101+ Snack Time - NSCR · Recipes Pilgrim Pudding ... Indian Corn Pudding ... 3 101+ Snack Time...

1 101 Snack Ideas

Snack Timei • d • e • a • s

101+

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Educational

ActivitiesConcentration ...................................................................................................................... 1

Color .................................................................................................................................... 1

Lids ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Can You Taste the Color? .................................................................................................... 1

What Shapes are Foods? ...................................................................................................... 1

Compare Sizes ..................................................................................................................... 1

Smell .................................................................................................................................... 2

Teaching Pouring and Measuring Skills .............................................................................. 2

Kitchen Gardens .................................................................................................................. 2

Experiment with Growing Conditions................................................................................. 2

More to Do with Plants ........................................................................................................ 2

A Planting Song ................................................................................................................... 3

Talk with Children about Eggs and Milk............................................................................. 3

See How We Grow .............................................................................................................. 3

The Food System ................................................................................................................. 3

Where does Food Come From? ........................................................................................... 3

Grocery Store Dramatic Play............................................................................................... 4

Restaurant Dramatic Play .................................................................................................... 4

Felt Board Activities ............................................................................................................ 4

How does Your Garden Grow? ............................................................................................ 5

Puzzles ................................................................................................................................. 5

Water .................................................................................................................................... 5

Grains .................................................................................................................................. 5

Soup Pot Game .................................................................................................................... 9

Grow an Avocado Plant ..................................................................................................... 10

RecipesPilgrim Pudding ................................................................................................................... 5

Tabouli ................................................................................................................................. 6

Zucchini Muffins ................................................................................................................. 6

Zucchini Bread .................................................................................................................... 6

Gazpacho ............................................................................................................................. 6

Fresh Vegetables and Dilly Dip ........................................................................................... 6

Indian Corn Pudding ............................................................................................................ 6

Table of Contents

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Potato Pancakes (Latkes) ..................................................................................................... 7

Corn Tortillas ....................................................................................................................... 7

Beef Burrito ......................................................................................................................... 7

Flour Tortillas ...................................................................................................................... 7

Macaroni Salad .................................................................................................................... 7

Homemade Granola ............................................................................................................. 8

Shake a Pudding .................................................................................................................. 8

Triceratops Pops .................................................................................................................. 8

It’s Me Salad ........................................................................................................................ 8

One Bowl French Bread ...................................................................................................... 8

Pretzels ................................................................................................................................ 9

Pizzas ................................................................................................................................... 9

Fruity Dip ............................................................................................................................ 9

Guacamole Dip .................................................................................................................. 10

Hummus ............................................................................................................................ 10

Creature Crackers .............................................................................................................. 10

Nutrition

ActivitiesFood Families .................................................................................................................... 11

Food Family Sort ............................................................................................................... 11

More Food Sorting ............................................................................................................ 11

The Vegetable Song ........................................................................................................... 11

Why Do We Eat Fruits and Vegetables? ............................................................................ 11

Ideas for Puppet Shows and Skits ..................................................................................... 11

Food Group Pyramid Boxes .............................................................................................. 12

Food Container People ...................................................................................................... 12

More Felt Board Activities ................................................................................................ 12

Stirring the Pot Game ........................................................................................................ 12

Food Mobile ...................................................................................................................... 12

More About Field Trips ..................................................................................................... 13

Hop Up to Good Health ..................................................................................................... 13

Food Bingo ........................................................................................................................ 13

New Food Treasure Hunt................................................................................................... 14

Nutrition Fishing ............................................................................................................... 14

Spud and Spoon Race ........................................................................................................ 14

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What Food am I? ............................................................................................................... 14

Toss a Food Group............................................................................................................. 14

Veggie Tasting Game ......................................................................................................... 15

RecipesSpinach Surprise Dip ......................................................................................................... 14

Yogurt Sundaes .................................................................................................................. 15

Orange Fruit Salad ............................................................................................................. 15

Frozen Banana Pops .......................................................................................................... 15

Cheese-Wheat Snacks ....................................................................................................... 15

Homemade Applesauce ..................................................................................................... 15

Banana Crunch Pops .......................................................................................................... 15

Rice Pudding ..................................................................................................................... 16

Snow Waffles ..................................................................................................................... 16

Macaroni Salad .................................................................................................................. 16

Ambrosia Shake................................................................................................................. 16

Sensory

ActivitiesTeach Children to Eat Healthfully ..................................................................................... 17

Hear It ................................................................................................................................ 17

Feel It ................................................................................................................................. 17

Taste It ............................................................................................................................... 17

Vegetable Rainbow ............................................................................................................ 18

Mixing Foods by Hand ...................................................................................................... 18

Favorite Family Foods ....................................................................................................... 18

Table Talk .......................................................................................................................... 18

Scoop Out a Pumpkin ........................................................................................................ 18

Finger Lickin’ Snacks ........................................................................................................ 18

How Do You Like Your Carrots?....................................................................................... 19

Touch and Size................................................................................................................... 19

Spice Traders ..................................................................................................................... 19

Cooking Means Changes ................................................................................................... 19

More about Temperature ................................................................................................... 19

What Shapes are Foods? .................................................................................................... 19

Eating Colors ..................................................................................................................... 19

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Natural Dyes ...................................................................................................................... 20

Talk about Favorite Snacks................................................................................................ 20

Shopping Spree .................................................................................................................. 23

Grocery Helpers................................................................................................................. 23

Guess the Food .................................................................................................................. 24

How Bodies Grow ............................................................................................................. 23

Food Makes Bodies Grow ................................................................................................. 23

Pets Grow Too ................................................................................................................... 24

Potato Sampler................................................................................................................... 24

Books and Stories about Food ........................................................................................... 24

Talk about Favorite Snacks................................................................................................ 25

RecipesDried Apple Rings ............................................................................................................. 20

Juicy Finger Blocks ........................................................................................................... 20

Sweet Carrot Sticks ........................................................................................................... 20

Fruit Leather ...................................................................................................................... 21

Muffins .............................................................................................................................. 21

Purple Cow ........................................................................................................................ 21

Pink Deviled Eggs ............................................................................................................. 21

Iron-a-Sandwich ................................................................................................................ 21

Golden Gelatin Eggs .......................................................................................................... 22

Rounds ............................................................................................................................... 22

Celery Vehicles .................................................................................................................. 22

Peanut Butter ..................................................................................................................... 22

Peach Yogurt ...................................................................................................................... 22

Grape Punch ...................................................................................................................... 22

Celery Logs ....................................................................................................................... 22

Cheese Toast ...................................................................................................................... 22

Crunchy Critter Cookies .................................................................................................... 23

Peach Crisp ........................................................................................................................ 23

Watermelon Popsicles ........................................................................................................ 23

Toasted Sunflower Seeds ................................................................................................... 23

Fruit Dip ............................................................................................................................ 24

Peanutty Burrito Rolls ....................................................................................................... 24

Vegetable Soup .................................................................................................................. 25

Frozen Waffle Treat ........................................................................................................... 25

Glazed Carrot Wheels ........................................................................................................ 25

1 101+ Snack Time Ideas

Concentration

Make pairs of flashcards bypasting identical or similarpictures of foods cut frommagazines onto 3" x 5"cards. Shuffle and arrangeany number of cards,placing them face down inrows. One at a time,players turn over 2 cardsper turn attempting to find amatched pair. If a pair isturned up, the player takesanother turn. When nocards are left, the playerwith the most pairs wins.

