Vegan blue corn dumplings and blue corn crepes

In this week’s EMPWR classes, students made vegan blue corn dumplings and blue corn crepes. A key part of the class was encouraging students to try vegetables in multiple forms. Before cooking, they sampled mushrooms, kale, and carrots raw, noticing their textures and flavors. Later, they tasted the same ingredients again once they had been cooked into the stew. This side-by-side experience helped students understand how food can change—and often become more enjoyable—through preparation.

Kids aren’t expected to love a new vegetable the first time they try it—and that’s okay. Research shows it can take 8–15 exposures for a child to begin enjoying a new food. Trying vegetables in different forms—like raw and cooked—helps children become familiar with their taste, texture, and smell over time.

Each small taste builds confidence and curiosity. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress. Every bite is a step toward lifelong healthy habits.

The lesson also included a cultural comparison of dumplings. Students learned that Navajo dumplings differ significantly from Chinese dumplings. Rather than being filled, Navajo dumplings are more similar to soft noodles and are typically simmered in a stew. In this way, the vegetables and broth act almost like the “filling,” surrounding the dumplings instead of being enclosed within them. This comparison helped students see how different cultures approach similar foods in unique ways.

The session ended, as always, with hands-on cooking and growing confidence—especially as students learned how to flip crepes.

Through moments like these—tasting, comparing, and experimenting—students are not only learning how to cook, but also developing a deeper understanding of food, culture, and health.