Gracie Cavnar

Recent Actions

• Posted Delicious Fun with Girl Scouts to Dish with Gracie
  The San Jacinto Council Girl Scouts have found their Recipe for Success! They are arriving to RecipeHouse in droves to earn prized culinary and nutrition badges, including our coveted VegOut! patch. It's no secret that Recipe for Success Foundation is the premier host to help children acquire life-long cooking skills in a healthy and fun atmosphere. The Girl Scouts were among the first to discover this several years ago. Now about 50 Scouts a week come to RecipeHouse to learn our hallmark healthy and delicious recipes. Carried home by Brownies and Ambassadors, the aromas of our healthy snacks and simple meals permeate Houston's family kitchens and dinner tables. Now other youth groups have picked up the scent and made their way to RecipeHouse. The Jack & Jill Woodlands Chapter and a local National Charity League chapter of ninth grade girls...
• Posted Sprouts Helps Grow Hope Farms to Dish with Gracie
  Sprouts is passionate about supporting organizations that are stewards of health and wellness in the communities where our team members and guests work, live and play. Launched in 2015, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation was created to support local nonprofit organizations creating stronger and healthier communities served by Sprouts. In April, stores hosted a first ever in-store "Round Up for Our Community" campaign, where customers were given an opportunity to donate change to the Foundation. Thousands participated, raising $258,000 in just eight days! These dollars, and contributions from the Foundation, funded the 2016 Neighborhood Grants program, designed to keep 100 percent of donations in communities where the donations were collected.Recipe for Success Foundation is honored to be among the 54 non-profits selected to receive grants, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. In total, the Foundation distributed over $400,000 in Neighborhood Grants....
• Posted Partnering For Social Change to Dish with Gracie
  NEW YORK September 14, 2016. TODAY Meredith Corporation, the nation's leading media and marketing company serving 102 million American women, and Recipe For Success Foundation, a national leader in the effort to end childhood obesity, announced a broad-reaching collaboration tied to Meredith's new "Partnerships That Will Change the World" initiative, which was unveiled during the company's first-ever BrandFront presentation. The Partnerships That Will Change the World campaign is designed to engage Meredith's young, female audience in influencing social change in measurable and meaningful ways. "This partnership opens the door for Recipe for Success to help millions of women and families across America live healthier lives," said Gracie Cavnar, Founder and CEO of Recipe for Success Foundation. "We will be working across all the Meredith brands, which include Parents, Rachael Ray Every Day, Family Circle, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and...
• Posted Put A Patch On It to Dish with Gracie
  We have special classes at RecipeHouse for Girl Scouts to earn requirements toward GSUSA Badges. Girl Scout troops can learn cooking skills alongside professional chefs, or design their own badge or journey workshops. We even have a special VegOut! patch. Contact Justin Kouri to plan a class for your troop or meeting, or visit the San Jacinto Girl Scouts Council Information Network to register for one of the already scheduled classes beginning September 10....
• Posted Exploring the World through Food to Dish with Gracie
  Every year our Seed-to-Plate Team fine tunes a new year-long lesson plan with 20 integrated culinary and gardening classes designed to be embedded into an elementary student's regular school day, or delivered in an after school format or even adapted for summer camp. Each lesson plan has a comprehensive step by step guide for teachers and beautiful collateral materials that incorporate complementary learning activities for the kids to do in their homerooms--or at home--to amplify our healthy messaging. All of this is painstakenly aligned with TEKS and Common Core grade level deliverables for math, science, language arts and social studies as well as health. Together these units present a powerful engagement tool to inspire kids to eat healthier as well as give them the life skills they will need to support their healthy inclinations. This fall begins our students' year-long...
• Posted Celebrate Mother's Day With Us to Dish with Gracie
  Book your tickets now for the 7th annual Fashion Gene Awards when we honor Jillian Boss & Jacqueline Fair; Kimberly, Christine & Jo Lynn Falgout; Tammie Johnson & Brittney Leigh Randolph; Alexa L. & Vanessa Sendukas; Lindley Arnoldy, Jana Arnoldy & Lauren Barrett and Duyen H., Anais, Lauren, Cholé & Misha Nguyen on May 4 at Tootsies. Get your tickets today!...
