Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, bacon and mayo sandwiches and mixing bowls full of breakfast cereal are on their way out as snacks for students of the after-school healthy cooking class at Diablo View Middle School.

Instead, the typically ravenous students recently dined on pesto made with pumpkin seeds, basil and garlic; ravioli with yams and kale; and, of course, macaroni and cheese, but this time with Swiss chard, beans and wheat bread crumbs. Best yet, the students made all the dishes.

The class taught by Marirose Piciucco and Christy Kovacs is part of the after-school enrichment program put together as a joint effort by Patti Pratt (known around town as DramaMama) and Parent Faculty Club president Alison Bacigalupo, with the support of school principal Patti Bannister.

“Middle schoolers are at an age where they are trying to find an identity,” said Bacigalupo. “They want to break away from mom; they want to hang out. We’ve seen some of that in gatherings down in the park or downtown.

“This is a way to come together with their peer group, do something fun and interesting, but in a safe environment, without necessarily mom and dad there.”

Regardless of the sociological schema involved, the kids were having fun at a recent class session. Christian Hein-Silva, 11, worked alongside friends Chase Benham, 11, and Michael Baker, 12. Supervised by Kovacs, they diced cilantro and parsley for a falafel recipe. The day’s theme was Greek food. “No, dude – I always cut the cilantro,” Christian insisted to one of the others as they jostled for position at the countertop.

Beside him, Chase tasted the herbs. “I like cilantro,” he decided. “I like the taste of it. I think I would like it in sauces and other stuff.”

A fan of seafood – oysters are his favorite – he joined the class to learn more about cooking organically. “It’s healthier for you,” he said of what he’s learned to cook. “And it tastes better.”

Across the room, students Diana Hernandez, Isabella Montijo, her sister Wren and Emma Hall worked on making a cucumber and tomato salad and a yogurt cucumber garlic dip called tzatziki. “One of the reasons I like cooking is because it smells so good,” Emma said. “It’s fresh and natural. It doesn’t have all the bad chemicals from factories and stuff.”

Although the recipes the class typically prepares take several ingredients and more than the minute or two a rushed teen might want to spend preparing a snack, Piciucco related the story of getting ready for a friend’s dinner party a night or two earlier. Just before leaving her house, she decided to contribute something to the meal. Going to her cabinets, she grabbed a can of white beans, some cilantro and sun-dried tomatoes, a little olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Five minutes later, having blended the ingredients in a Cuisinart and put it on a tray with store-bought crackers, she had a tasty – and healthy –hors d’oeuvre.

“Just stock your cupboards with the right things,” Kovacs noted. The kids are learning more than cooking skills in the class. “Our goal is not to hammer them with lecturing,” said Piciucco.

Instead, the classroom is more of an exercise in teaching the students to try it themselves, and if they don’t like it, to try something else instead.

“We’re watching as their self-esteem develops,” she said, noting that students learn to try their own ideas, using the recipe as a guide for exploration.

“They really learn the life skill of trusting their own instincts. And I think that carries into things beyond cooking. Really to have confidence in what they believe – that is huge,” she said.

Asked the most important lesson he’s learned in class, Christian grinned. “Always have fun when you’re cooking,” he said before turning turned back to the counter and adding a pinch more cilantro to his newest recipe for falafel.