Cooking with Kids – One of my Favorite Parts of Summer!

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Last week, I once again had the honor of opening up my home and kitchen to a handful of kids. We spent time around the table creating some fun meals. Below are the menus we whipped together and enjoyed together as well. Click on the menu items to take you to the recipes so you and some of your favorite little ones can also create and eat!

Mexican Feast

Italian Cafe

Priceless Portraits

This is my last post about my cooking class that I hosted last week. I couldn’t resist these beautiful faces and had to share them. Thank you to each child who came and to all the parents that allowed me the opportunity to teach them!  Check out my last 4 posts to see just how much fun we had together!

I am down to just 2 spots left for my second and final week (June 18-21) of cooking class if you or someone you know might be interested. Please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

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These beautiful photos were taken by Estelle Zaret (EZ Photography)

Publix Field Trip on Day 3 – Plan and Shop

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For Day3, we took a trip to our local Publix. We decided the day before that breakfast would be our final meal to make together. On the menu: eggs, sausage, grits, and pancakes. As we strolled through the store (amid many looks and stares!), we shopped for the breakfast items we needed and discussed the importance of the right ingredients. One of the Publix associates gifted us with hair nets. We all looked fabulous as you can see! A HUGE thank you to Publix for their gracious and patient employees and service- You are the BEST in town! And another thank you to Estelle Zaret for helping out and taking such beautiful pictures! Wish I could have posted them all! Check out her Facebook page to see her talent.

Check out our other Publix shopping trip!

Aloha to Day 2 of Cooking Camp!

For Day 2 of our fun-filled cooking class, we flew into the Pacific and landed on the Hawaiian Islands. Our luau menu consisted of:

  • Grilled Polynesian Chicken – Marinated in pineapple juice and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger

  • Coconut Brown Rice – Brown rice cooked in light coconut milk with some ginger and minced onion

  • Grilled Zucchini and Pineapple – Bite-sized pieces misted with olive oil and grilled in my grill basket

  • Hula Pie- Vanilla Ice Cream* that we allowed to soften, mixed with chopped macadamia nuts, in a graham cracker crust, with a dark chocolate topping

*I used the real thing. I almost went for the frozen yogurt or light ice cream, but the calories were the same per 1/2 cup serving. Yes, there is more fat in the ice cream, but it has all-natural ingredients- no corn syrup, no chemicals. I do love Stonyfield’s Frozen Yogurt but it is a bit pricey and the pie would’ve been a $25 dessert, so I went with the second best option.

Kids’ Cooking Class- Week 1, Day 1

This week I am holding my first of two 4-day long kids’ cooking classes. Yesterday, I had ten 4-8 year-old children sitting around my kitchen tables (I had to add one!). During our two hours, we made and ate lunch together. My idea for the day was to take a fast food kid’s meal and make it healthy, so here is what we enjoyed…

  • Grilled Turkey Sliders (with toppings of their choice)

  • Oven Fries – Regular and Sweet Potatoes

  • Crudités Tray – Each table had the opportunity to arrange their carrots, cucumber slices, and celery sticks.

  • And for dessert- A Frosty for everyone!

I hope to create a love of cooking within these children as well as instilling in them the importance of nutrition. There is so much pleasure in creating in the kitchen, whether by yourself or with family and friends, and being able to be healthy and creative is by far a goal I want to pass along to these young ones!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Cooking Class – 2 Weeks Available!!

If you live along the Space Coast and are looking for something to keep your kids occupied, I am planning on doing two  camps this summer. Each 4-day camp will be 2 days of cooking, 1 day of meal planning (the kids will choose from one of three menus) and grocery shopping, and the 4th day will be making what they planned and shopped for. The cost will be $50 per student per camp, or $90 for two siblings. The dates are:

Tuesday, May 29th-Friday, June 1

and

Monday, June 18th- Thursday, June 21st

Each day will start at 10:30 and will end at 12:30. This is a hands-on class where they learn cooking and baking techniques, how and why to make healthy food choices, and have the opportunity to enjoy and savor their handiwork! Please let me know ASAP if you are interested. This is first come, first serve.

Click here and here to see some pictures from last summer’s classes.

A Wintery Kids’ Cooking Class – Day 1

Today I hosted another Kids’ Cooking Class at my house. We made spaghetti and homemade turkey meatballs and cannoli cookies. Thank you to the girls that came and made lunchtime fun! We even had an opportunity to sneak in some time to make Valentine’s. (Once school starts, time flies by so I seized this chance to make sure some Valentine’s were made before the holiday passes!)

We are looking forward to tomorrow as we create our own enchiladas and drink some Mexican hot chocolate on the coldest day of the season thus far!