Arizona girl Haile Thomas visits White House for third time

An Arizona girl's mission to stop childhood obesity earned her a spot at the very first Kids State Dinner at the White House.

Haile Thomas isn't your typical 11-year-old girl. She's been to the White House three times, she has her own website, and is now working with a major hotel chain to develop a menu. Why does she work so hard? Because she wants to stop the childhood obesity epidemic.

She started the Healthy Girl Adventure Club as a service-learning project. But when she was selected to the Youth Advisory Board with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, she says her club quickly became so much more than a project and all about really engaging and inspiring her peers to embrace healthy habits.

Haile's desire to inspire change has caught the eyes and ears of leaders across the country. Her black bean and corn quinoa salad dish won her a spot at the White House's first Kids State Dinner. Now, she's working with the Hyatt Regency Hotels to create the For Kids By Kids Menu . Haile also has a blog about all the adventures she's having eating foods that aren't typically considered kid food, hoping to inspire kids to try new and different flavors and foods.

Haile's winning Black Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad recipe:

2 cups Quinoa
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium Red Onion (chopped)
2 Garlic Cloves
2 cups Fresh Corn
2 cans Organic Black Beans
2 cups Red Cherry Tomato
Sea Salt
1 bunch Fresh Cilantro
1 Lemon
2 Avocados

Heat olive oil, sauté ½ chopped onions and 2 garlic cloves (minced) for about 1 minute.

Add corn and sauté an additional minute. Add black beans, and then tomatoes, mix well then add cooked quinoa.

Mix all ingredients, season with salt to taste, add fresh chopped cilantro and avocados and serve.