French fries are the most commonly eaten vegetable by the majority of children, according to the American Heart Association.

It’s a habit that can lead to childhood obesity.

To change that here in Federal Way, the association, with the help of Group Health, launched a six-week cooking program, Kids Cook with Heart, at Lake Grove Elementary.

More than 35 students, teachers and cooking instructor Lauri Larson cooked their last meal with the program on Tuesday – turkey chili.

“They are understanding that they are empowered once they get home to make their own foods,” Larson said. “They have been going home and sharing with their family not only what they learned, but when they come back, they have been telling me what they implemented from the week before.”

Dana Henry, the school’s health and P.E. teacher of 20 years, said she saw the idea for the program on an American Heart Association newsletter and how it had been done in Seattle. The program, which is typically designed for middle school students, was tailored for fourth and fifth graders. Before Henry knew it, there were 50 applicants for what was a goal of 25 spots. They ended up filling 37 spots and received volunteer help from teachers at the school.

While physical health is taught in school, Henry knew there was a need for a focus on nutrition and food. The program teaches children to cook at home instead of relying on fast food or unhealthy snacks.

“A lot of kids struggle with income,” Henry said. “One-hundred percent of our kids are free lunch and breakfast … We have high BMIs here, body mass index, and the other end of the equation is healthy eating.”

Many of Henry’s students also get home before their parents and make dinner for their siblings or themselves.

For the six week program, on Tuesdays after school, children poured into a kitchen-style room with tables set up. They put on aprons, gloves, divided into groups and wait for instructions. Each table had the ingredients and recipe and each student was designated a job.

“I think it really tells you what ability you have to cook because I really didn’t think I was good at cooking at first but now I feel brave enough to start cooking with my mom and dad,” said student Leiseo Tories, adding that he hopes to cook his favorite meal of the class – chicken – with his family.

His most challenging dish was cooking pancakes because it was hard to separate them.

Isabel Tolber, a fourth grader, said the class has been “really cool” and she’s enjoyed showing her mom and sister everything she’s learned. Her challenge has been “trying to get it all right” with ensuring ingredients are done in order.

“[Larson] always says it’s always healthier to make it by yourself instead of buying it from the store,” Isabel said, adding that Larson is “awesome, great and really good” at teaching the recipes. “She always tells us why and she tells us different stuff about the ingredients of what we’re using and why it’s healthy for you.”

Fifth-grader Devi Fitzgerald understands that learning how to cook can allow students, such as herself, to be independent and to stay calm “when there’s something going on that you wanted to do but you can’t do.”

Her favorite meal is the chicken salad because it used different ingredients than what she’s used to in her salads at home.

Eating healthy food is important to Devi “because I don’t want to grow up and have a whole bunch of delicious but not-good-for-myself-type of food. You can get any type of diabetes or you can end up dying if you eat way too much.”

Larson said the best way to teach the benefits of certain foods is through a question and answer session.

“I will pose a question, ‘Who can tell me why it’s important to eat more fruits and vegetables? ‘Then they’ll raise their hand and we’ll call on them and some of them say ‘because it’s healthy!’ and then I say, ‘Can someone tell me why it’s healthy?’” Larson said. “Someone will say ‘because it’s good for you!’ and then I say, ‘We’ve got to get to the bottom of it and it’s because eating more fruits and vegetables will increase your immune system and increasing your immune system does what? It helps you get sick less often so you can go out and play more, you could be more productive.’”

The cooking program was offered to local schools in 10 locations at no cost to them. Students who went through those programs reported a 25 percent increase in their comfort level in the kitchen, 25 percent eat more fruits and vegetables and 25 percent drink less sweetened beverages, according to the Association.

“For me, what I got most out of it, as far as what the kids were doing, is how excited they were to create,” Larson said. “When I asked what was the best thing they liked about this, they said not only did they get to have control over what was going in, [it was] the fact that they got to create it. It was something they made and they got a really good sense of self from that.”

Henry hopes the program can continue in the future and appreciates the sponsor from Group Health, which included funds for cooking supplies and ingredients.

“I know it’s pricey on their end but I think the cost will be worth it in the long run,” Henry said, “because if the kids get excited about cooking a little bit more healthy options, it’ll make an impact and it’ll impact their families, so it’s not just this kid.”

For more information about the Kids Cook with Heart program, visit www.heart.org.