• Posted My Compliments to the Chef to Dish with Gracie
  Recipe for Success wouldn't be where it is today without the help of dozens of professional chefs who have donated time and treasure to help us create and sustain our Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ programs. Now in celebration of of first decade, the chefs are steping up again. On May 19th a few lucky guests will gather at an exquisitely table set under the sparkling chandeliers of The Dunlavy to dine on a sumptuous ten-course Banquet prepared by ten iconic chefs, all founding members of the Recipe For Success Foundation's Chef's Advisory Board. Chefs Bryan Caswell, Charles Clark, Robert Del Grande, Monica Pope, Ouisie, Randy Evans, Lance Fegan, Randy Rucker, Peter Garcia and John Sheely will each create a course for The Banquet, complimented by wines provided by Anna de Codorniu Cava Brut and Long Meadow Ranch and a craft beer...
• Posted Life Around the Dinner Table to Dish with Gracie
  November hosts America's most high profile meal, forever fixed in our mind's eye by Norman Rockwell, who used the Thanksgiving table to showcase his idea of a traditional family dinner. But contrary to national myth, our treasured Thanksgiving holiday wasn't handed down from the Pilgrims. It was a post-civil war effort of Abraham Lincoln's to promote national unity. Shared meals have that kind of power, not only to heal a nation, but also to build community and strengthen family ties.Every one of us harbors powerful memories of family food traditions that are woven tightly into defining who we are as individuals and as part of our tribe. A look at the history of mealtime illuminates our progression from hunter-gatherers to agrarian life to workers in the industrial revolution to our present fast-paced, tech filled lives. As the way we secure...
• Posted Go Green to Dish with Gracie
  Did you know that domestic produce travels an average of 1,500 miles before making it to your local grocery store? Every October 24, thousands of events all around the country bring Americans together to mark Food Day by celebrating real food, such as produce that is seasonal and locally grown. Another purpose of Food Day is to advocate for better food policy.October 24 is a day to resolve to make changes in our own diets and to take action to solve food-related problems in our communities at the local, state, and national level. For 2015, Food Day planners are encouraging people worldwide to shift "Toward a Greener Diet" by seeking more locally grown real food.Recipe for Success Foundation's engaging, free, downloadable farmers marKIDS curriculum offers a rewarding way for kids, teachers and parents to celebrate Food Day, joining in the...
• Posted Call Congress For Lunch to Dish with Gracie
  Ironic that fall hosts both National Childhood Obesity Month in September and National School Lunch Week in October. It was the sad state of school food that snared my attention nearly twenty years ago, eventually inspiring the launch of Recipe for Success.Our school hallways were filled with snack vending, and junk food concessions crowded the lunch line. These efforts to monetize poor eating choices among our youngest and most vulnerable were having a devastating effect. A deadly epidemic was spiraling out of control, (30% of American kids are obese.) Those in charge had perfectly plausible excuses: we are just giving the kids the food they prefer and therefore eat; the commissions and licensing fees are supporting our arts, our scoreboard, our music program; this is the best we can do on our limited budgets.As many as 12 million American children...
• Posted Happy Birthday to Us to Dish with Gracie
  August 5, 2015. Today is Recipe for Success Foundation's tenth birthday, when the new non-profit I registered with the Secretary of State was officially acknowledged and our work could commence. When I received that stamped document, I had a list in my hand of the projects I wanted to execute with this new foundation: teach kids to cook and garden, publish cookbooks for kids, create an urban farm in Houston and produce a kids cooking television show. It was a lot, but I am a headstrong Gemini; I was confident in my vision, fueled by my passion and enabled by a generous grant from my husband, the support of my kids, the enthusiasm of my friends and the ability to work for free. Ten years and 30,000+ kids later we are commencing today on a yearlong celebration of our roots...
