Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog

Image via Wikipedia

January is almost over and I haven’t said anything about one of the most challenging resolutions: losing weight. Every year we say this, perhaps, but will this be THE YEAR? This might be a goal to consider not only for adults but for children, too.

If you as an adult set your goal very high, it may not be very realistic. Make it reasonable. Think how much better any amount of weight loss will make you feel.

What are some of the simple ways to do this? Here is a start:

Eat only half a sandwich or slice of toast. Choose half a serving of pasta and cut the potato in half. Cutting down on carbs really works. If dessert is being served, cut that in half, too. If eating out, share a serving with another member of your party, if the establishment allows. Most restaurants serve way too much food.

Are you still hungry in the evening? First drink a glass of water and see whether that helps. Exercising and staying busy also helps to occupy the mind and turn it away from food.

I would be happy to hear of other ways you found that keep you focused on your goal.

Best to you,

Lee Jackson
Food and Family Living
www.ImagesUnlimitedPub.com

Last few days for the January Special on the book Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids – Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun. You know, this is the book that helps your kids with their “what should I cook?” episodes, all year long. This hardcover book usually sells for $24.95 but now through the end of January you can get it for $16.95 plus free shipping.

Yes, it is a real book, something you can hold in your hand. Personally, I still like that concept.

The author of the book, Amy Houts, has lots of suggestions for this time of year, including Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and many more. Just go here for your January Special. Save yourself money by getting it now – and help get your kids excited about cooking again.

Lee Jackson
Food and Family Living

Nothing satisfies the soul and stomach any better on bitter cold January days than a big pot of chili served with piping hot

Image by steve loya via Flickr

cornbread. The next best is to invite someone to share it with you.

Here is the recipe for my favorite Corn Bread. Try this recipe out on your family the next time you have chili. Maybe today? Your kids will enjoy making it, too.

Favorite Corn Bread

3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch pan or a 12 cup muffin tin. Measure dry ingredients into medium bowl.

Make a well in center and add milk, beaten egg, vegetable oil and Cheddar cheese. Mix only until all flour is moistened.

Pour into prepared pan or muffin tins. Bake 20-25 minutes for the larger pan and 15-18 minutes for the muffins.

These are best served piping hot with butter or perhaps with honey.

I hope you stay warm today.

Best to you,

Lee Jackson
Food and Family Living
http://www.ImagesUnlimitedPub.com

Cover via Amazon

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. On January 16 we honor this man who is best known for securing progress on civil rights in the United States and around the world. He is remembered as a non-violent advocate of equality for all men and women.

Dr. King‘s “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. He was a ray of light and hope at a troubled time in our history. It is important that we honor him with a national holiday, but perhaps he would rather want us remember him by remembering and living his dream!

Image via Wikipedia

After all the Christmas goodies, it is hard to get back into a schedule of healthy eating. Our bodies may be so attuned to eating foods with a high sugar content that the craving for sugar continues.

Just as with any other addiction, sugar craving needs to be controlled. This includes cutting out artificially sweetened foods as well. Getting the sugar habit under control is especially important for children for health reasons as well as weight control.

How can parents help their kids get off the sugar train?

• First of all, those desserts and holiday candies need to be out of the house by now. As the expression goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Stock your cabinets and refrigerator with fruits and vegetables instead of chips, cookies, and candies. Yes, fruits are a source of sugar but they also provide vitamins necessary for good health.

• Start your kids off with a good breakfast. By this, I don’t mean a bagel or bran muffin, but foods more nutritious such as a vegetable omelet, some oatmeal with chopped almonds, and fresh fruit.

• If you are the chief meal planner and one who prepares the meals, eliminate sugars and any sugar derivatives (honey, molasses, corn syrup, high fructose syrup and the like) from the menu. Plan  meals in advance, shop intentionally, based on what you need, and prepare the meals at a set time.

• Pack the meals with plant-based foods from the vegetable group, the fruit group, small amount of grains, beans and legumes, and high-quality protein sources from animal or plant protein sources such as seafood, poultry and lean meats.

• Set a good example by not eating foods with sugar. This means eliminating any “diet” soft drinks and other processed, sugary foods as well.

• Take your kids shopping and ask them to help you make dinner or prepare their school lunch. Praise them for their good choices.

• Have pitchers of water handy so your kids can drink this anytime. Kids should drink water rather than any soda or other sweetened drink.