Variation: For a wordgame, one card in a pair canhave the name of the foodwritten on it and one canhave a picture of the food.Children should match thename of the food with thepicture.

Color

Identify, compare, andsample the colors of foods.

For example:Same food, different colors(red, green, and yellowapples)

Different foods, same color(oranges, carrots, andcantaloupe)

Different foods, differentcolors (red apples, orangeoranges, purple plums,yellow bananas)

Lids

Collect unbreakable foodcontainers with reusablelids, such as oatmeal boxesor yogurt cups. (Be sure tocheck edges of containers tomake sure they are safe forchildren to handle. Coversharp edges with maskingtape). Separate containersand lids and place them inseparate piles. Ask a childto match the tops to thebottoms.

Variations: Preschoolchildren may also enjoysorting the containers byheight, using them asbuilding blocks, or “selling”them in a store.

Older children may find thelids game more challengingby playing for speed byracing against another childor the clock.

Another twist is to play thegame by using the sense oftouch. Blindfold the childor remove the lids andcontainers from sight byputting them in separate,covered boxes. Have thechild feel the containers andlids to decide which ones gotogether.

Nutrition Lesson: Food isprocessed, preserved andpackaged in many ways.What foods come in thecontainers used in thisgame? How many foodscan you think of that comein bottles? Cans?

Can You Taste the

Color?

Before the children arrive,prepare 3 pitchers of frozenlemonade. Use foodcoloring to color one pitcherorange, one green, andleave one its natural yellowcolor, so that the three looklike: orangeade, limeade,and lemonade. When thechildren arrive let themsample the “mystery juice”from each pitcher and guesswhat flavors they aretasting. Many peoplebelieve their eyes ratherthan their taste buds.Discuss how the appearanceof food can affect ourenjoyment of its taste.

What Shapes are

Foods?

Look for and name theshapes of foods, such as:carrot and celery sticksapple wedgesgreen pepper rings (mayresemble stars)round crackerssquare saltine crackersrectangular graham crackers

Compare Sizes

Note the sizes of foods. Letthe children sort food bysizes, biggest to smallest,for example. Change thesize of food by cutting,slicing, grating, chopping,or dicing.

E d u c a t i o n a l

101+ Snack Time Ideas 2

Smell

The world is full of smells.How a food smells canaffect our enjoyment of it.Lots of people do not evenknow what “stinky cheese”tastes like, because theynever got past the smell totry it.

Blindfold the children to goon a walk to see how manydifferent smells they canfind. Make a list of smellsthe children like and onesthey do not like. Figure outwhy we think some smellsare good and some are bad.

Teaching Pouring and

Measuring Skills

Show children how to pourliquids. Use a lightweight,small plastic pitcher andnon-breakable drinkingglass. Help them with thepitcher or hold the glass andlet them practice. Start byusing water or put uncookedrice, beans, or macaroni inthe pitcher.

When the children can pourwithout your help, let thempour milk and juice forsnacks. Place a rubber bandaround the middle of a non-breakable drinking glass.Let children practice fillingthe glass to the mark.

Children can learn tomeasure dry ingredients too.Let them fill measuringcups and talk about thedifferent markings andtypes of cups. Sifting andleveling a cup of flour areskills children can learn. Besure to let them practice.

Kitchen Gardens

Many plants can be grownfrom food in your kitchensuch as carrot and pineappletops, beans, orange, lemonand grapefruit seeds,popcorn, sweet and whitepotatoes. Borrow the bookGet Growing! ExcitingIndoor Plant Projects forKids by Lois Walker fromyour county extensionresource library fordirections, craft ideas andrecipes for these and otherindoor plantingpossibilities.

Experiment with

Growing Conditions

Talk with the children aboutwhat they think plants needto grow. Make a list of theirideas. Experiment withwater, heat and light. Plantgrass seed in two cottagecheese cartons with thesame amount of soil ineach. Put one carton in asunny warm spot and waterit daily. Put the other cartonin a dark cold spot and donot water. Check thecartons every day. Make achart of the children’sobservations.

Place large seeds, such asbeans or peas in wet papertowels or cotton in a clearcontainer. Talk with thechildren about the seeds asthey watch them sprout.This is the same thing thathappens to seeds when theysprout in the soil outside.

More to Do with

Plants

• Discover what parts ofplants we eat. Talkabout roots we eat(potatoes, beets, carrots,turnips, radishes), seeds(beans, peas), leaves(lettuce, spinach), fruits,etc.

• Watch what happens tothe physical propertiesof a plant when youprepare, cook orprocess it. Sample onefood in different ways,such as raw apples,stewed apples,applesauce, apple juice,etc.

• Stop fresh fruit fromturning brown(oxidation) by dippingit in orange juice whichcontains vitamin C (anantioxidant).

• Watch a stalk of celery“drink” a glass ofcolored water. Place afew drops of foodcoloring into a glass ofwater. Stir and put astalk of celery in theglass. Watch for thecelery to change color.

• Collect seeds and try toidentify which foodsthey might grow into.

• Grow plants fromsources other then seeds(potato eyes or carrottops).


A Planting Song

Sing to the tune of MaryHad A Little Lamb(Use the names of thechildren in place of Mary).

Mary had a little seed, littleseed, little seed.Mary had a little seed andhoped that it would grow.

She watered it and pulledthe weeds, pulled theweeds, pulled the weeds.She watered it and pulledthe weeds, with sprinklingcan and hoe.

And every day the sunwould shine, sun wouldshine, sun would shine.And every day the sunwould shine and warm it fora while.

And soon a little sproutcame out, sprout came out,sprout came out.And soon a little sproutcame out. It made dearMary smile.

A lettuce plant began togrow, began to grow, beganto grow.A lettuce plant began togrow, so fresh and crisp andgreen.

Then carefully she pickedsome leaves, picked someleaves, picked some leaves.Then carefully she pickedsome leaves and rinsedthem nice and clean.

Talk with Childrenabout Eggs and Milk

Where do eggs come from?The eggs we eat usuallycome from chickens. Talkwith the children about themany ways we eat eggs.Make a list of their ideas.

Talk about milk. Wheredoes milk come from?How many foods are madefrom milk? Cut out picturesof egg and milk foods.

See How We Grow

Weigh, measure each child,and trace his/her body on alarge sheet of paper. Repeatin a few months andcompare. Is the child thesame size? If not, why?What made him/her grow?Food, of course!