• Posted Third and Goal to Dish with Gracie
  In June, the Texas State Ag Commissioner rolled back progressive rules to support healthier lunches in Texas citing complaints by lunch providers that it was too difficult to meet the standard and that students rejected healthier options. Well, that's not what the rest of the country is reporting, according to a recent survey by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Hopefully Texas schools will stay the course and help our kids grow up healthier by rejecting poor nutritional options offered by the big food manufacturers. But, it will be up to parents and concerned citizens to ensure this outcome. We have seen ever and over again, its the squeeky wheel......
• Posted Eating Mindfully? to Dish with Gracie
  Concerned about how we are going to feed an exploding population AND make progress toward healthier diets? Wondering how you can positively impact a sustainable food system? We can all play a part--with our personal habits and daily descisions. We have to walk the talk in our own lives....
• Posted CultureMap on VegOut! to Dish with Gracie
  "At a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Annise Parker joined Recipe 4 Success founder Gracie Cavnar to announce the second annual VegOut! 30-Day Challenge. Participants in the program sign up online and pledge to eat 30 different vegetables over 30 days. "Veggies are tasty. Veggies are healthy, and having a little competition around eating your veggies is fun," Parker said. "There are lots of places we can find appropriate fresh fruits and vegetables." The mayor cited the weekly Wednesday farmers market at City Hall as one place and proudly displayed a bag of Brussels sprouts she purchased there. ..." Read the full story by CultureMap's Eric Sandler here....
• Posted Health Tied to Success to Dish with Gracie
  Fitness, nutrition, proper sleep and TV restrictions appeared to make a difference at school according to a study of city kids SATURDAY, Feb. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and being physically fit are important for students' success in school, a new study suggests. When students' home and school environments support their physical health and well-being, they perform better academically, the researchers found, so programs in and out of the classroom to promote healthy behavior may be a smart investment. The study looked at survey results and district test scores of 940 fifth- and sixth-grade students attending 12 randomly selected schools in New Haven, Conn., a poor and ethnically diverse city. Researchers also assessed the students' physical fitness three to six months before they were tested and again after the scores of the...
• Posted Keeping Up With The News to Dish with Gracie
  In an effort to connect our partners and fans with current research, strategies, successful programs and trends focused on combattng obesity, healthy eating and food access issues, we have assembled this weeks news stories from around the world. . . . A New York Times story on November 13, showcases a group of Head Start kids in East Harlem who benefit from the collaboration of the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the National Institute of Health. Eat Play Grow is designed expressly for kids under five and offers interactive displays, art, storytime and music complemented by parent nutrition classes. Amenities at the Museum like plastic fruit, letter tiles featuring food and interactive games have been replicated in the community center that hosts this weekly class. Read the entire story here. In 2010 when we learned that obesity numbers were on...
• Posted Problem In Aisle One to Dish with Gracie
  A recent study by Johns Hopkins compared grocery and food access across the spectrum to test popular thinking that healthy choices improved as families worked thier way up the economic ladder. The findings might surprise you. We already knew that poor, racially segregated black neighborhoods lack supermarkets and the study reconfirmed that. But the small grocery stores they do have offer very few healthy products, instead favoring high fat, salt and sugary foods on their shelves. Though segregated Hispanic neighborhoods also have fewer supermarkets, their small gracers tend to stock healthier items. Even more shocking are stats reflect that even wealthier black neighborhoods have far fewer super markets and healthy grocery options than poor white neighborhoods. You can read more about the study in a recent LA Times story or in the Preventive Medicine journal. As we prioritize efforts to...
• Posted Veggies Still In Third Place to Dish with Gracie
  NPD Group, a market reaseach firm, recently released data showing that Americans are eating more fruit and drinking fewer carbonated beverages at home. Of the five types of foods they measure--sandwiches, carbonated soft drinks, fruits, vegetables and milk, fruit climbed from #5 to #2 over the last ten years. Veggie consumption remains stuck at #3. And we know that for Americans, that vegetable is typically french fries. Harry Balzer, an NPD spokesman, suggestd that since fruit requires little or no preparation and is self contained, it's easier to eat--just like a sandwich, the number one food. "[The sandwich] is the number one food eaten at lunch; the number one main dish at dinner (hamburgers and hot dogs are included), and it's the fastest-growing breakfast food," Balzer says. Although people care about their health, according to Balzer it's not the number...
