healthy TALES: classroom-turned-kitchen: lil chefs in the making..

We all learned about vegetables-- how healthy and colorful they are-- but had yet to taste them as we did after we learned about grains. To kick it up a notch, as one famous chef puts it, we not only tasted a rainbow but prepared/cooked one for ourselves as well.

Cooking! Yeah! [whole arm and fist in air, cheer with excitement..].

That is, not only did we eat healthy but we practiced healthy [behavior].

When polled, it seems that many students already help cook at home. From pancakes to broccoli to maggi [which I just learned about this week from students-- a type of noodle used in Indian cuisine-- thanks for sharing! I love learning about new foods]..

To review, we learned why cooking is important: It's because we can't rely on eating out at restaurants or 'prepared foods' establishments, both of which serve food that is prepared for a lot of people [to eat], often for profit [that is, to make money], and typically not that healthy. Why isn't it healthy?

Reasons include..

too much fat

too much salt

too much sugar

oversized portions, which make you eat too much

and NOT enough nutrient-dense foods like vegetables and whole grains

Moreover, as some students pointed out, it co$t$ too much.

Does that mean we should never go out to eat?? Absolutely not. While eating out may not be optimally healthy, on occasion, it still has value..

Time and practicality. Unfortunately, we don't always have time to go home and cook.

Socializing. Sharing a meal, or eating together, is a satisfying means to spend time with others. That is often done outside the home.

Exploration. Sometimes we can get into a cooking a rut, always cooking and eating the same things, which could get boring. Trying other people's food is a great way to get inspired in your own kitchen.

EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!. For me, this is number one. When it comes to eating [healthy], extremes are NOT the answer and never going out to eat, in our society, at least, is definitely an extreme.

Before stepping into the classroom-turned-kitchen, we learned how to read a recipe-- an important skill for any novice cook.

Recipes come in three parts:

Name: tells us what dish we are making.

Ingredients list: tells us what in the dish and is cleverly listed in the order in which the ingredients will be used.

Directions: tells us what to do with the ingredients and how to actually make the dish.

Before making anything, it's important to..

Read a recipe in its entirety and get a vision of what you're going to do before you touch/do a thing.

Then, you can go back to the ingredients list and gather all ingredients.

Only until then, are you finally ready to start cooking. It may take a little while at first, but it'll be well worth the effort/wait!

Finally, onto the food!..

Each class made a total of five different vegetable recipes..

In our vegetable lesson, many students were excited about pumpkins. Some had even gone pumpkin-picking. Beyond something to paint or carve, however, I don't think many actually eat pumpkin, or winter squash. But you can! They're sweet, delicious, full of vitamins and minerals, and perfectly in season. So we made..

Pumpkin Yogurt with a Crunchy Graham Cracker Topping..

Marinated Balsamic Beets..

m's Bruschetta Salad..
'm'-- that's me, ms. marguerita. I created this salad this past summer-- it was my 'go-to'. Bruschetta is a type of appetizer, which you might see on an Italian menu. When I first made/ate this salad, that's what the flavors reminded me of, hence its name..
That's what's cool about cooking-- you get to take fresh ingredients that you like and make it into something absolutely delish! [..not to mention healthy]. Even more, you get the rights to name your own dish!