The Food System

Hang posters showing thepeople who work along thepath that our food takes:farmers, factory workers,truck drivers, grocery storeclerks, cooks, and “eaters”!Let children cut picturesfrom magazines to makecollages showing the peoplewho help to bring us ourfood. Be careful to chooseposters and picturesthat do not showracial or sexualstereotypes.

Where does Food

Come From?

Children who live on a farmmay learn through everydayexperiences from wheretheir food comes. For otherchildren it will take avariety of experiences forthem to realize that fooddoesn’t magically appear ontheir plates or even in thegrocery store. Here aresome suggestions of thingsto do to help children learnthat many people work hardin the long, step-by-stepprocess that brings the foodto their tables.

Plan field trips to placeswhere food is grown,processed, sold andcooked, such as a farmer’smarket, plant nursery,orchard, farm, foodprocessing factory, largesupermarket, corner grocerystore, commercial kitchen,restaurant, or take thechildren on a guided tour ofthe kitchen in your ownchild care center or familychild care home.


Grocery StoreDramatic Play

You’ll need:

clean, empty foodcontainers (children canbring from home)

large cardboard box with arope or string for a handle(can be used for a grocerycart)

grocery bags (if youngchildren are present, usepaper or cloth bags, notplastic)

adding machine or toycash register

purses, wallets

play money

dress-up clothes

Children can play grocer bywearing aprons and abaker’s hat if they areworking in the bakerysection. They can unloadand put the products fortheir store on shelves orboxes. Other children canplay customers by wearingdress-up clothes andchoosing items from thestore. The customersshould have a list of whatthey need, ask questionsabout the freshness of fooditems, etc. Grocers shouldbe ready to explain whytheir products are good andhow they could be used.Pay for items with playmoney and pack in bags.

Restaurant Dramatic

Play

You’ll need:

place mats

unbreakable dishes, eatingutensils, and napkins

tables, chairs

toy grill or stove andrefrigerator

cash register, play money

aprons

menus

pads of paper and pencils

Make food for therestaurant by cuttingpictures from magazinesand covering them withclear self-stick paper.Children can pretend to becooks, servers, cashiers, anddiners. Servers can set thetables, serve plates filledwith the food pictures, cleartables, and give diners theirchecks. Cooks can wearaprons and hats whilepreparing foods, fillingorders, and doing dishes.Cashiers can seat people inthe restaurant, accept playmoney payment, and makechange. Diners can chooseitems from the menu,discuss the food whileeating, and pay for the mealwith play money.

Felt Board Activities

Make a felt board bystretching felt or heavyflannel fabric around apiece of plywood or heavycardboard. Figures cutfrom felt will stick to thefelt board as willlightweight objects, such asmagazine cutouts. Backheavier objects, such as

cardboard food models,with sandpaper or Velcro™.

• Food rainbow — Makea rainbow from differentcolors of felt. Choosecolors such as:

Yellow for bananas,corn, some apples, andsome cheeses.

Red for strawberries,cherries, tomatoes, andsome meats.

Green for broccoli,beans and kiwis.

Orange for oranges,carrots, and pumpkins.

White for milk, rice,pasta, and some meatsand cheeses.

Brown for potatoes,breads, and some meats.

Blue or purple forgrapes and blueberries.

• Have children match thecolor of food in picturesto the colors of therainbow.

• Cut out foods from feltto match colors selectedfor each food group orcut pictures of foodfrom magazines andpaste on felt squares.

• Hang pictures of thechildren’s favoritefoods. Discuss why theyare favorites.

• Hang pictures of foodswhich are chewy,crunchy, sweet, or sour.

• Sort foods by how theygrow. Do they grow ona vine, in the ground, ona tree, or on a bush?


How Does Your

Garden Grow?

Children can “plant” theirown garden using felt fruitand vegetables. Providecolors of felt such as:

Brown for soil, potatoes

Blue for sky,blueberries, plums

Yellow for the sun,pears, squash, corn

Black for rain clouds

White for fluffy clouds,raindrops, onions

Green for trees, plants,beans, onion tops,lettuce, broccoli, peas,peppers

Red for apples,strawberries, tomatoes,peppers

Peach for peaches

Orange for carrots andpumpkins

Puzzles

Puzzles can be made frommagazine pictures orposters. Paste the picture onstiff cardboard and allow itto dry. Cut out puzzlepieces with sturdy scissors.Six or eight puzzle piecesmay be enough for youngchildren.

A wooden jigsaw puzzlecan be made in the sameway by mounting a pictureon a piece of light plywoodand cutting it out with ajigsaw.

Water

Show children water in eachof its three physical states:liquid, solid and gas. Havethe children help to put waterin an ice cube tray. Put thetray in the freezer until thewater freezes. Show thechildren the solid water (ice).Place some ice cubes in abowl. Let them set out on acounter so the children canwatch them melt back into aliquid. Boil water in a panon the range. Talk with thechildren about the water inthe air (steam).

Find out where water hidesin foods. Set out a moistfood in heat or sunlight.What happens? Mix cornstarch and water in a bowl.Let it sit for a few minutes.What has happened?

Pilgrim Pudding

4 slices whole wheat bread

3/4 cup milk, divided

1/3 cup unsweetened applejuice concentrate

2 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup molasses

dash salt

Dice bread slices andcrumble in a blender. Placebread crumbs in a bowl.Blend together 1/2 cup ofmilk, apple juice concentrate,eggs, cinnamon, ginger,molasses and salt. Pour themixture over the crumbs andstir. Pour into a greasedbaking dish. Bake at 350°Ffor 30 minutes. Pour 1/4 cupmilk over the top and bakefor 25 more minutes. Makes6 to 8 small servings.

Grains

Talk with the children aboutgrain-based foods, such asbread, rice, pasta, crackers,cereals, even cakes andcookies. Children need 6servings of grain foods eachday. Talk about why weneed to make sure that wechoose some grain foodsmore often than others.

Discuss with the childrenfoods that can be made withgrains.

Read the story The LittleRed Hen. Grains, like thewheat in the story, are theseeds of grasses. We eatmany kinds of grass seed.The little red hen couldhave taken any of these tothe miller: rice, corn,barley, rye, oats or wheat.

Taste test breads made fromdifferent grains so that thechildren can see and tastethe difference.

Use nutrition posters for alarge puzzle or havechildren choose magazinepictures or draw pictures offood and food related ideas,such as farms, plants,gardens or animals.


Tabbouli

1 cup bulgur wheat

2 cups boiling water

1 cup carrots, grated

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 small bunch green onion,diced

1 cup cucumber, diced

1 cup parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh or driedmint

1-3/4 cups garbanzo beans,cooked and drained

Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Soak bulgur in boiling waterfor 1 hour. Drain well,pressing out all excess water.Add all chopped vegetables,parsley, mint, and garbanzobeans to the bulgur.

Shake the dressingingredients in a jar. Onehour before serving, add thebulgur/vegetable mixture.Toss the mixture with thedressing. Makes 10 (1/2cup) servings.

