For those spending a lot of time at home, Herbalife Nutrition has some tips to turn a kitchen into a classroom. Not only will you end up with a delicious treat or meal, but your kids can also receive lessons in cooking, nutrition, math, and history. It’s a fun and sneaky way to help them keep up on their education while they are away from school.
Healthy, Kid-Friendly Recipes
Depending on the age of your children, there are various stages of the cooking process that kids can either help you with or take over completely. Children of all ages can get involved in making a salad bar. Grab traditional salad bar ingredients, such as lettuce, carrots, celery, olives, and beans. Young ones can rinse the produce. Older kids can cut up the vegetables into finger-food size servings; they can also mix homemade salad dressings. Try making an Italian dish by stirring together, in a glass container, 3/4-cup olive oil and 1/4-cup red-wine vinegar, then add one teaspoon of garlic powder, oregano, and basil. Set out the chopped vegetables on a cookie sheet and have bowls filled with cooked beans, olives, sunflower seeds, and other salad toppings. Give young children their plates and watch them concoct their own designer salads.
Nutrition
A great way to educate young people about nutrition is to break down the food groups, which can be a fun exercise to try out in the pantry. Begin by choosing one of the four topics— protein, vegetable, fruit, and starch. Beginning with one keeps it fun, but add the other venues in the following days. The goal is for your child to identify each one of these products. Explain that proteins are found most often in meats, and they are the building blocks of muscles, then have your children point out some canned proteins, such as tuna, and some fresh ones, like meats and eggs. If you can, ask them to name their favorite recipes that the proteins they pointed out can make, and if you have the ingredient, make the dish.
Math
For a sweet, healthy treat and some math skills, have your kids assemble no-bake cookies. Ask them to mix three parts peanut butter to one part dried oatmeal and have them figure out the ratio. For example, 3/4-cup peanut butter would be combined with 1/4-cup oats. Stir the ingredients together and add a touch of honey or maple syrup if they do not stick together well. To increase the protein, add a 1/2-teaspoon or more, depending on how big your batch is, of Herbalife Nutrition French Vanilla or Dutch Chocolate shake powder. The vanilla will add a soft flavor, and chocolate always pairs nicely with peanut butter. Once the batter is well mixed, have the children spoon and flatten little balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place it in the refrigerator while you take a walk around the block. By the time you get back, you will have a nutritious treat waiting for you.
History
You can transform cooking into a history lesson. Use a family recipe and discuss your lineage. You can do some genealogy charting, show pictures of your relatives, discuss the times they lived in, and what they had for food options. Also consider marking a period in time, such as the 60’s or 80’s. Get creative and find or develop a recipe that represents that time period. The history lesson will stick in you and your family’s mind because of the activities surrounding it.
