WASHINGTON - An 11-year-old homeschooler from rural Browntown was invited to have lunch Tuesday with First Lady Michelle Obama after his chili recipe was a winner in her national healthy-eating contest.
Liam Kivirist was one of 54 young winners in the second annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge with his "Wisconsin Solar Oven-Simmered Chili." The contest, open to 8- to 12-year-olds, received more than 1,300 entries and is part of the First Lady's Let's Move initiative against obesity.
Liam and his mom, Lisa Kivirist, traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Kids' State Dinner Tuesday hosted by Michelle Obama for the winners, one from each state and three U.S. territories.
"She's very, very nice," Liam said of meeting the First Lady. "She's a very funny and talkative person."
Liam developed the winning chili recipe with his mom after studying the cookbook from last year's winners and brainstorming "many, many ideas." He landed on chili after seeing an opportunity for it to stand out.
"I noticed last year there was no chili," he said.
His recipe had to meet the contest's standards on affordability, originality and adherence to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate nutrition guidelines (the system that recently replaced the USDA's food pyramid). The winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge were chosen by a panel of judges from the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture and the food website Epicurious.
"Kids were given the challenge of coming up with healthy lunch options," Lisa said. The chili recipe calls for garden vegetables, black beans, kidney beans, pumpkin puree, ground turkey and quinoa. It's best "topped with good Wisconsin cheese," she said.
The chili can be cooked in a slow cooker or in an ovenproof dish in an outdoor solar oven.
Liam had more to be excited about Tuesday than just a winning recipe and free trip to the White House. The First Lady singled out a project he started in her speech at the winners' dinner, he said. Liam started Harvest Ninja (harvestninja.wordpress.com) to encourage people in Green County to gather fruit from unpicked trees and donate the fruit to the monthly Loaves and Fishes Community Meal.
Singer and X-Factor finalist Rachel Crow performed for the crowd Tuesday, and the president also dropped by for a surprise visit - introduced by his wife as "the wind beneath my wings and a very awesome world leader."
President Obama commented on the improved cooking standards for fresh ingredients over the past couple of generations. He told the young chefs when he was their age, most vegetables were simply boiled to mush.
"Nobody wanted to eat a pea, or a Brussels sprout, 'cause they tasted horrible because they were mush," he said. "Now I actually like vegetables because they're prepared right. You guys are getting a jump on things because you're figuring that out earlier."
To see videos, photos and more from the Kids' State Dinner, go to letsmove.gov.
Liam Kivirist was one of 54 young winners in the second annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge with his "Wisconsin Solar Oven-Simmered Chili." The contest, open to 8- to 12-year-olds, received more than 1,300 entries and is part of the First Lady's Let's Move initiative against obesity.
Liam and his mom, Lisa Kivirist, traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Kids' State Dinner Tuesday hosted by Michelle Obama for the winners, one from each state and three U.S. territories.
"She's very, very nice," Liam said of meeting the First Lady. "She's a very funny and talkative person."
Liam developed the winning chili recipe with his mom after studying the cookbook from last year's winners and brainstorming "many, many ideas." He landed on chili after seeing an opportunity for it to stand out.
"I noticed last year there was no chili," he said.
His recipe had to meet the contest's standards on affordability, originality and adherence to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate nutrition guidelines (the system that recently replaced the USDA's food pyramid). The winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge were chosen by a panel of judges from the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture and the food website Epicurious.
"Kids were given the challenge of coming up with healthy lunch options," Lisa said. The chili recipe calls for garden vegetables, black beans, kidney beans, pumpkin puree, ground turkey and quinoa. It's best "topped with good Wisconsin cheese," she said.
The chili can be cooked in a slow cooker or in an ovenproof dish in an outdoor solar oven.
Liam had more to be excited about Tuesday than just a winning recipe and free trip to the White House. The First Lady singled out a project he started in her speech at the winners' dinner, he said. Liam started Harvest Ninja (harvestninja.wordpress.com) to encourage people in Green County to gather fruit from unpicked trees and donate the fruit to the monthly Loaves and Fishes Community Meal.
Singer and X-Factor finalist Rachel Crow performed for the crowd Tuesday, and the president also dropped by for a surprise visit - introduced by his wife as "the wind beneath my wings and a very awesome world leader."
President Obama commented on the improved cooking standards for fresh ingredients over the past couple of generations. He told the young chefs when he was their age, most vegetables were simply boiled to mush.
"Nobody wanted to eat a pea, or a Brussels sprout, 'cause they tasted horrible because they were mush," he said. "Now I actually like vegetables because they're prepared right. You guys are getting a jump on things because you're figuring that out earlier."
To see videos, photos and more from the Kids' State Dinner, go to letsmove.gov.