• Posted Have a Minute? to Dish with Gracie
  New studies show that spending an extra 3 1/2 minutes at dinner with your family has a direct effect on obesity and health. Early-on we learned that it takes thirty minutes for your stomach to communicate to your brain that it's full. But in this fast food nation, we dont spend thirty minutes eating. No wonder we consume too many calories! One of the important aspects of the Recipe for Success Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education is classes sitting down together to share the dish they have just prepared. We are trying to instill an appreciation for the custom of shared meals. American families now spend an average of just sixteen and a half minutes eating dinner together. (That is if they sit down at all.) But as The Wall Street Journal reports, closer to twenty minutes sharing a meal at the...
• Posted Chipotle Goes After Big Food to Dish with Gracie
  Bravo to our generous sponsor Chipotle for shining a spotlight on the growing issue of overmedicated factory beef in their short film The Scarecrow. Read the full story by Eliza Barclay in the salt....
• Posted Scientific American Weighs In to Dish with Gracie
  We are delighted to learn that the venerable Scientific American has pulled their chair up to the table and begun a regular blog and column called "Food Matters." In their first article, Patrick Mustain maintains that "It Is Not True That Kids Won't Eat Healthy Food: Why The New USDA School Food Guidelines Are Very Necessary." We couldn't agree more . . .but read for yourself and let us know your thoughts on the new school lunch guidelines....
• Posted TX Lawmakers Undermine Health to Dish with Gracie
  In a recent article by Marion Nestle, a nationally respected food policy expert, some heavy news for childhood obesity battle in Texas: "The Texas governor signed a bill this summer that was supposed to allow Texas high school students to buy "competitive" (because they compete with federally funded school meals) fast foods. But a mistake in the wording allows them to buy "foods of minimal nutritional value"--candy, sodas, and the like in conflict with long-standing USDA regulations." Read more. And a more indepth look at this fiasco by Bettina Siegal on The Lunch Tray who broke the story. Time for concerned citizens to reach out to our legislators and remind them that our children's health is more important than the financial health of junk food maker and sellers. This is a huge setback in our work to make school meals...
• Posted Honoring Glen & Honi Boudreaux to Dish with Gracie
  This year's Blue Plate Special Cafe Harvest Market and Awards Lunch on November 19 at River Oaks Country Club will honor founding RFS board members, Glen and Honi Boudreaux. Owners of Jolie Vue Farms, a beautiful grass fed beef and Berkshire pig operation in Brenham, Texas the Boudreauxs have long been advocates of urban agriculture, farmers markets and everything else that shortens the distance from farm to plate. The Blue Plate Special Café Harvest Market & Awards Lunch raises critical funds to continue our vital growth of Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ in Houston schools. Beginning with a Harvest Market of locally made products and progressing to a feast of seasonal delights designed by the kids participating in our program, this charming event has emerged as a yummy prelude to Thanksgiving and a perfect way to celebrate the tradition of the shared...
• Posted Eat This! Campers Sell Cookies to Dish with Gracie
  Chocolate Kale Cookies, a brand new product created by elementary aged kids who attended session five of our Eat This! Summer Camp at RecipeHouse, were the hands-down choice by Houston's Revival Market to add to their shelves. Veteran supporters of Recipe for Success Foundation's efforts to combat childhood obesity by changing the way kids eat, Revival Market unveiled their latest product just in time for back to school. Eat This! Summer Camps prepare children to become savvy food consumers through hands-on learning in the kitchen and garden. During each week-long session, campers develop and market an original food product with the help of the Foundation's Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ Instructors, and volunteer members of their Chefs Advisory Board, who this year included Jon Buchanan (Trevisio) and Ruffy Sulaiman (Hilton Americas-Houston), and Revival Market General Manager, Carlos Meltzer. "Children who understand how...