Zucchini Muffins

Make the same batter aszucchini bread (recipefollows). Pour batter intogreased and floured muffintin cups and bake at 350°Ffor 30 to 40 minutes.Makes 12 muffins.

Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup raisins


1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 ripe banana, sliced

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded zucchini

Heat raisins and apple juiceconcentrate in a saucepanuntil raisins are soft, about 3minutes. Puree raisins andjuice in a blender. Add egg,vegetable oil, banana andvanilla to blender and mix.In a large bowl, stir dryingredients together. Addblender ingredients andzucchini. Mix allingredients. Pour into agreased and floured loafpan. Bake for 50 to 60minutes at 350°F.

Gazpacho

2 ripe tomatoes

1/2 green bell pepper,chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 can (6 ounces) tomatojuice

1/2 cucumber, peeled andchopped

1/4 cup chopped onion

dash garlic powder

Blend all ingredientstogether in a blender. Chill.Serve in bowls. Makes 6 to8 small servings.

Fresh Vegetables andDilly Dip

any combination of freshvegetables, such as carrotsticks, green pepper sticks,celery sticks, cucumbersticks, broccoli sticks,cauliflowerets

1 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon dill weed

1 teaspoon parsley

Wash and prepare freshvegetables.

Dip: Blend togetheryogurt, dill weed, andparsley. Give each childhis/her own bowl of dip.Let the children choosetheir own fresh vegetables.

Caution: Young children caneasily choke on rawvegetables. Do not give thesefoods to infants. Closelywatch young children whenthey eat these foods.

Indian Corn Pudding

2 cups drained whole kernelcorn (frozen, fresh, orcanned)

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon margarine

2 tablespoons wheat crackercrumbs.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mixthe ingredients and pour intoa 1 quart greased bakingdish. Set the dish into a panwith about 1 inch of water inthe bottom. Bake for 70minutes. Pudding is donewhen a knife inserted in thecenter comes out clean.


Potato Pancakes

(Latkes)

10 medium potatoes

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons matzoh mealor 4 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon vegetable oil forfrying pan

Peel potatoes and grate themon a fine grater. Add eggs,matzoh meal or flour, bakingpowder, and salt; mix well.Drop spoonfuls of mixtureinto a nonstick griddle orfrying pan coated withvegetable oil. Cook, turningonce, until golden. Makes 14(4-inch) pancakes. Cut inhalf for younger children.

Corn Tortillas

1 cup boiling water

1 cup yellow or whitecornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 to 2-1/2 cups whole wheatflour

Pour boiling water over thecornmeal. Let the mixturesit for 10 minutes. Mix saltand wheat flour together.Knead flour into thecornmeal mixture. Keepkneading for 5 to 10minutes. Let sit for 5minutes. Pinch off piecesof dough the size of golfballs. Shape the pieces intoballs. Roll out the ballswith a rolling pin on afloured board until it formsa circle, 4 inches indiameter. Cook on anunoiled hot griddle or skilletfor approximately 2 minuteson each side.

Beef Burrito

1/2 pound lean ground beeffor snack-size servings (ordouble first three ingredi-ents for lunch-size servings)

1 small onion, finely diced

6 tablespoons mild taco ortomato sauce

6 (6-inch) soft flour tortillas

1-1/2 tablespoons marga-rine, melted

Break up ground beef intosmall pieces and brownwith diced onion. Whencooked, drain well and stirin taco or tomato sauce.Place 2 tablespoons (forsnack) or 4 tablespoons (forlunch) of meat mixture intocenter of each soft tortilla.Fold tortilla over meatmixture to form a rectangle.Brush each burrito withmargarine and bake 10minutes or until slightlybrown in a 350°F oven.Makes six burritos; oneburrito per child. May cutburritos in half for 1 to 2year old children.

Flour Tortillas

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt


about 1 cup warm water

Mix flour and salt. Add oil.Mix together with fingers.Stir in enough warm waterto make a firm ball ofdough. Knead until smooth.Let the dough sit for 20minutes. Pinch off piecesof dough the size of golfballs. Shape the pieces intoballs. Roll out the ballswith a rolling pin on afloured board until it formsa circle, 4 inches indiameter. Cook on anunoiled hot griddle or skilletfor approximately 2 minuteson each side.

Macaroni Salad

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup cheese cubes

2 cups cooked elbowmacaroni

2 tablespoonsplain yogurt

Wash the vegetablesand cut them intopieces. Cut the cheeseinto cubes. Add thevegetables and cheeseto the cooked

macaroni. Add theyogurt and stir to mix

well. Makes about 6 (1/2cup) servings.


Homemade Granola

6 cups oatmeal, uncooked

2 cups wheat germ, toastedor untoasted

2 cups coconut, sweetenedor unsweetened

4 tablespoons cinnamon

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup powdered milk

2/3 cup honey

2/3 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients in alarge mixing bowl. Addhoney, oil and vanilla. Mixwell, coating all dryingredients. Place mixtureon a jelly roll pan or cookiesheet with sides. Bake at300°F for 20 minutes,stirring several times.Watch closely! It will burnvery quickly. Makes 22(1/3 cup) servings.

Variation: seeds, nuts,raisins, or dates can beadded after the mixture hascooled.

Shake a Pudding

instant pudding mix

low-fat milk

plastic bowl with tightlyfitting lid

Pour the amount of milkcalled for on the puddingpackage into a plastic bowl.Add contents of the puddingmix. Place lid on bowl. Letthe children take turnsshaking the bowl ofpudding mix. Spoon intobowls and eat!

Tripearatops Pops

2 cans (16 ounces each)pear halves in juice

1 can (29 ounce) pearhalves in juice

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey*

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Puree pears and juice in ablender. Combine pureedpears with water, honey andlemon juice. Pour intopopsicle molds or 4-ouncepaper cups. Partially freezepear mixture. Push plasticspoons into the center ofeach cup. Freeze until firm.Makes 15 (2-1/2 ounce)pops.

*Honey should not begiven to or used in foodsfor infants less than 1 yearof age because it can causeinfant botulism.

It’s Me Salad

Give each child a peach orpear half for his/her bodyand half a hard cooked eggfor a head. Hair can bemade from dry cereal,shredded cheese, or gratedcarrot. Use small pieces oftomato for mouths, celeryor carrot sticks for arms andlegs. Prunes, raisins, orplum halves make goodshoes. Let each child comeup with his/her owncombinations.

Caution: Young children caneasily choke on rawvegetables. Do not give thesefoods to infants. Closelywatch young children whenthey eat these foods.

One Bowl French

Bread

3 to 3-1/2 cups unsiftedflour

4 teaspoons sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1 package dry yeast

2 tablespoons soft marga-rine

1-1/4 cups very hot water(105 - 115°F)

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar,salt, and undissolved dryyeast in a large bowl. Mixthoroughly. Add margarine.Add very hot watergradually to dry ingredients.Beat two minutes. Add 1cup of flour or enough tomake a thick batter. Beat 2or 3 minutes. Stir inenough additional flour tomake a soft dough. Coverbowl tightly with plasticwrap.

