Blythewood Middle eighth-grader will present her recipe to Michelle Obama | The State

Twelve-year old Kiana White of Blythewood said she thought of her winning recipe while on vacation with her grandfather in Beaufort, South Carolina.

“Every fall, shrimp season opens in South Carolina,” Kiana said in her winning entry. “My grandpa and I always go out and watch the shrimpers head into the ocean on their huge shrimp boats. We always buy shrimp fresh from the ocean and go home to think of creative new ways to cook them.”

White’s winning recipe is Carolina shrimp tacos with pineapple salsa.

Thursday, the Blythewood Midde School student will be representing South Carolina at a kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House. She will present her recipe to First Lady Michelle Obama along with the other winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.

“I just really like how this shrimp is,” she told The State about her recipe. “I pretty much grew up in Beaufort and that was really big in our family.”

While she visited Washington, D.C. a few years ago with her older brother, White said she hadn’t yet been to the White House and couldn’t wait to go.

“Oh yes, I’m very excited!” she said.

The winners also will tour the White House gardens to get a close look of where healthy food comes from.

Originally from Beaufort, White’s mother Chaundra said she takes her family back to visit every chance she gets.

“We always go there on vacation, and they are big on shrimp and fresh seafood,” “She loves it and my dad likes spicy food, so they just threw together things that they both love.”

She said she encourages others to try her daughter’s recipe.

“Oh it’s so good,” she said.

Kiana also had a tip for those trying out her recipe.

“It’s really easy, it depends on what you like,” she said. “You can make it more or less spicy depending on how you want it, and put in more pepper.”

In its fifth year, the annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge is a partnership between the First Lady, PBS flagship station WGBH, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A free e-book with all the winning recipes will be available to download via PBS starting Thursday.

For the salsa

For the shrimp tacos and quinoa

1. To make the salsa: In a medium bowl, combine all the salsa ingredients. Cover and chill.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tablespoon olive oil, garlic, cumin, chili, salt and, if using, the cayenne pepper. Add shrimp and toss to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to marinate.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring 2 cups of water and the quinoa to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat and mix in spinach. Set aside.

4. In a large nonstick skillet, warm the remaining teaspoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and cover to keep warm.

5. To assemble: Warm the tortillas in the microwave. Arrange 1⁄4 cup of the quinoa fish mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Add 1⁄4 of cooked shrimp and top with salsa. Tightly wrap the tortillas and cut in half to serve. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve with additional salsa, if desired.