With nutrition a focal point, our chefs lovingly prepare organic meals on a daily basis, while classes in Experimental Flavors awaken taste buds. As children practice self-sufficiency, they serve themselves, learning to take what they will eat, and eat what they take. A Certified Wildlife Habitat and Green School, ECF is nearly plastic free and en route to being zero waste as Ecology and Climate Science inform the curriculum.
Menu
Ecole Claire Fontaine stands apart from other schools for many reasons, but its menu is perhaps its most striking differentiator. Offering breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day, children are well-nourished and satiated.
A Case Study in the Carrot
At ECF children experiment weekly with new tastes, discovering flavors & savors. When researching methods to prepare vegetables while retaining their high vitamin content, students have found a favorite in the carrot. As an ingredient, the uses of this root vegetable are vast.
Steaming, grilling, baking, roasting, and shredding for muffins and cakes retains many nutrients that are easily absorbable by the body. Keeping carrots out of water for lengthy periods, and eschewing boiling, will aid in the retention of those important vitamins. Shredded for salad or eaten whole is another favorite for a crunchy dose of beta-carotene, a nutrient named after the vital carrot.
Organic carrots are considered one of the world’s healthiest foods, with a combination of phytonutrients, including Vitamin A in the form of carotenoids, hydroxycinnamic acids and polyacetylenes. They are also robust in biotin, vitamin K, dietary fiber, molybdenum, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C, and include manganese, niacin, vitamin B1, panthothenic acid, phosphorus, folate, copper, vitamin E and vitamin B2.
Making such a connection between food and health, a student remarked, “C’est bon, je ne serai plus malade avec les vitamines.” (It’s good, I’ll never be sick with the vitamins.)
Bringing the Joy of Carrots to Your Home
Here is a very simple recipe to replicate in your own kitchen with your child – the lemon juice adds extra vitamin C and flavor.
Ingredients: organic carrots, pink Himalayan or sea salt, organic olive oil, organic lemon juice.
Directions: Shred as many carrots as you would like using a grater. Carrots should be fine ribbons. In a bowl, sprinkle salt to taste (a few small pinches should do, and can be administered by your child). Pour a short “glug” of olive oil, about 1-2 tablespoons. This can also be executed by small hands. Apply a few drops of lemon juice – as children love squeezing citrus, this will be a delightful exercise in restraint. Taste and discuss / goûtez et discutez!
While preparing a shredded salad in class, a young cook exclaimed: “J’adore, je vais voir comme Batman.” (I love it, I’m going to see like Batman.)