• One of the biggest helps is for parents to teach kids the value of staying active and exercising. When they are playing baseball, hiking or biking they are not as apt to want a piece of cake. Then, have some healthy snacks when they are through, such as nuts or peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread, carrot sticks, etc.

• Your child may be tempted to eat sweets, just as you, perhaps, are tempted. Try to get past the temptation by focusing on another activity. Perhaps on some hobby you have, or a pleasant experience you had.

Some like to use visualization when this happens. They imagine and visualize how much healthier they will be without the sugar, or they will see a firm, slender body if they don’t indulge. Sometimes it helps to just tell our body what we need and what we don’t need.

To your success,

Lee Jackson

May this Christmas fill your home with love, peace, and happiness. I hope you will find time to cook with your children this holiday and help create happy memories for them.

This is me baking cookies with my young friends. Cooking is a fantastic way to interact with your family and friends and have fun doing it.

Merry Christmas!

Lee Jackson

Help create happy memories for children by involving them in holiday activities.

Here are 5 ideas from Amy Houts’ book, Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids: Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun, that can be the start of fun family traditions.

1. Memories and baking cookies are a big part of the holiday season. Get friends together and have a cookie baking or exchange party.

2. Children can help create simple holiday gifts from the kitchen, such as Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar, Holiday Spice Mix, and Hearty Soup Mix.

3. As a way to recall the many blessings received during the year, place five or more kernels of candy corn in a zip lock bag and give to each child. Decide together what blessing each kernel symbolizes.

4. Check out a cookbook from the library with recipes typical of those used by your ancestors. Make a traditional cookie or bread recipe from that country.

5. Take time to remember the birds. A gift for them, or to a bird lover, could be a pinecone bird feeder you and your child create. Don’t forget to give the birds water, too.

Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: You may reprint this blog or any of the blogs as long as you include the website: http://www.cookingandkids.com/blog.

Another grandmother told me she read this Christmas story, The Littlest Christmas Kitten, with her two little grandchildren, as they do every year. She said they never get tired of hearing it.

I think it has become a popular Christmas story because the bold pictures grab kids attention and the story keeps them guessing. Why are all the animals excited this night? Will the Mother Cat find her little lost kitten?

This is a short 32-page story about the night Jesus was born. The events of the night have a profound effect on all the animals, especially the cats. Included is an illustrated glossary of Christmas symbols, describing their origins. For example, why do we have candy canes at this holiday? How did the tradition of having a decorated tree get started? Why do cats purr at Christmas?

Order this book now, as there are only a few days left before Christmas. Click this link now to order your book with free shipping. Start your own Christmas reading tradition with this book.

Image by janielianne via Flickr

Cooking with kids can be fun and create memories for years to come. Remember when the kids kept snatching cookie dough from the refrigerator? You finally had to put a toothpick in the dough with a note that said to not even think about eating it.

Here is a cookie recipe that will be tempting, either in the dough form (which they shouldn’t eat) and in the baked form (which will be hard to resist).

This recipe lists red food coloring as an ingredient. You may want to avoid using artificial food coloring by using natural products. You can  purée or juice a beet to get a very effective red dye. Mix a drop of this juice into the dough to make it pink or add a little more for red. Just keep your fingers protected unless you want red fingers for the next few days. You can also use a little pomegranate juice.

This cookie recipe comes from the childrens cookbook, Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids – Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun by Amy Houts.

Holiday Candy Cane Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1/4 crushed peppermint candy
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Children can help measure butter, shortening, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and crack egg into large mixing bowl. Children can mix with large wooden spoon or adult can beat with electric mixer until well mixed.

Note: there is no baking powder in this recipe.
Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough in half. Add red food coloring (or alternative)  to one half of dough. Pinch off about a teaspoon of red dough. Children can shape into about a 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on lightly floured board or cloth. Repeat with plain dough. Set side-by-side and twist together. Place on ungreased baking sheet, curving one end down to form handle of cane.

Repeat process, placing candy canes about 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, until very light brown. Meanwhile, mix peppermint candy and sugar. Sprinkle on cookies right when they come out of the oven. Then remove to cooling rack.

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

Happy baking!

I hope everyone reads the response to “Get Kids in the Kitchen This Holiday”. It is a success story of how children of all ages and stages find pleasure in working with food. A little adult help, interest, and time go a long way in helping make memories for children.

Do you have a success story of how you work with children in the kitchen and some of their favorite foods?  I would love to hear from you, especially how your family prepares food for the holidays.

Best to you,

Lee