• Posted Power Up for Back to School to Dish with Gracie
  New backpack--check. New shoes--check. Pens, paper, notebooks--check, check check. Kale--check. Wait a minute. . . kale? Yes. That's right. When the children go back to school this month, don't forget the brain food. Resist the temptation to fall back on processed and fast foods when time gets tight. It's the worst food for a young student's brain, impacting functions from short-term memory to learning capacity. We've long known that our brains depend on essential vitamins and minerals to function well. Now the experts maintain that the interior of the brain is just as integral to learning as the classroom environment with mounting evidence supporting a direct link between good nutrition and your child's ability to learn. Here are my ten tips for boosting brainpower and sending your kids to school ready to learn: Start with a good breakfast. In the...
• Posted Two Acres Is All You Need to Dish with Gracie
  Ever wonder just how much spaceyou would need to generate your own food and household energy? Love this pictograph that shows us....
• Posted School Meal Rules Cut Obesity to Dish with Gracie
  "New federal school lunch regulations that require more servings of fruits and vegetables, more whole-grain content, less salt and fat, and limits on calories could yield a legion of children from low-income families who escape a trend of childhood obesity. A study published Monday online in JAMA Pediatrics looked at states that cracked down on the content of school meals even before new federal school meal standards, which took effect this school year. A smaller share of students who received free or reduced-price lunches that had to meet these higher nutritional standards--about 12 percent--were overweight than was the case for students who did not eat school lunches." Read more in this article for Education Week by Nirva Shah...
• Posted Take a Page From Anti-Smoking to Dish with Gracie
  Back in 1956, 57% of American men were smokers, and that year alone, 29,000 of them died from lung cancer. You hear that now and it seems . . . . mindboggling. In fifty-seven years we have slashed the smoking rate to 18.9%. The fix was multi-layered and hard won over decades: school-based education; reducing minors access; healthcare provider counseling; increased excise taxes; warning labels; restricting or eliminating advertising--especially directed at youth; and establishing indoors as a smoke free zone. Nowadays all that seems like just common sense. But, because of the billions of dollars wielded by tobacco companies and their influence on lawmakers and the market, because everyone was in denial about the negative health effects and because the industry's continued to insist that nicotine was not addictive, these rational controls took nearly sixty years to finally get right....
• Posted Take a Page From Anti-Smoking to Dish with Gracie
  Back in 1956, 57% of American men were smokers, and that year alone, 29,000 of them died from lung cancer. You hear that now and it seems . . . . mindboggling. In fifty-seven years we have slashed the smoking rate to 18.9%. The fix was multi-layered and hard won over decades: school-based education; reducing minors access; healthcare provider counseling; increased excise taxes; warning labels; restricting or eliminating advertising--especially directed at youth; and establishing indoors as a smoke free zone. Nowadays all that seems like just common sense. But, because of the billions of dollars wielded by tobacco companies and their influence on lawmakers and the market, because everyone was in denial about the negative health effects and because the industry's continued to insist that nicotine was not addictive, these rational controls took nearly sixty years to finally get right....
• Posted Pasta Primavera to Dish with Gracie
  Primavera means spring in Italian and this dish was first created to celebrate young spring vegetables, but you can mix and match the veggies to make it with the best that any season has to offer. Here it is with a little bit of everything. (Recipe from Eat It! Food Adventures with Marco Polo.) Serves 8 as entrée INGREDIENTS½ package fettuccini-style dried noodles, cooked according to package directions ¼ cup olive oil, divided2 carrots, minced2 ribs celery, minced1 small red onion, minced¼ teaspoon salt2 cloves garlic, minced5 stalks parsley minced1 green onion, sliced thin1 red bell pepper, julienne½ bunch asparagus, tough stalks removed and tops cut into 1 inch pieces1 cup broccoli flowers, steamed for 3-4 minutes until bright green½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)2 ounces fresh spinach leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces 4-6 basil leaves, chiffonade1/8 cup freshly...