About the Contest

About the Contest

An estimated 30.6 million U.S. students consume school lunches1. Alarmingly, only six percent of school lunch programs meet the requirements established by the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children2. Dr. Brian Wansink, co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs, cookbook author Mollie Katzen and the California Walnut Board are helping parents make better lunch choices for their children. Create new walnut inspired lunchtime recipes and snacks with your children. Making a packed lunch is also a great opportunity to give children experience making their own food choices. Remember, we are looking for recipes that will Add Crunch to Lunch.

Enter your most creative and nutritious packed lunch recipe and you may win a laptop computer!

Criteria for Add Crunch to Lunch Recipe Challenge:

All recipes entered into the Add Crunch to Lunch Recipe Challenge must contain English walnuts. Recipes that contain black walnuts will be disqualified, as will recipes that do not contain any walnuts. Walnut oil may be used in recipes, but recipes containing walnut oil must also contain English walnuts (e.g. walnut halves, chopped walnuts, etc.) Recipes must contain at least 1 tablespoon of walnuts per serving. For example, a recipe that serves four people must contain at least ¼ cup (four tablespoons) walnuts. Recipes cannot contain peanuts or nuts other than California (English) walnuts.

Judging Criteria:

All recipes will be reviewed by California Walnut Board representatives. Recipes not meeting the eligibility criteria will be eliminated. Food and health professionals will taste/judge recipes that qualify. Each recipe will receive a score of 0 to 100 based on the following criteria:

  1. Taste (25%) Is the recipe an appetizing choice for a packed lunch?
  2. Appeal (25%) Does this recipe sound appealing to kids? Would students like to make/eat this item?
  3. Use of Walnuts (25%) Does this recipe use walnuts in a creative, new or unique way?
  4. Simplicity (25%) Is this convenient and simple enough for a packed lunch?

Registration:

Before you can enter the challenge, you need to register. Once you are registered, you will be able to enter one recipe per week. You will also be able to rate other entries, and see how your recipes are being rated compared to other contestants.

This is an online entry-only challenge, meaning we are only accepting entries on this website between 12:01 a.m. PST or PDT August 1, 2011 and 11:59 p.m. PST October 30, 2011. During the entry period, registered contestants will be able to rate recipes submitted by other contestants. While this will have no effect on the final judging, it will be a fun way for contestants to track the appeal of their recipes.

1 http://www.schoolmealsmatter.org/resources/pdfs/food/School_Nutrition_Dietary_Assessment_Policy_Implications.pdf
2 http://www.schoolmealsmatter.org/resources/pdfs/food/School_Nutrition_Dietary_Assessment_Policy_Implications.pdf