BAKING OR COOKING WITH YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME!
BY KATLYN
It’s true that including children in cooking meals requires time, patience, and some extra clean-up, especially when baking or cooking with younger children. Children of all ages benefit from cooking activities, which teach measurement, encourage children to explore their senses and entice them to try new foods. Cooking is a beneficial skill, teaching about different types of ingredients and healthy eating. By educating children about cooking and introducing them to fun and tasty recipes, they will make better eating decisions and take pride in cooking their own food.
Parents coming to BCS to share a passion for baking – Look at the engagement!
Baking or Cooking with your children provides several elements of a sensory experience.
SOUND: from mixing whether by hand, wooden spoons, whisks, forks or food processor
SIGHT: looking at the process, seeing the change in ingredients as things are added and mixed together – process of transformation
TASTE: a little nibble here and there – when no raw eggs of course!
TOUCH: each ingredient in their little hands
SMELL: the aroma of the ingredients – smell of foods cooking in oven Â
Check out pictures of Cooking Experiences at BCS!!Â
Parents come into BCS to learn new cooking skills – Banana Muffins!
Giving children the freedom to experiment with recipes – Homemade Pickles!
Independence can be seen – responsibility of transferring – Cinnamon Muffins!
Teaching Math Skills – measuring ingredients for Bread making!
Giving children opportunities for mixing and adding ingredients!
Erinn making Baked Egg Cups with children – and they were so yummy!
Ylan making Hummus with a group of Babies at BCS – it’s so simple!
Here are a couple of the children’s favorite recipes for you to try at home! Both of these recipes are BCS KID APPROVED and fairly simple to make!
Banana MuffinsÂ
This recipe is simple and hard to mess up, so great for younger children. You can substitute with frozen fruit or applesauce. Whatever you have on hand really!Â
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas
â…“ cup butter, melted
¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar(optional-just for added sweetness)Â
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or use liners.
Step 2 – Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a small bowl.
Step 3 – Mash bananas in a large bowl. Mix in applesauce, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Â
Step 4 – Fold in flour mixture until just combined.
Step 5 – Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Step 6 – Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
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Roasted ChickpeasÂ
The simplest yet yummiest snack! All you need is a can of chickpeas, oil and a few spices and you are good to go!
Ingredients:
Cans of Chickpeas (amount depending on your family size)
Garlic powder
Pepper & SaltÂ
Curry Powder (optional)Â
Directions:
Step 1 – Grab a sheet pan and put about 1 Tablespoon of Oil on the panÂ
Step 2 – Dump Chickpeas on the panÂ
Step 3 – Shake Spices all over the ChickpeasÂ
Step 4 – Mix them up with a spoon to coat themÂ
Step 5 – Cook on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, longer depending on how crunchy you like it
LISTENING WALK
WITH BECCA MACK
This video illustrates the mindfulness component of my Sound and Light Studio curriculum.
WHAT’S GOOD
WITH MUSIC
Venture into the private studios of music producers Peter Cottontale and Thelonius Martin to see how they work. Music is scientific: sound is produced when something vibrates, and those vibrations are brought to the ear as sound waves. Learn about the science of sound and discover how good vibes can move you and your kids.