Let rise in a warm place for45-60 minutes. Stir doughdown, turn out onto heavilyfloured surface. Afterwashing, flour children’shands and have them kneaddough until smooth. Shapedough into one large oblongor let the childrenexperiment with differentshapes and sizes. Trypretzels, animals, letters,numbers, or holiday shapes.

Place on a greased bakingsheet and let rise (40 to 50minutes for large loaf, lesstime for small shapes).Bake at 400°F (40 minutesfor large loaf, 8-10 minutesor until golden brown forsmall shapes).


Pretzels

1 pkg dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water(105-115°F)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 1/2 cups flour

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons water

coarse salt

non-stick spray

Dissolve yeast in warmwater; add sugar. Mix inflour and knead 5-10minutes. (Children enjoytaking turns to do this.)Place dough in an oiledbowl. Let it rise, covered,until double in size.

Divide dough into 30 piecesand form into pretzels orother shapes. (Allow eachchild to design his/her ownshape.)

Place dough shapes on acookie sheet, sprayed withnon-stick spray. Mixtogether egg yolk and water.Brush dough with egg/watermixture and sprinkle withsalt. Bake at 475°F for 10minutes or 375°F for 20minutes.

Pizzas

1 pkg. 10-12 refrigeratorbiscuits

1 jar prepared pizza sauce

1 (6-8 oz.) pkg. gratedmozzarella cheese

aluminum foil

non-stick cooking spray

Line a cookie sheet withaluminum foil (for easycleaning) and spray withnon-stick cooking spray.Give each child arefrigerator biscuit. Havethem shape the biscuitdough until it is as “flat as apancake.” Spread 2-3tablespoons pizza sauce ontop of each biscuit andsprinkle with cheese. Placein 400°F oven until thecheese melts (about 15minutes). Makes 10 - 12pizzas.

You may want to read thebook Curious George andthe Pizza before you makepizzas with the children.

Fruity Dip

1 (8 ounce) carton of plainlow-fat yogurt

1 tablespoon orange juiceconcentrate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

sprinkle of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in abowl. Give each child his/her own small bowl of dip.Use as a dip for fresh fruitsuch as melon balls, bananaslices, strawberries,blueberries, chunks ofapple, peaches, or pears.

Soup Pot Game

This is a good game to playwhile preparing vegetablesto make soup or whilewaiting for a turn during acooking activity.Everyone sits in a circle andpretends there is a big souppot in the center.Decide with the childrenwhat vegetables to prepare.All chant the followingrhyme and make themotions of peeling,chopping, and stirring.

Peel, peel, peel the (name ofthe vegetable),Then chop, chop, chop,chop, chop!Stir it into the soup that’scooking in the pot!(Child’s name), will youadd your (vegetable name)to the pot?

Child whose name is calledgoes to the make-believepot and pretends to add thevegetable.

Stories to Read:Growing Vegetable Soup,L. EhlertBoober’s Colorful Soup,J. BarkanStone Soup, M. Brown


Guacamole Dip

1 large ripe avocado

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 small onion, minced

1 small tomato, diced

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Dash of garlic salt andchili pepper to taste

Remove the green peelfrom the avocado.Carefully cut the fleshaway from the pit. (Savethe pit to grow an avocadoplant.) Have the childrenmash the avocado flesh ina bowl. Add otheringredients and mix well.Give each child his/herown bowl of dip and somefresh vegetables, tortillas,or bread cubes for dipping.

Grow an avocado

plant

Use the avocado pitleft from makingguacamole. Allowthe pit to “rest” for afew days beforeputting it into water.

Insert four toothpicksaround the middle part ofthe avocado pit. Place thepit into a container ofwater. The toothpicksshould rest on the lip ofthe container so only thebottom of the pit (the widepart) is in the water. Addwater as needed so thebottom of the pit stays inwater at all times.

In a few weeks, roots willbegin to grow. The pit cannow be placed in soil.Make sure the soil isappropriate for plants.Potting soil is best.

Place the bottom half ofthe pit in the soil. Waterto keep moist, but not wet.In one month you willhave the beginning of anavocado tree.

Hummus

1 (15 ounce) can cookedchickpeas (drained, savethe liquid)

1/4 cup tahini (sesamepaste)

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 large cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place chickpeas, tahiniand lemon juice in bowl.Let each child mash untilmixture reaches theconsistency of a coarsepaste (use as muchchickpea liquid asneeded). Peel garlic andallow children to squeezegarlic through a garlicpress. Add garlic and saltto bowl. Cover hummusand refrigerate 1 hour.Serve as a spread oncrackers, pita bread orwith vegetables.

Creature Crackers

Set out cheese slices,crackers in various shapes

and small cookie cutters.Let children cutshapes from their

cheese slices to lay ontheir cracker(s).

Encourage children to talkabout the shape of thecrackers and thecreature(s) they havemade.


Food Families

Foods which have things incommon belong to foodfamilies. In a food family,all foods are not the samebut they have some thingsin common.

There are six food families:

Grain (including cereals,pasta, rice, bread)

Vegetable

Fruit

Dairy (including milk,yogurt, cheese)

Meat and Meat Alternates(including meat, poultry,fish, eggs, dry beans, nuts)

Fats, oils, and sweets

Talk with the children aboutfoods that they see neareach other at the grocerystore. Most stores groupmany food family itemstogether.

We need to eat a certainnumber of servings of foodeach day from all the foodfamilies.

Ask children to bring in afruit or vegetable to share orset out a variety of fruitsand vegetables yourself.Ask children which ones arefruits; which ones arevegetables. How do weknow?

Food Family Sort

Write the name of adifferent food family onlarge sheets of constructionpaper. Have the childrencut pictures of foods fromold magazines. Hold upeach food picture. Let thechildren decide the foodfamily in which the picturebelongs. Have the childrenpaste the food pictures onthe construction paper withthe name of the food family.

More Food Sorting

There are a number of waysto sort foods. Have thechildren cut out pictures offoods from magazines.Make up your owncategories for sorting. Youmay want to use some ofthe following:

colorsseeds/ no seeds

crunchy/not crunchysweet/ not sweet

eat cooked/ raw/ both waysjuicy/ not juicy

The Vegetable Song

(sing to the tune of Twinkle,Twinkle, Little Star)

Carrots, peas, and broccoli

Vegetables taste good tome.

For my snack and in mylunch,

Veggie sticks are great tomunch.

Carrots, peas, and broccoli,

Vegetables taste good tome.

Why Do We Eat

Vegetables and

Fruits?

While children are eatingvegetables and fruits,explain to them thateveryone needs to eatvegetables and fruits everyday to stay healthy.

