This month’s highlighted vegetable is Lettuce! All over the state we’ve been holding lettuce taste tests and promoting the health benefits of this very versatile and commonly consumed vegetable. It’s common knowledge that generally, the darker the greens, the more nutritious the leaf, but did you know that lettuce is actually a part of the sunflower family?

The picture seen in this post is from The Barstow Memorial School, who last week ran a taste test at lunch with lettuce, spinach and radishes harvested from their school garden.

A quick note on Abbey taste testings: Over the last two decades, we’ve been actively increasing the amount of fresh and whole foods in school lunches. As we’ve made these increases over the years, we’ve noticed that unless students are familiar with the foods, they are hesitant to try them.  In an effort to answer that very problem, we started taste testings during lunch and in the classroom to introduce the foods to kids in a comfortable environment. These taste tests have been very successful and as a result, students have been more likely to choose healthy options.