Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog Site

The last two posts have concentrated on the deep-fried indulging world of fair and festival food. Today I want to consider how to have safe eating and drinking experiences at those events.

Remember that food safety practices should be followed at fairs just as they are at home.

Practice cleanliness.

Keep raw food from contaminating other food.
Don’t cut fresh vegetables or fruits on the same cutting surface as you prepare raw meat.

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

What should you consider before buying food from a food stand or other vendor?

Does the workstation look clean?
Is there a sink for employees to wash hands?
Do the workers look clean? Are they wearing hair nets and gloves?
Is there refrigeration on-site?
How are they keeping insects away from the food?

What are healthy food alternatives to consider at fairs and festivals?

* Fresh fruits — Apples and bananas are great choices, but they are often dipped in chocolate or caramel. Any pineapple or kiwi fruit? Do they have any fruit drinks, even some “exotic” fruit drinks? These would be a better choice than any of the regular or diet pop or sodas.

* Fresh vegetables — you probably won’t find any of these except for French fried potatoes, potato chips, and other high-fat items.

* Calcium-rich foods — Are there any low-fat yogurts without added sugars? You will probably find lots of ice cream combinations – all with a high sugar content. Other foods rich in calcium include cheese, whole fish, leafy green vegetables and broccoli, which you probably won’t find available.

* There will be lots of protein foods – hot-dogs, hamburgers, turkey legs, fried chicken, and other variations. Here again you should keep in mind  sanitation and the way it is prepared. Does it look like a healthy choice?

Are you bringing food from home?

You can prepare foods to bring from home which will be healthier and cheaper than any at the fair. Here again keep in mind food handling and storage times. Wash hands before handling any food. Bring hand sanitizers or disposable wipes in case there isn’t any place to wash hands. All perishable foods should be in a cooler or insulated bag. Food should not be set out of the cooler for longer than two hours. If it is a very hot day, cut this time down to one hour or less. You can still enjoy the festive atmosphere while eating with your family.

However you choose to eat at these events, make sure you have a food-safe summer by reducing your risk of foodborne illnesses.

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Lee Jackson
Home and Family Living Coach
http://www.imagesunlimitedpub.com

If you want pecan pie for Thanksgiving but hate the hassle of making a pie crust, try these Pecan Bars from Amy Houts’ new cookbook, Cooking Around the Country With Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities. Yes, you can buy ready prepared pie crust, but here is a recipe the children will enjoy making with you from start to finish.

This recipe features a delicious product, pecans,  from this great land of ours, the USA. We are thankful, especially at this season, for the rich abundance of food available.

In her book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids, Amy Houts tells about the time she went pecan picking with her friend in Memphis, Tennessee. She was surprised at how the pecan trees’ branches covered the whole area. Her friend said that pecan trees are an added bonus to have in one’s yard. “They are great for swings and offer lots of nice shade,” she said.

Here is the recipe for Pecan Bars:

1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup butter, or margarine, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar with spoon or electric mixer. With floured fingers, using quick, light motions press dough into a 9-by-13-2-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, children can help measure and mix filling. In a medium-sized bowl, beat eggs with a fork or wire whisk. Add brown sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and pecans. Pour over hot crust. Return to oven and bake 20 minutes more. Cool; cut into bars.

Makes about 32 bars.

To read more about the cookbook from which this recipe is taken, go to www.imagesunlimitedpub.com. Order your own copy or one for your favorite child.

Lee Jackson

Snaptail Books

http://www.ImagesUnlimitedPublishing.com

Image by I Nancy via Flickr

Since we are in mid peach season, here are a few of my favorite “peachy” sayings:

“It’s a peach of a day.”

“Everything’s peachy keen.”

“She has a ‘peaches and cream’ complexion.”

“An apple is an excellent thing — until you have tried a peach.”
George du Maurier (1834-1896)

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it.” Thomas Walker.

“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” Mark Twain.

“In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.” William Somerset Maugham.

“The ripest peach is highest on the tree.” James Whitcomb Riley.

Please check in tomorrow as I’ll have my favorite Peach Cobbler posted.

