dickson said she was inspired by the research conducted at OHSU in epigenetics and nutrition to establish The Heart’s Kitchen with Jennifer Bryman, who develops the savory recipes for the company. Dickson’s OHSU ties connected her with Sobelson, who oversees the cooking school at Bob’s Red Mill.

“It’s good to have whole grains,” Sobelson told the youth as she passed around about a dozen packages of various grains, beans and lentils. “They keep you healthy.” In addition to giving the youth a chance to see the similarities and differences between the various items, Sobelson explained how some items required longer preparation, but offered a variety of options for basic meals.

Sobelson has also teamed with MIKE Program Advisory Board member Susan Bagby, MD, and MIKE Program to produce My Healthy Pocket Shopper. The handy guide, sponsored by OHSU and the Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness, offers a simple introduction to purchasing healthy foods.

Equipped with Sobelson and Dickson contributions, Comeaux prepared the grains and beans before the youth arrived for the health fair. While some MIKE Program youth directed activities in the gym, Comeaux was joined by other youth to prepare the unique sauces and several vegetable and fruit snacks.

There were a few curious looks when Comeaux placed the cooked grains and beans alongside the sauces on the serving table, especially at the pumpkin seed pesto. He spooned the emerald green cream-looking sauce onto the quinoa and offered up the first plate. He gently nudged the teens into trying the dishes. The reactions of those who first ventured a taste soon convinced other teens to take a break from the other activities in the room and try the food. Comeaux smiled as he watched the teens slowly but enthusiastically taking in the new cuisine.

With the food preparation completed, Comeaux joined the teens on the basketball court. For the “keep your heart pumpkin” part of the health fair, MIKE Program youth actively engaged their peers in basketball, kickball and tossing Frisbees, along with jump rope and hula-hoop challenges, before inviting the teens to join them in a group dance.

As the event closed, the teens grabbed another plate of food, a Bob’s Red Mill granola sample and headed back to class with a healthier outlook for the day.