Vegetables and fruits helpthem see better (point toeyes); make their skinhealthy (point to skin); givethem strong teeth and bones(point to teeth and bones);and they will be happybecause they are healthy(big smile).

Ideas for Puppet

Shows and Skits

Use children’s books,nursery rhymes, fingerplays, and songs for ideasfor nutrition skits andpuppet shows.

Read to the children suchbooks as:

The Carrot Seed

The Gingerbread Man

Stone Soup

Bread and Jam for Frances

These stories are excitingand fun. They often containnutrition messages.Caregivers may want to usethe books to introduce anutrition lesson to thechildren. Talking nutritionis easier if you start with anexciting story.

N u t r i t i o n


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Food Group Pyramid

Boxes

You will need six cardboardboxes (varying in size tomake a pyramid). Have thechildren cover each boxwith pictures representingfoods from the food groups.

The largest box is the graingroup; followed byvegetables and fruit (makesure the vegetable box isslightly bigger than thefruit). Two smaller butequal size boxes should befor the milk group and meatgroup foods. The smallestbox at the tip of the pyramidfor foods from the fats/sweets/oils group. Thecompleted boxes can beused for sorting foodmodels, other activities, andactivity games.

Food Container

People

Ask parents to saveempty food containers,such as cracker boxes,cereal boxes, gelatinboxes, pudding mixboxes, etc. Let thechildren use the boxesto create food cartonpeople. Set out piecesof scrap paper and yarnto complete their creations.

This activity helps to showchildren the foods thatcome in certain boxes. Ifthey have never tasted thefood in the box they areusing, plan to preparesome and let the childrentry it.

More Felt Board

Activities

(See page 4 for buildinginstructions.) Using a feltboard can perk up a story ora discussion about food.Let the children select andhang pictures of foods onthe felt board. They may

use felt boardpictures to talk

about foods theylike anddislike or otherfood habits.Another usecan be to havechildren talkabout whatthey ate before

they came today care.

Stirring the PotGame

Children are seated in a circlearound a large pot. Giveeach child a picture of a food.Begin the chant below.Have the children join in.

Stirring, stirring, stirring thepot (stirring motion).

Bubbly, bubbly, bubbly hot(pretend to make pot boil).

Look to the moon (point andlook up).

Laugh like a loon (laugh).

(Name a child) stir some-thing into the pot. (childnames the food in the pictureand places it into the pot)

Repeat the chant until eachchild has had a turn to add a“food” to the pot.

Variation: stir in only acertain kind of food. Forexample, just fruits orvegetables or just Vitamin Afoods.

Food Mobile

Many different kinds ofmaterials can be used formaking mobiles. Tie a stringto each item and hang themat various lengths from a coathanger or a piece of wood.(Be sure to supervisechildren when fastening thestrings to the coat hanger orwood.) When completed,the mobile may be hung fromthe ceiling.

Try some of these items for anutrition mobile: magazinepictures pasted on cardboard,cardboard food models, cleanempty food containers, orhardened playdough shapedlike foods.


More about Field

Trips

Plan field trips ahead of timeso that the visit is notcomplicated by too much tosee, too far to go, or too longto visit. Take small groups ofchildren with one adult forabout three children.

Visit orchards, gardens,dairies, chicken farms,canneries, or bakeries.Learn where food comesfrom, how it is grown, whatit looks like before and afterit is ready to be sold toconsumers.

Follow field trips withactivities such as music,pretend play, and art. Talkwith the children aboutwhat they learned on theirvisit. These activities giveeach child a chance to usewhat has been learned.

Hop Up to Good

Health

This game will helpchildren learn aboutdifferent foods and helpthem understand thedifference between anytimesnacks and sometimesnacks. Anytime snacks canhelp us grow, make usstrong, and may help keepus healthy. Sometimesnacks contain fewernutrients than anytimesnacks.

You will need:

game cards

box to hold game cards

chalk or tape lines markedon the floor for a startingline and the Good HealthGoal line (30 feet awayfrom the starting line)

Make game cards on 3" x 5"cards by pasting the pictureof each of the foods fromthe list below to one side ofeach card. Write thenumber, 2 or 1, on the backof each card to show thecategory of the food.

Food Number

Milk 2

Orange Juice 2

Apple 2

Peas 2

Banana 2

Cheese 2

Green vegetables 2

Tomato 2

Peanuts 2

Carrot 2

Soda 1

Candy 1

Chocolate Cake 1

Potato Chips 1

Sugar Cookies 1

To play the game, have 2 to4 children at a time standbehind the marked startingline. Each child, one at atime, draws a food gamecard from the box. Eachplayer says the name of thefood on the card and readsthe number on the back. Ifit is an anytime snack the

card will have a number 2on the back. This meansthe child may take two hopsforward. If it is a sometimesnack, the card will havethe number 1 on the back.This means the child maytake one hop forward. Theobject of the game is to bethe first to reach the GoodHealth Line by hopping.

Food Bingo

Have the children help youto make Food Bingo cards.Use one piece of cardboardor construction paper foreach card. Divide the cardto make six columns. Atthe top of each column,write the name of a foodfamily (grains, vegetables,fruit, milk, meat, fats/oils/sweets).

Draw lines across the paperto make five boxes belowthe name of each foodfamily. Place a food stickeror paste a picture of a foodfrom each of the foodgroups in a square under thefood family categories.

To play, give each child ahandful of dry macaroni touse for markers. (Uselarger pasta shapes foryoung children.) Name afood on the children’s bingocards. If that food is on achild’s card, he or she canplace a macaroni marker onthe picture. The game iswon when one child hasmarkers on all the foods ina row, across, down,diagonally or in the fourcorners of the bingo card.


New Food TreasureHunt

Gather some small plasticbowls with lids and avariety of nonperishablenew foods (breads, fruits,and vegetables work well).Prepare each new food so itis ready to taste. Washfresh fruits and vegetables.Cut into bite-size pieces.Place foods into plasticcontainers. Use a differentcontainer for each food.

Hide the containers, eitherinside or outdoors. Havethe children try to find thecontainers of food and pickthem up. When all thecontainers are found, eachchild, should bring his orher “treasure” to the table toshare with the otherchildren.

Nutrition Fishing

Have the children cutpictures of food frommagazines or use cardboardfood models. Tape paperclips to the back of thepictures or food models.Tie a piece of string to awooden spoon to make asimple fishing pole. Tie asmall magnet on the end ofthe string.

For a pond, use a pie pan,plastic dishpan or place ahula-hoop on the floor. Putfood pictures in the pond.Have children fish for awell balanced meal. Themagnet will attract thepaper clips. Give childrenenough turns so everyonecan catch a balanced meal.Talk about the foods withthe children and help themto group the foods in theproper food families.

Spud and Spoon Race

Give each child a spoon anda small potato. Mark astarting line and a finishline on the floor with chalkor tape. The object is torace a given distancecarrying the potato on thespoon. Fingers must stayclear of the potatoes. If apotato is dropped, the childmust go back to the startingline and start over. The firstchild across the finish linewins. Spud and spoon mayalso be played as a teamrelay race.