Best to you,

Lee Jackson
Food and Nutrition Educator
Helping promote family well-being through knowledge and skills

http://www.ImagesUnlimitedPublishing.com

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I just ran across an article in a college magazine about changes college kids are enjoying in their cafeterias. One food service offers “the real thing” in flavored filtered water.

Individual dispensers are filled with layers of ice with cut up fruits and vegetables. Foods such as oranges, lemons, limes, apples, strawberries, cucumbers and other seasonal foods and vegetables are added to the ice to create water that has the flavor of the food. I would never have guessed their favorite flavor is cucumber! The report stated the students are drinking their way through about 150 gallons of filtered, flavored water per day and cutting down on soda drinking.

Another innovative feature of this cafeteria is to go tray-less. This may require more trips to the food counters but the students are responding positively. Going tray-less is saving on water and wash products, as well as on the amount of food wasted.

This sounds like they are taking seriously environmental benefits. Good for them!

Lee Jackson
Books for home and family

Will these tight economic times make people’s waistlines bigger? Is there a correlation between the two?

People on tight budgets sometimes choose take- out or quick-order meals rather than preparing food at home. This may mean they are eating higher calorie foods and even quite possibly eating more food than is necessary since many servings are super-sized.

Some think it is much cheaper and quicker to go out to catch a bite to eat. Then when they do, it is only a matter of “filling up” or eating to be satisfied rather than savoring the food. Eating out may, or may not be cheaper and quicker. It may, however, impact health, and waistlines.

Many families just haven’t learned how to cook a basic meal. if you grew up making food or helping prepare food for the family, this may sound unbelievable, but it is true. That is why I started this blog. I knew that in order to stay healthy, people need to know how to prepare nutritious meals. I was a family and consumer sciences teacher and realized first hand the need for young people to know simple basic skills in the kitchen, such as:

• How to prepare fruits and vegetables, eggs, and meats.

• How to boil, bake, roast, fry, broil, saute,  etc.

• How to plan meals for the whole day.

• How to shop for food.

• How to store food properly.

• How to keep the food preparation area clean.

• How to organize work and use time management .

Young people really want to know how to do this. Lots of young kids watch the TV cooking shows.

If a family wants to eat healthy, someone is going to have to spend some serious time in the kitchen. Eating fast-food or pre-packaged foods may be contributing to not only an expanded waistline but other health complications as well.

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I want to share with you my absolute favorite strawberry shortcake recipe. This is not one of those individually wrapped bland cakes always found in the strawberry aisle of your grocery store. No, yours will be a piping hot, melt in your mouth treat, heaped with juicy, luscious strawberries.

Your Dad will want you to make this dessert again and again – until the strawberries run out…

Strawberry Shortcake

2 pints fresh strawberries

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Wash strawberries in cold water with a dash of vinegar. Swish and drain. Children can help remove stems by using a plastic knife and cutting each in half. Add about 1/2 cup sugar over berries and let stand at room temperature about an hour.

Grease 1 – 8 x 1 1/2 inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, measure flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening using two knives or a pastry blender until shortening pieces are the size of peas. Stir in milk and stir with fork until just blended. Spread batter into prepared cake pans. Dot with butter.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly brown and crusty.

Cut into 6 or 8 pieces. Split each piece in half on serving plate. Have butter available at table so each can spread butter on hot shortcake according to individual wishes. Then pass the strawberries that have oozed some of their juice upon standing.

Enjoy, and wish your Father a Happy Day!

Lee Jackson
Books for children, families, and parenting professionals
http://www.SnaptailPress.com
Check out a FR ee Recipe Sampler at:
http://snaptailbooks.com

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• Recipe: Strawberry-Sour Cream Scones with Brown Sugar Crumble (thekitchn.com)

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Before you go grocery shopping, think of foods your family would like for quick “pick-me-up” snacks. This could be your family’s “fast food”.

Raw fruits and vegetables are great to include. You might consider fruit such as grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries or other berries. Add some veggies like carrots, cut up cauliflower, celery stick and others. And you might want to have on hand non-sweetened cereals, granola bars, yogurt, dried fruits, cheese, whole grain crackers, and nuts.

