Mary Tafi has spent the better part of the last decade teaching children how to make smart and healthy choices about the food they eat.

A self-trained nutritional educator, Tafi has made a difference in the lives of thousands of Malibu children over the years through a program she originated and taught, called Eat a Rainbow™.

It all started when her son David, now 14, was in Jessica Hernandez’s kindergarten class at Webster Elementary. A form was sent home that asked, “How would you like to volunteer at school?” Tafi wrote, “I would like to teach the children nutrition!”

Hernandez responded with an enthusiastic yes, and the next year, Tafi volunteered again to teach it to her son’s first-grade class. Soon, other teachers were asking if she could teach nutrition to their classes.

Tafi praises Webster Principal Phil Cott for his foresight in adding the class. “He had the faith in me to develop the program, and the vision to see the importance of providing nutrition education to the children.”

Eat a Rainbow™ is a nutrition program that teaches children how to develop lifelong healthy eating habits, stressing the goal of seven to nine servings of fruits and veggies every day, whole grains, the right fats, and not too much sugar.

Reading the labels

Tafi also teaches the children how to read nutrition labels. I can still remember the day my daughter, now 13, came home from her second-grade class and asked to read the back of the cereal box. She was horrified to see some ingredients that she learned were not the best choices. As the parent, I was impressed and chastened. And our next trip to the grocery store yielded more healthful cereal. 

“Reading nutrition labels is huge," Tafi said. "I teach them how to identify unhealthy ingredients. Basically, I teach kids that the fewer the ingredients, the better. If you can’t pronounce it and you don’t know what it is, in general, it’s probably not good for you."

Don't trust the advertising

Tafi also teaches about advertising, and not trusting the front of the package. Just because the package says “good for you,” it doesn’t make it so.

From her nutritional teaching at Webster, Tafi hopped over to Point Dume Marine Science, where she did the same thing. By happenstance, a full-time teacher there was going on maternity leave, and Tafi, who was also a substitute teacher, was asked to fill in temporarily. She caught the teaching bug, and began working on her multi-subject credential through the Cal State Teach program. For the past two years, she has been a full-time teacher at Point Dume, this year teaching a fourth- and fifth-grade split with 31 children.

Kale chips!

Of course, her classes get a dose of the Mary Tafi eating plan. Last year, she had the kids making kale chips from greens they grew in the organic garden on campus. “I streamed in classical music, we cut the kale, tossed it with some organic canola oil and kosher salt, and then baked it in the oven in the cafeteria,” she said. “It was amazing to watch kids eat and enjoy kale this way!” 

For those who would like to try it at home, Tafi has some tips:

1. The kale must be washed and dried very well. If it is still wet, it will steam in the oven, not crisp up.
2. Roast it at 350 degrees.
3. How long? It depends. “You have to stand there and watch. You gotta man the oven on this one!” 

This year, they harvested arugula and made a lemon vinaigrette using fresh lemons from a tree on campus.

Tafi practices what she preaches at the Latigo Canyon home she shares with her husband, Bruce Ochmanek, a motion picture editor, and son David, a freshman at Malibu High School (stepdaughter Emily, 26, and stepson Matthew, 24, round out the family).    

But away from home, it can be another story. “David gravitates toward the sugar and fat! The influences on children are not just inside your own home, though. With advertising, and what’s available to them everywhere else, it’s also important to model these healthy eating habits outside the home.”

Tafi is talking about school lunches and parties, after-school snacks at friends’ homes, organized sports and community events. “Every event doesn’t have to be an opportunity to have a treat," she said. "We need to change the public venues for kids, so they are not confronted with these unhealthy choices every time they turn around. If we could make it a culture, it would be so beautiful for the kids.”

To that end, in Mrs. Tafi’s classroom, birthdays are celebrated with fresh fruit. A popular choice is fruit kebabs (grapes, strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and firm watermelon threaded onto a wooden skewer). “Nobody ever asks, ‘Where are the cupcakes? Where are the cookies?’ " Tafi said. "Kids beg for more kebabs!  It has now become our classroom culture.”             

Tafi acknowledges that nutritional trends can seem contradictory to some people. “It is easy to get overwhelmed, because there is so much data," she said. "Eggs are good, and then eggs are bad. Margarine is good, and then margarine is bad. But in the end, it is so simple. Just eat foods as closely as they occur in nature. Have an apple (organic, and eat the skin!) instead of apple leather, apple pie, apple sauce. If you follow that—eating plant-based and lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables—it doesn’t have to be that complicated."

Spinach Mango Salad

Source: Mary Tafi / Eat a Rainbow™  

This salad was a huge hit with the Webster students and parents during an Eat a Rainbow™  session.

• 1 medium bunch red grapes, washed and dried (about 2-3 cups)
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded and flesh cut into cubes
• 1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

Dressing

• 1 cup expeller pressed organic canola oil
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and flesh cut into several pieces
• A few splashes balsamic vinegar

Put grapes, cubed mango and spinach leaves into a large salad bowl. Toss to combine.

To make the dressing, put canola oil, mango pieces and balsamic vinegar in a blender and puree. The dressing should be smooth. Taste and add more vinegar if needed.

Pour the dressing over the spinach, mango cubes and grapes, and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves 8-10.