Outside of the Box: Cooking with kids
I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but I say it again — I love what I do! Yesterday, Colby, Trystan, and Cy showed up to my kids cooking class eager to cook and learn. Me and three young fellas a recipe for delicious fun!
On the menu: Hard cooked eggs, Brown Bag Popcorn with honey butter (reminiscent of Kettle corn), and Granola Berry Parfaits with made from scratch granola.
We started our time together discussing why we cook and eat OUTSIDE of the Box. My goal is to make the classes fun and provide information. The lessons in these classes go beyond food and beyond cooking. I show the kids how to use basic kitchen tools, basic math skills, and kitchen safety and cleaning tips — they even washed the dishes.
In these classes they kids are exercising patience, they’re sharing and taking turns, and bonding. A perfect example: Since Trystan was near me, I offered him a sneak sample of the granola we just pulled out of the oven. I looked over and he gestured to the others to share his sample with them. How cute is that?
On the food front:
– We discussed where the food we prepared came from
– Why it’s best to eat seasonal, local food
– We talked about cage-free eggs, honey as sweetener instead of sugar
– And of course, we can make any and everything that comes from a package or a box from scratch.
As our time came to an end, I offered a little advice to the parents who attended the class: The lessons from your time in the kitchen with your kids is invaluable. It’s a time of learning, sharing, bonding, and creating memories. Besides, how will your kids know how to make the family traditional meals if you don’t show them how. Read previous related blog post, Tradition, love and recipes.
Doing what I love, loving what I do! Here’s a look at our time together:
Chrisetta Mosley
I am a product – and now a survivor – of childhood obesity. As a child, my family always told me that my extra weight was merely baby fat and I’d eventually grow out of it. I never did. Instead, my childhood is filled with memories of not being able to ride a bike, flattening its training wheels from being over the recommended weight, and avoiding P.E. classes by any means necessary. For years, I wore my fatness like a wounded soldier wears a Purple Heart - with pride. I owned the look. I dressed it up. I worked the room. There wasn't a skinny girl who intimidated me. I made sure my hair was laid just right. Nails polished. Outfits coordinated to the tee. Accessories to compliment every outfit. But everyone has a breaking point, and mine came in the spring of 2004 when I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds 388 to be exact. I was MISERABLE trapped inside of that body. I no longer wore my Purple Heart with pride. Rather, I was ashamed and frightened. Ashamed that I had allowed food to become my everything – frightened I would die because of it. Drastic times called for drastic measures... Today, I’m bound and determined to live a better, healthier, active lifestyle. I realize I’m no longer a passenger in my life, I’m the driver. I’m overcoming my inhibitions and I’m slowly but surely saying farewell to my old childhood nemesis, obesity. For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!