First Lady Michelle Obama Announces Winners of Healthy Lunchtime Challenge

First Lady Michelle Obama, PBS flagship station WGBH Boston, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, a nationwide recipe challenge for kids that promotes cooking and healthy eating, according to a press release.

Winners representing all U.S. states, five territories and the District of Columbia will attend a Kids' "State Dinner" at the White House hosted by Mrs. Obama on July 14. The 56 aspiring young chefs and a parent or guardian will join the First Lady for a healthy lunch, featuring a selection of the winning recipes, followed by a visit to the White House Kitchen Garden. Winners will also have the opportunity to learn from Rachael Ray, whose Yum-o! organization has joined to support this year's Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.

One of those in attendance will be 10 year-old Danielle Mazlish from Pound Ridge, Westchester, who won with her recipe for Chicken Cheeseball Kabobs on Veggie Spaghetti (see the recipe below).

“In school, I did a report on Michelle Obama's Let's Move! program and now I try to eat based on the MyPlate picture,” says Danielle. “I used chicken instead of beef for the meatballs, and I stuffed them with fresh mozzarella, because I love cheese! I put the meatballs on a stick, because I think it is fun to eat foods on a stick. I added carrots and yellow squash to make it colorful and taste even better. It looked like spaghetti, so I named it Veggie Spaghetti, and topped it with basil, which we grow. Everyone in my family loves it, even my brother, who is a picky eater!”

This is the fifth year of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids' "State Dinner" in which kids ages 8-12 across the nation are invited to create a healthy, affordable, original, and delicious lunch recipe. New this year, Blue Apron will be featuring one of the winning recipes on their Family Plan menu for delivery the week of July 11 as part of their efforts to get the whole family into the kitchen preparing healthy meals.

"For the last five years, kids across the country have cooked up nutritious and delicious dishes as part of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, and each year, I continue to be impressed by their talent and creativity," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "Kids are truly embracing and enjoying healthy eating and preparing healthy meals for their families, and I look forward to meeting this year's winners here at the White House for the Kids' "State Dinner" and trying some of their tasty creations."

Entrants were encouraged to reference ChooseMyPlate.gov to ensure recipes met the USDA's recommended nutrition guidance. And in celebration of the MyPlate, MyState initiative, this year's challenge put a spotlight on homegrown pride across the country and encouraged entries to include local ingredients grown in the entrant's state, territory or community.

The full list of winners and recipes can be found online at pbs.org/lunchtimechallenge. Additionally, a free downloadable and printable e-cookbook of the winning recipes, including nutritional analyses and photos, will be available on July 14 on the contest site, LetsMove.gov,USDA.gov, and Ed.gov.