Especially now when children are home from school for the summer, it’s good to have nutritious grab-and-go foods available.

Here’s to happy and healthy snacking.

Lee Jackson

Children are influenced in their food choices by their friends, family, the media, and other outside factors. The commercials on TV make a huge impact on what children want to eat. This often influences what they want their parents to buy.

What is a parent to do?

• You can explain to the child that the commercials on TV are one way companies use to let the public know about their product. They make products look very special because they want you to buy their product. Sometimes they may not tell you the whole story about whatever they are trying to sell. It may not always be a wise buying choice if it is not nutritious, costs more than its worth, or other reasons.

• Perhaps it is time to limit the child’s TV viewing, or, to be more selective in the types of programs that the child watches. There are many educational programs on TV that can present learning experiences.

• Yes, sometimes you have to give in. It’s times like these that you need to let the child know why you think the food is not what you want your family eating.

To help satisfy your child’s craving for junk food, have some ideas on how you can help them make some special foods at home. The following is one suggestion, which incorporates fresh fruits and is fun and easy to make:

Fruity Freeze

1 large ripe banana
1 teaspoon lemon juice
6 medium strawberries
1/4 cup frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate

Child can peel the banana and slice into a small bowl. Drizzle lemon juice over banana and toss lightly so all banana pieces are covered. This will help prevent them from turning brown. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze.

Wash strawberries thoroughly in cold water that has a drop or two of vinegar. Using a plastic knife, children can help hull strawberries by cutting off the bloom end, and cutting each berry in half.

In a blender, add strawberries and banana slices. Turn blender on and off briefly to chop up the fruit. Add apple juice and process until smooth. Pour into small sauce or dessert dishes and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Here’s to you and your family’s good health,

Lee Jackson

Most parents will tell you they know when their child overdoses on candies, cookies, and sweetened sodas. Their once-lovable, mild-mannered child becomes that exasperating, rawdy, hyperactive brat.

Does sugar cause hyperactivity? There is still much debate over this, but those who live with, or work with children, will tell you that sugar has been the culprit.

Helping your child cut back, or eliminate, sugar can be one of the best things you can do for your child. This can help him or her do better in school, have more friends, possibly sleep better, and certainly be much more pleasant to be around.

But what is a parent to do?

• Get rid of the sodas! If it’s not around, it will not be a temptation.

• Get rid of the cookies, candies, and ice creams. Some people can cut down gradually. For others it needs to be “cold turkey”.

• Set a good example. Cut back or eliminate your own consumption of sugar.

• Reinforce good behavior. Remember to praise and reinforce your children for choosing wholesome, healthy foods over others.

But what will take its place, you ask?

Keep lots of fresh fruits and vegetables ready to eat.

Have water in pitchers handy. Tell them they need to stay “hydrated”. That sounds like what an athlete might say – it sounds better than saying, “drink lots of water”.

Encourage your children to get outside and exercise. Playing video games or watching TV doesn’t require much action. Help them create healthy habits from a young age.

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What tastes best to you at this time of year: hot soup or cold salad? hot cocoa or cold lemonade? hot chili or ice cream?

Our tastes change with the seasons. The weather makes a big impact on what we think tastes good. When the weather turns warm or hot, we are more apt to reach for cold drinks and cold foods. Likewise, when it gets cooler in the fall, our thoughts turn to soups and hot meals.

Children and adults are often more thirsty than hungrey in the summertime. It is at times like these that vegetables served with a dip and cheese cubes, some chilled fruit in season, and a cold drink taste extra good.

Here is a refreshing cold drink for these warmer days. Plus, it uses strawberries which are now in season.

Strawberry Slush

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

Children can rinse and hull strawberries. Cut large ones in half and place in a container. Cover and freeze until firm.

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend for about 10 seconds. Pour into a glass and drink.

Makes 2-4 servings

This recipe is taken from Amy Houts’ cookbook, Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids: Hoiday and Seasonal Food and Fun. You can buy your own copy of this cookbook at Amazon. Check it out!