Camp Menu Planning

I will be away next week, working at one of my favorite places ever--Creation Week Camp. It's a camp for middle and high schoolers that uses community building to nurture creative energy and spiritual growth. This year, I was charged with helping a fellow staff member create a menu for the week.

Last year's food was pretty dismal--lots of meat, over-processed, bland--so this year our job was to turn that around. We can't really claim to be nourishing people's spirits while we're feeding their bodies junk. We created a menu focused on local ingredients, meals made from scratch, where meat is a side rather than an entree. We tried to aim for meals that would be familiar to most of the kids. I thought I'd share the menu plan with you here.


Breakfast:
1. Scrambled eggs with fresh veggies and cheddar cheese cooked in
2. Buckwheat pancakes with fresh fruit and bacon
3. English muffin egg sandwiches with cheddar cheese and optional sausage
4. Oatmeal with topping choices (honey, maple syrup, milk, almonds, raisins, berries, coconut)
5. Egg and vegetable frittata over potato hash browns

Alternative options available at breakfast everyday:
Yogurt, granola, corn flakes, Rice Krispies, toast, bagels, fresh strawberries, apples, and cherries

Lunch:
1. Sandwich wraps with any combo of turkey, cheese, sliced veggies, and sprouts, plus tomato soup
2. Whole grain pizza with cheese and vegetable toppings
3. Vegetarian chili with rice
4. Hummus and pitas, vegetable tray and yogurt dipping sauce, vegetable soup
5. Chicken and rice soup with green leaf salad

Dinner:
1. Tacos with rice and beans or turkey meat
2. Sloppy Joes with option of either ground turkey or bulgar and beans, roasted green beans
3. Vegetable stir fry over brown rice with option to add chicken
4. Turkey or veggie burgers, baked sweet potato fries, tomato and cucumber salad
5. Spaghetti with meatballs on the side, green leaf salad

Alternative options available for lunch and dinner everyday:
Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, green leaf salad, fresh apples, strawberries, cherries


We're already getting some mild pushback from the cook, who is afraid kids won't go for these dishes. I don't really agree, and frankly, I'd rather have kids complain about too many vegetables than be docile and happy eating junk food. What do you all think? Will teenagers like this? Will they eat it? Any suggestions?