Nutrition Lesson: Potatoescontain carbohydrates, asource of energy. Potatoesalso have vitamin C(ascorbic acid). In whichfood family are potatoes?How do they grow? Howmany ways can we cookpotatoes?

Toss a Food Group

Have players sit in a circle.The leader tosses, rolls, orpasses a ball to any otherplayer and calls out thename of a food family. Theplayer who catches the ballmust name a food from thatfood family, toss the ball toanother player, and call outthe name of another foodfamily. And so on, untileach player has had at leastone turn.

Variations:Use a ball of yarn instead ofa regular ball. Each playerkeeps hold of the yarn whenhe tosses the ball to anotherplayer making a web ofyarn stretching from playerto player. The leader maythen point out that in thesame way that the playersare all “tied” to each other,foods from the food groupswork together to help usgrow.

You may also choose othergroups like favorite foods orholiday foods.

Spinach Surprise Dip

2 cups fresh spinach(chopped very fine)

1/4 cup dried parsley

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt

1 cup green onions, includ-ing tops

Mix all ingredients together.Give each child his/her ownbowl of dip and some freshvegetables for dipping.

What Food am I?

Tape food models orpictures of food to eachchild’s back. The object ofthe game is for each child tofind out what food isattached to their own backby asking “yes” or “no”questions. If a child ishaving trouble, give lots ofhints such as: “Your foodhas lots of Vitamin A” or“Your food is in the fruit/vegetable group.”


Veggie Tasting Game

Here is a game for tastingnew vegetables. Cut thefollowing vegetables intobite-size portions: broccoli,cauliflower, radishes,zucchini, cucumber.

Say riddles for the childrento select vegetables:Taste the vegetable thatlooks like a white flower.(cauliflower)Find the little trees(broccoli).Taste the red rock (radish).Taste the vegetable wheels(zucchini or cucumberslices).Serve with the spinachsurprise dip (recipe onpage 14).

Caution: Young children caneasily choke on raw vegetables,fruits, seeds, nuts, peanutbutter, hot dogs, etc. Do notgive these foods to infants.Closely watch young childrenwhen they eat these foods.

Yogurt Sundaes

Give each child a smallplastic bowl or clean emptymargarine tub and plasticspoon. Set out a bowl ofplain yogurt. Have thechildren help prepare a fruitplate of sliced peaches,strawberries, banana slices,blueberries, crushedpineapple, etc. Each childmakes a sundae byspooning yogurt into thedish and topping it off witha choice of fruits. Granolamay also be added.

Orange Fruit Salad

Give each child one half ofan orange. Help them scoopout the orange sections with aspoon. Set the rinds aside touse as bowls. An adultshould cut the orangesections into bite-sizedpieces. Put them into a bowl.

Let the children use serratedplastic knives and cuttingboards to cut banana andapple slices into chunks,grapes in half and pineappleslices into smaller pieces.Add these fruits to the orangepieces and mix together.Each child fills an orangerind with a scoop of the fruitsalad. Serve with milk.

Frozen Banana Pops

Let each child mash half of aripe banana in a bowl. Scoopthe mashed banana into asmall paper cup and freeze.Children eat the frozenbanana pop by licking the topand peeling off the paper.Serve with graham crackersand milk.

Cheese-Wheat Snacks

7-1/2 cups bite sized shred-ded wheat

5 tablespoons margarine,melted

parmesan cheese, grated

salt

Place shredded wheat in abowl; pour melted margarineon it. Sprinkle with gratedcheese. Add salt to taste.Stir ingredients together andplace on a cookie sheet.Bake for 5 minutes at 350°F.Serve warm or cold. Makes15 (1/2 cup) servings.

Homemade

Applesauce

15 medium apples

6 tablespoons honey*

2 teaspoons cinnamon

water

Core, peel, and chop apples.Boil in 1/2 inch of wateruntil apples are tender. Addhoney and stir. Sprinklewith cinnamon and eat.Makes 15 (1/2 cup)servings.

*Honey should not be given toor used in foods for infantsless than one year of agebecause it can cause infantbotulism.

Banana Crunch Pops

8 ounces yogurt (any flavor)

10 medium bananas, peeledand cut into 3 pieces each

1-1/2 cups granola, crisprice cereal, or Grape Nutscereal

30 wooden popsicle sticks

Place yogurt and cereal inseparate shallow dishes.Insert a wooden stick intoeach banana piece. Rollbanana pieces in yogurtthen in cereal, thoroughlycovering each piece. Placebananas on a baking sheetlined with wax paper. Placein freezer. When frozen,place each banana in aplastic sandwich bag andlabel. Store in freezer. Letbananas stand at roomtemperature for 10 minutesbefore serving. Makes 15servings (2 banana sectionsper child).


Rice Pudding

2 egg whites

1 egg

2-1/2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 325°F. Beategg whites and egg in anungreased 2-1/2 quartcasserole dish. Stir inremaining ingredients.Bake uncovered for 50 to60 minutes, stirring after 30minutes. Remove fromoven when a knife insertedhalfway between the centerand the edge comes outclean. Sprinkle with groundcinnamon. Serve warm orcold. Immediatelyrefrigerate any remainingpudding. Makes about 10(1/2 cup) servings.

Snow Waffles

Toast frozen waffles. Leteach child use cookiecutters to cut a waffle intowintertime shapes(snowmen, trees, etc.).Sprinkle powdered sugar onthe top of the waffle shapes.Serve with cocoa, cider orapple juice.

Macaroni Salad

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup cheese cubes

2 cups cooked elbowmacaroni

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

Wash the vegetables and cutthem into pieces. Cut thecheese into cubes. Add thevegetables and cheese to thecooked macaroni. Add theyogurt and stir to mix well.Makes about 6 (1/2-cup)servings.

Ambrosia Shake

4 ripe bananas, sliced

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla

4 cups milk

Have the children help peelthe bananas. Olderpreschoolers may be able toslice the bananas, using aserrated plastic knife and acutting board. Let thechildren pour theingredients into a blender.Blend until smooth. Makes12 (1/2-cup) servings.

Help build

strong bodies!


Teach

Children

to Eat

Healthfully

As childreneat with

adults, theybecome used toeating healthyfoods. Startinghealthy eatinghabits as

children is a lot easier thantrying to change unhealthfulhabits that have been builtover a lifetime.

Starting children off on alifetime of healthy eatingmeans giving themhealthful food and showingthem good eating behaviors.It also means helpingchildren learn about foods,their bodies, and howchoosing a good diet canhelp people to stay healthy.

Preschool children are at agood age to learn that eatingnutritious foods is part of ahealthy lifestyle. Childrenand adults can eat and enjoyfoods from all food groups.Children like to exploredifferent tastes, textures,colors, and shapes of food.Through this they can learnabout food differences.

