Children will have fun--and be more likely to get--if you choose a healthy Recipes geared to their level. Introduce children to the "cooking" by making a simple trail mix with nuts, dried fruits and whole grain pretzels or crackers. Little hands can ladle out each ingredient and maneuver a large spoon to mix them together. Even if you're a measurement, have your child count off each nut or cracked--you can even make a game of it. Prep work a child can do naturally increases with age. Disassemble the lettuce leaves and give them a water spray is a fun introduction to make a healthy salad as a 2-or 3-year-old can handle. Three-year-olds can also knead dough and put premeasured ingredients in a mixing bowl. 4-to 5-year-olds usually have enough finger dexterity to be able to measure the ingredients. a 5-year-old is not old enough to use a knife to cut carrots, but can wash and peel them with a peeler. Related jobs like cleaning up and set the table can be assigned by age, too.
A better idea is to choose from a specific recipe and prepare it with your baby just for the experience. Make shopping for the ingredients for a special outing, just as you would go to an art shop for craft supplies. It's always smart to have extra ingredients in case you have a cooking mishap and must begin the recipe from scratch. Let's discuss such recipes that you can easily cook with your kids.
* Cook: 10 minutes
* Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
* 2 cups flour
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 TSP baking soda
* 1/4 cup shortening or vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup lukewarm water
Directions
Put flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Mix shortening or oil into the flour mixture until it forms pea-size balls. Add lukewarm water, a little at a time, until the dough is soft and pliable.
On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and let it "rest" for 30 minutes. Knead the dough and form 8-10 balls. Roll them so thin and smooth as possible.
Heat an ungreased GRIDDLE or cast-iron skillet. Cook tortillas on GRIDDLE one at a time, turn when a bubble forms (less than a minute). Put the cooked tortillas in a plastic bag until ready to serve, to keep them warm and soft. Serve with butter, or fill with eggs, cheese or cooked chicken.
How kids can help: sometimes Garcia gives her grandchildren a small cookie cutter to press out fun shapes. Ashley's favorite way to eat his tortilla is warm and filled with scrambled eggs or cheese.
Per serving: 175 calories, 7 g fat (5 g saturated), 292 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol.
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