Cooks urged to enter original, healthy recipes in contest
Calling all cooks of healthy foods.
Spatulas up and recipe originals ready, there is about to be a Healthy Food Fight.
Cooks with an original, healthy recipe are encouraged to enter it in the Las Vegas Aetna Healthy Food Fight competition by April 11.
Selected cooks will vie for an all-expenses paid, yet-to-be scheduled trip to New York City, including dinner at a top restaurant. In addition to the getaway, winners received a one-year H2U membership and access to health and wellness information, interactive tools, discounts on health care services and more care of the Sunrise Health hospitals.
It is free to enter, and entrants don't need prior competition experience or cooking training to enter.
The Culinary Institute of America will then select the top 24 submissions by assigning each a "nutritional value" score, based on which are the most "healthy" and "nutritious."
The public is welcome to watch the culinary showdown from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 1 at Town Square Las Vegas, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South and learn healthy cooking tips during the outdoor event.
Southern Highlands resident Julie Hession was just a woman with a penchant for healthy cooking when she entered the Aetna Healthy Food Fight last year. Aetna is a national health care benefits network.
Her long-perfected Moroccan spiced vegetable chili made her the national winner.
Hession had toyed with food competitions before but something about the Healthy Food Fight caught her attention.
"When I cook, I like to cook really healthy," she said. "You don't see many competitions that focus on healthy cooking."
She entered and won a regional competition in Palm Springs, Calif. The 10 regional winners then competed in the national event last October, and a panel of judges, including celebrity chef Bobby Flay, picked her chili as the best healthy recipe in the county.
The dinner table will turn this year when Hession takes a stab at judging for the Las Vegas Aetna Healthy Food Fight.
The competition will crown best healthy dish in Las Vegas. There is no advancement to a regional or national competition this year, Aetna spokeswoman Anjie Coplin said.
Aetna and the Sunrise Health hospitals have teamed up for the event.
Stacy Acquista, director of marketing for the Sunrise Health hospitals, said it was an easy partnership because both organizations promote healthy lifestyles.
Acquista said the four Sunrise Health hospital locations have hosted healthy cooking demonstrations and print balanced diet literature, but this is the first competition of this scale the hospitals have supported.
She hoped the community would attend the May 1 cook-off to learn more about healthy options.
"We want to show them healthy eating isn't just eating bland," she said. "There is a way to cook it that is easy and fun and tasty."
Hession said the competition will be a more laid-back affair. She encouraged those who have never entered a food competition to consider mixing it up.
"You never know if your recipe is going to be the one that fits the bill," she said.
The prizes were donated by 96.3 KKLZ FM and the Sunrise Health hospitals.
For more information or to submit a recipe, visit healthyfoodfight.com/lasvegas.
Contact Centennial and Paradise View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.
Recipe guidelines include
n Recipe must be comprised of a generic ingredient list and may not include references to any third party/branded product.
n Recipe should be consistent with the principles of "healthy living," i.e., provide protein, a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains, and other items such as healthy oil, nuts and legumes. Your Recipe should be low in sodium and use little or no sugar.
n Recipe should yield four (4) servings at 500-600 calories per serving.
n Recipe must be complete with measurements for each ingredient, cooking instructions, and a start to finish cooking time of not more than ninety (90) minutes.
n The total cost of the ingredients required to make the dish must not exceed $12.
The Culinary Institute of America will assign the top 24 submissions with a nutritional value based on the judging criteria of
1. Full range of fruits and vegetables and their percentage of overall ingredients (maximum number of points: 10)
2. Types of oils in the recipe: healthy plant-based oils vs. trans-fats and saturated fats, maximum of 10-16 gram per serving (maximum number of points: 10)
3. Protein sources including nuts and legumes, maximum 120 gram per serving (maximum number of points: 4)
4. Portion sizes - Recipe must provide enough for four portions, consisting of 500-600 calories/serving (maximum number of points: 4)
5. Use of unprocessed and minimally processed foods (maximum number of points: 4)
6. Use of healthy carbohydrates, degree of presence of whole grains, recommended 100 gram per serving (maximum number of points: 10)
7. Use of no or little added sugars and other "empty-calorie" sweeteners (maximum number of points: 4)
8. Overall salt and sodium content, maximum 400-500 mg per serving (maximum number of points: 4)
