fbpx
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram RSS Feed

What’s for School Lunch? Vegan UVWYZ Salad

school lunchImagine a school cafeteria where kids eat an alphabet’s worth of produce from arugula to zucchini – including a vegan salad called UVWYZ Salad.” A school lunch fantasy land? Not in the world of School Nutrition Plus, one of the country’s most cutting-edge school food companies. In this company’s vision, an array of colorful fruits and vegetables have the starring role at every meal.

Aiming the Nutritional Quality of School Lunches

school lunchLed by registered dietitian Emily Burson and Executive Chef Brandon Neumen, the company aims to improve the taste and nutritional quality of school lunches. Their boutique-style service now serves more than 20,000 meals every day, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, and supper.

We recently had a chance to meet the team behind School Nutrition Plus and tour their kitchen facility. At the same time, we also celebrated the launch of their new cookbook, “A Chef Walks Into a Cafeteria.” This book does what most of us aspire to do every day – it offers simple, easy to cook, wholesome, and appealing family-oriented foods.

Lunch Ideas

The company’s popular Epic Green Smoothie, for instance, is creamy and sweet. It gets its bright green color from both spinach and cucumber. The Chicken Chow Mein features no fewer than eight kinds of vegetables. And the Quinoa Cranberry-Almond Granola (pictured below) gets its distinctive crunch from toasted grains of quinoa.

school lunch

But probably the most distinctive school lunch item created by School Nutrition Plus is the Alphabet Produce Train. This “train” – salad bar – features produce combinations for every letter of the alphabet. You start with Arugula, Blackberry, Cucumber, and Dill Salad; Edamame; and Fennel, Grape, and Honeydew Salad. Then you have Iceberg, Jicama, Kale, Lemon Vinaigrette, and Mushroom Salad; Napa Cabbage and Orange Salad; and Pomegranate, Quinoa, and Raisin Salad. Next there is Strawberry-Tomatillo Salsa (and chips); and Urad Bean, Vidialia Onion Dressing, Watercress, Yam, and Zucchini Salad. Finally, there is Xigua (Chinese for watermelon).

school lunch

UVWYZ Salad

To make the Urad Bean, Vidalia Onion, Watercress, Yam, and Zucchini salad (UVWYZ salad for short), you start with urad beans. Urad beans are tiny black beans native to India that look kind of like lentils. In fact, if you don’t have urad beans on hand, black lentils are an easy substitute.

Urad Bean, Vidalia Onion Dressing, Watercress, Yam, and Zucchini Salad

A hearty bean salad that spells out the U-V-W-Y-Z in an alphabet produce sampling. Adapted from A Chef Walks Into a Cafeteria by Emily Burson and Brandon Neumen.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Emily Burson and Brandon Neumen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cubed peeled yam or sweet potato
  • 4 tsp. canola oil, divided
  • 2 cups cubed zucchini
  • 1 cup urad beans (or substitute black lentils)

Dressing

  • 3/4 cup watercress
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • dash of black pepper
  • 1/2 vidalia or other sweet onion, peeled
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the yams with 2 tsp. oil on a large baking sheet; spread in a single layer. Bake for 12 minutes. Stir and push yams to one end of the baking sheet. Combine zucchini and 2 tsp. oil in a bowl; arrange in a single layer on baking sheet on side opposite yams. Roast the vegetables for 8 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, place the beans in a large saucepan; cover with water 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
  3. Make the dressing: Put all of the dressing ingredients except the oil into a food processor. Process until the onion is minced; slowly blend in the oil. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  4. Toss all of the ingredients together with the dressing. Chill until ready to serve.

school lunch

This salad is extremely satisfying and the flavors are mild enough to have broad appeal. It also has just enough “heft” that you could easily enjoy it as a vegan or vegetarian main course.

The salad is also just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in terms of the creative, kid-friendly ideas the book as to offer. Whether you’re in charge of school lunches for just one kid, or for a whole school, it’s definitely worth a a read. And now the question is: Can more schools cook this way, and will more kids eat this way? Let’s hope the inspiration continues to spread.

Blogger disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own. Jolly Tomato is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

, , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply

Recipe Rating