Crystal Clear Coaches

09/21/2026

When you look at these pictures, you may wonder if this is work or a vacation 🤔!

I just wrapped up two incredible days of hands-on culinary training with the Mammoth USD School Nutrition team in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Representing School Food Rocks, I worked side-by-side with the Mammoth team on scratch and speed-scratch cooking, recipe ex*****on, workflow, flavor, consistency, and most importantly, building their confidence in the kitchen.

I saw a team that was engaged, willing to learn, and ready to push themselves.

Crystal Clear Coaches is always proud to work alongside School Food Rocks as Mammoth begins this two-year journey to build an exceptional scratch-cooked school nutrition program.

The training may be over, but the real work is just getting started.
This is the part I love. 💪🏾🔥

09/17/2026

BUILD RESILIENCE. SHARE THE REAL STORIES. BE THE ENERGY.

What a day with the Coulee Group in Wisconsin!

It was a privilege to kick off their back-to-school training with my keynote, “Building Resilience Before the Storm.”

The message was simple: Don’t wait for the storm to prepare for it.

School nutrition programs are navigating uncertainty around funding and resources. That means building programs that can adapt, get creative, and continue supporting our students, communities, and local farmers.

🌱 Resilience isn’t what you do after things get difficult. It’s what you build before they do.

Then came a Fireside Chat with three ROCK STAR Wisconsin school nutrition leaders who kept it real—sharing wins, challenges, lessons learned, and their experiences with local procurement.

And we CLOSED IT OUT! 🔥

I wrapped up with “Be the Energy!”—challenging everyone to recognize how much their attitude, leadership, and energy impact their teams, students, and programs.

Wisconsin showed me so much love. ❤️ I came ready to bring the energy, but they gave plenty right back!

Thank you, Coulee Group, for letting me pour into your school nutrition community.

! 💪🏾

09/14/2026

09/09/2026

NEW PARTNERSHIP ALERT 🚨🍎🌱
Crystal Clear Coaches is excited to begin working with Philip's Academy Charter School of Newark

And after my first few days onsite, I can already tell you...
They have something special happening here.
🔥 Almost everything is cooked from scratch
🥦 Fresh, colorful meals
🌱 Rooftop gardens
💧 Hydroponic growing systems
👩🏽‍🍳 A team that truly cares about the food they serve
🍎 A school committed to teaching scholars healthy habits for life.

PACS understands that school food isn’t just about feeding students, it's about education, culture, health, and creating positive experiences around food.

CCC is proud to partner with them as we work together to strengthen the operation and build on an already incredible foundation.

This is what the future of school nutrition looks like.

09/08/2026

Wisconsin, you brought the HEAT. 🔥

Crystal Clear Coaches had an incredible time with the Holmen Nutrition Services team for a hands-on Back-to-School Culinary Training, and this crew absolutely brought it.

From knife skills and high-volume production to scratch cooking, flavor development, menu ideation, and teamwork, the talent and energy were there from the start.

We wrapped up with a “Chopped Style” culinary ideation challenge, pushing teams to think beyond making a great dish. They had to create concepts that could actually work in school nutrition — balancing student appeal, labor, cost, scalability, service, flavor, and presentation.

And the results? Elite level.

Because scratch cooking isn't just about making food from scratch. It's about using culinary skills to create meals that are flavorful, practical, and most importantly, food that students are genuinely excited to eat.

A huge thank you to Mike Gasper, Daisha Rand, and the entire Holmen Nutrition Services team for welcoming Crystal Clear Coaches into your kitchen and bringing such incredible energy to the training.

What a way to kick off the new school year! Stay tuned for more clips from my visit to Wisconsin and working with Holmen Nutrition Services

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

Back to school is upon us, but I can’t stop thinking about my time in Gooding Child Nutrition , Idaho, where I tried a local homemade Mexican soup. 🇲🇽🥣

Made with fresh, local vegetables, this beautiful dish is a delicious way to bring new flavors to school lunches—just in time to savor the end of summer.

Mexican Meatball Soup
🍲 Bake 100 meatballs at 375°F for 15–18 min, until safely cooked.

🥕 Simmer broth, tomatoes, onions, celery, garlic, cumin, oregano & bay leaves.

🥔 Add carrots + potatoes; cook 15 min.

🌽 Add zucchini + corn; cook 10–15 min until tender.

🍋 Add cooked meatballs and simmer 10 min. Finish with fresh cilantro + lime.

Serving: 12 oz soup with 2 meatballs and plenty of vegetables.

A simple, comforting recipe that brings scratch cooking, fresh ingredients, and a little cultural flavor to the school lunch table.

08/19/2026

It was an honor to be a speaker at the Minnesota School Nutrition Association’s 69th Annual Conference!

I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share a conversation that means so much to me: making school meals exciting, flavorful, and something students look forward to eating.

We talked about Flavor Upgrading, the benefits of scratch cooking in schools, and why creating meals that children are genuinely excited about matters.

Most importantly, I’m grateful for the chance to meet new people, reconnect with familiar faces, and continue learning from the incredible people working every day to nourish our students.

Thank you, MSNA, for inviting me to be part of such a meaningful event. Here’s to continuing to raise the bar for school meals! 🍎👩‍🍳

08/17/2026

🏔️ A new two-year journey is beginning in Mammoth Lakes, California, and we could not be more excited!

School Food Rocks is partnering with Mammoth Unified School District to help its team expand both speed-scratch and scratch cooking throughout the district.

Over the next two years, our work will include:

🍽️ Overhauling district menus

👩‍🍳 Developing new speed-scratch and scratch-cooked recipes

🔪 Providing hands-on culinary training

🥗 Supporting the program with registered dietitian services

📈 Offering strategic guidance to district leadership and operations teams

With the new recipes and menus for the 2026–27 school year already developed, the next step begins this Monday and Tuesday with an in-depth program assessment and the first hands-on culinary training.

A big shoutout to Chef Warren DeShields, who is the first member of the School Food Rocks team headed to Mammoth Lakes this weekend to get this exciting partnership underway! ✈️

This is one school nutrition program you will definitely want to keep an eye on over the next two years.

Stay tuned for updates from the first of many upcoming trainings with the incredible Mammoth USD staff! 🏔️🍎

08/12/2026

It's that time of year..."Back to School"! Today was special for me. Bridget has been with me for 3 years and she's heading into her junior year at Eastern University where she plays soccer. Ryann and Emmy have also been with me for 3 years and they're incoming freshmen at East Stroudsburg University and Bloomsburg University respectively. Bianca is just getting started on The Speed Farm 🚜 and she's an incoming freshman at Woodstown HS. These ladies work hard and have supported each other throughout their scholastic and athletic journey. I wish you all success and prosperity this upcoming semester and I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labor this coming school year.