What it is.

The Weekend Food Challenge is exactly what it sounds like:  A healthy food challenge that takes place exclusively on the weekends (Friday-Sunday).

How it works.

Each weekend we release a new food.  We then challenge you to create recipes, take pictures, cook and shoot video of you cooking with the featured weekend food.  Our goal is to help grown-ups and little cooks make healthful food choices and cook healthier meals over the weekend using common foods we see and eat everyday.

Why we’re doing it.

According to a study published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing (Fall 2009), we generally consume more calories on the weekend than during the week.  The tendency to overeat is greater in kids and grown-ups that are already overweight.  Many of us who start our week eating healthy often lose focus during the weekend.  This can contribute up to an extra 400 calories a weekend, which (if done every weekend) can equate to almost six extra pounds a year.  But, we also know that typically weekends are when we have more time to cook healthful foods.  They are also healthy food “teaching moments”, and is often when kids have more time to spend with their parents in the kitchen.

Healthy Little Cooks’ Weekend Food Challenge makes healthy food selection and cooking fun.  It also encourages teachable moments by adding fresh ideas, engagement and support for the grown-ups and little cooks’.

How you can get involved.

We are partnering with schools, community organizations and healthy food bloggers. Please visit our Weekend Food Challenge Support Page to learn more about how you can help.

In the meantime, feel free to connect with us online by joining, liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

Neat Articles on the Weekend Eating Subject (aka. Our Sources)

Marketing Power:  “Daily, Week Part and Holiday Patterns in Consumer’s Caloric Intake”, Written by: Adwait Khare and J. Jeffrey Inman,  November 1, 2009.  http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/AMA%20Publications/AMA%20Journals/Journal%20of%20Public%20Policy%20Marketing/TOCS/SUM_2009.2/Daily_Week_Part_and_Holiday.aspx

ThatsFit.com: “Weekend May Derail Your Diet, Study Finds”, written by: Ashley Negila, Jan 7, 2010

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/01/07/weekend-may-derail-your-diet-study-finds/

Time Healthland:  “Have another cookie, it’s the holidays!  Why our eating habits vary on weekends and special holidays”, written by: Tiffany O’Collaghan, December 24, 2009 http://healthland.time.com/2009/12/24/have-another-cookie-its-the-holidays-why-our-eating-habits-vary-on-weekends-and-special-occasions/