Chula Vista High School students got a treat Monday during finals week: a free taste test! Held in a high traffic location on the Senior Lawn, the Taste of Cafe Agua Dulce taste test featured five new items students might see on the menu for breakfast and lunch next year. The roughly 200 students who participated had the opportunity to weigh in on the new items, helping shape what will actually be on the menu.
Homemade tzatziki dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta cheese on the Greek salad.
The new menu items included two breakfast items and three lunch items:
- Egg, turkey sausage, and cheese whole grain Tornado
- Egg and cheese whole grain taquito
- Greek salad with homemade tzatziki dressing
- Fair style turkey leg
- Homemade tuna melt sandwich
All of the menu items follow federal nutritional guidelines for saturated fat and sodium limits but are modified to be appealing to students. For example, the Tornado uses a whole grain flour tortilla and low-fat cheese, and the tuna melt uses whole grain bread and relies on mustard and other spices to enhance the flavor. Sweetwater sources fish from Catalina Offshore Products, purveyor of local, fresh fish around San Diego, further adding to the appeal of the tuna melt.
The Tornado is egg, turkey sausage, and cheese wrapped in a whole grain flour tortilla covered in spices.
Most of the new items will be in the regular rotation, but at least one will be offered a la carte: the fair style turkey leg. Though today students got sample cups with turkey leg meat, the actual leg is a hefty size and will be finished on the grill. After spotting what the turkey legs will look like, two Juniors commented on how expensive they are at the fair and that they are excited to be able to order one at school for much less.
Much more than bite-sized: full turkey legs will be added to the a la carte lunch menu.
About 75 students filled out a survey after trying the samples, ranking each item on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being best). However, it was easy to tell which items were popular based on how quickly staff had to replace the samples! The Tornados were overwhelmingly the favorite breakfast item and eventually ran out, and Nutrition Services employees were constantly putting out extra tuna melt and turkey leg samples.
The tuna melt with whole grain bread, pepper jack cheese, and homemade tuna salad was a hit.
Students chatted about the items while they snacked, giving the Nutrition Services team an early peek into what they liked and what they didn’t like. The Greek salad, with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and a homemade tzatziki dressing, was a hit among both students and staff members, who are all interested in more salad variety. Next year, the salad will be served with either chicken or falafel for a complete meal. One staff member even asked for the tuna melt recipe, saying she planned to recreate it at home. Quite the compliment!
The school-wide taste test was piloted by Alberto Apalategui’s Power Thinking class a couple of weeks ago. Paired with a nutrition lesson my Registered Dietitian Devon Walker, the class learned more about the importance of nutrition and also how to critique food. Many of these same students came for Taste of Cafe Agua Dulce, eager to try even more potential new menu items and give their voices greater reach.
Taste of Cafe Agua Dulce was partially inspired by the need to create more awareness for the district’s summer meals program. Seamless Summer is a USDA program providing free meals to all children 18 years of age and under. SUHSD meal sites will be at 7 middle schools, 7 high schools, and the Westfield Plaza Bonita Mall. Anyone 18 and under can come to these locations for fresh salads, sandwiches, grill items (ribs, burgers, and nachos), and a variety of sides from June 11 to June 29.
Additionally, the district is hard at work this summer developing and perfecting new recipes for next year. These recipes will follow federal guidelines for nutrition, including sodium and saturated fat reductions, but will also take into account student opinions. The surveys help us know what students like about recipes and what can be improved so more students (and staff) are eager to eat a healthy and delicious school lunch. Be sure to visit us next year to see the changes we’re making!