Preschool-age children liketo explore the senses that

are developing.They areexcited to doactivities thatstimulate taste,touch, sight,sound, and

smell.

Hear It

Ask the children to closetheir eyes or tie a bandannaover their eyes. Make thefollowing sounds and askthe children to identify thefoods using only their senseof hearing.

eggs breaking

pouring water

crumbling crackers

beating eggs

corn popping

celery crunching

soda water fizzing

Smell It

Place some of the itemsbelow in small containers.Use plastic margarine tubsor empty 35 mm filmcanisters. (Ask parents tosave these for you.) Cut aslit in the lid. Glue smallpictures from magazines ordrawings of each food ontoa piece of paper. Have thechildren take turns smellingthe containers. Ask them tomatch the canister to thecorrect food picture.

tuna vanilla

lemon juice onion

citrus peel cocoa

cloves cinnamon

peanut butter pepper

chili powder

Feel It

Place sturdy foods, such asthe ones listed below, insideclean socks or paper bags.Ask the children to reachinto the sock or bag andidentify the foods by touchonly. You may want to havepictures of the foods pastedonto a sheet of paper. Askthe children to match what’sinside the bag to thepictures. Ask them abouthow the foods feel. Arethey smooth? Bumpy?Fuzzy? Round? Long?Large or small?

dry beans

uncooked rice

dry cereal

flour

raisins

prunes

cornmeal

kiwi

Taste It

Stir the following items intoplain water. Give eachchild four spoons to dip intothe solutions to taste. Askthem which foods tastesalty, sweet, etc.

salt (salty)

white vinegar (sour)

sugar (sweet)

unsweetened grapefruitjuice (bitter)

S e n s o r y


Vegetable Rainbow

Have the children washtheir hands. Let thechildren wash a rainbow ofvegetables including redcherry tomatoes; orangecarrots; yellow, red, andgreen peppers; green celeryand broccoli; and purplecabbage. An adult shoulddo any cutting and slicing.Arrange the vegetables in arainbow pattern on a largeplatter or cookie sheet.Encourage each child totaste every color of therainbow.

Make a simple vegetabledip by combining cottagecheese and ranch dressing.Mix to taste. Give eachchild his or her own servingof dip in a small cup orbowl.

Mixing Foods by

Hand

Mix a batch of peanut buttercookies and a batch ofoatmeal cookies. Askchildren to wash their handsso they can mix theingredients together withtheir hands. Discuss thedifference in textures. Forexample, oatmeal is moregrainy and firm while thepeanut butter is soft andsmooth. If your recipe hasraw eggs, do not let childrentaste the batter.

Nutrition Lesson—mentionthat peanut butter is in themeat group while oatmeal isin the grain group. Bothwould be good for a snackfood.

Favorite Family

Foods

Invite parents to share theways that they prepare theirhomes and families forholidays or specialoccasions. Special foods,decorations, traditions andclothing could beincorporated into thehousekeeping area.

Many recipes are passedfrom generation togeneration. Talk with thechildren and their parentsabout the special recipes/foods in their families. Arethe recipes the same ordifferent from other familiesin your day care?

Ask parents to bring in arecipe or a sample to tasteso everyone at day care cantry special foods from eachfamily. Some foods thatlook different have similartastes and some foods tastedifferent but look the same.Talk about them and samplethem.

Table Talk

Another way to point outtexture and other sensoryvariations is to playguessing games at the table.Ask the children,“What do you haveon your plate thatis crunchy?” (acarrot) What isred andslippery?”(jello) “Canyou think ofthe only trueblue food?” (ablueberry).

Scoop Out a Pumpkin

Each child should have aspoon, a large dish forpumpkin pulp, and a papercup for seeds. Separate thepulp from the seeds anddiscuss the texture ofpumpkin. Use the pulp tomake pumpkin pies, bread,muffins, or cookies for thechildren to sample. Roastor fry the pumpkin seeds inoil and salt for a snack.

Nutrition Lesson— placethe food used in this activityinto its food group:pumpkin pulp is in thevegetable group. For olderchildren, mention thatpumpkin is one of the darkyellow vegetables thatshould be included in theirdiet several times a week.Pumpkin seeds are in themeat group.

Finger Lickin’ Snacks

Plan a snack or a meal thatcan be eaten with thefingers. Nuts, crackers,fruits, and vegetables areeasy. Be brave andexperiment with peanutbutter, yogurt, and otherfoods that are normallyeaten with a utensil. Besure the children have cleanhands before they start thisactivity. Use spoons in theserving bowls. As they eat,talk with the children abouthow foods feel.



How Do You Like

Your Carrots?

Prepare cooked, raw, andfrozen carrots. Dice ormash the cooked carrots.Don’t add salt, butter, orspices. Serve raw carrots insticks or rounds. Slice thefrozen carrots into thinsticks or rounds.

Invite the children to tasteeach of the different ways toprepare carrots. Ask themwhich they like the best andwhy. Try serving otherfoods, such as potatoes,eggs, green beans, spinach,and apples in several ways.


Touch and Size

Blindfold older children.Younger children mayprefer just to close theireyes. Give children severaldifferent sizes of driedbeans, uncooked pasta, ornuts. Pick foods with anaroma so children canidentify foods by the waythey smell or feel. Askchildren to sort the foods bysmell or by size: smallfoods together, mediumtogether and large.

Nutrition Lesson—discussthe foods used for thisactivity. This might becomea math activity by comparingwhich foods are bigger orsmaller than others or bycounting the number of foodsused in the activity.

Spice Traders

Children will often refuse toeat spicy foods. A good timeto talk with them aboutspices is when you talk aboutfoods from other countries.Pop some popcorn. Divide itinto separate bowls. Sprinkleeach bowl of popcorn with adifferent spice or herb.Onion, garlic, and seasonedsalt are especially tasty, butyou can try cinnamon,nutmeg, oregano and others,too.

Cooking MeansChanges

You will need 4 eggs for thisactivity. Boil water in asaucepan. Number the eggs1, 2, 3, and 4 by writing onthe shells with a waterproof,permanent marker. Place allthe eggs into the pan ofboiling water.

Remove egg #1 after 1minute. Remove egg #2 after3 minutes, egg #3 after 5minutes, and egg #4 after 10minutes. Crack each egg intoa different bowl to show thedifference in cooking timeson the eggs. Explain thatcooking and heat also helpkill many germs.

Make certain that no child eatsthe eggs used in this activity.

More aboutTemperature

1. Freeze different shapes ofice cubes. Why did the waterturn hard?

2. Boil water and watch thesteam. When we see steamrising, what is happening?

3. Melt the ice cubes to showchildren how temperaturecan change foods.

Eating Colors

1. Serve the same food indifferent colors, such asred, green and yellowapples. Ask thechildren if the differentcolors of apples tastethe same or different.

2. Serve different foodsthat are the same color,such as oranges, carrotsand cantaloupe. Howare these foods thesame? How are thesefoods different?

3. Serve different foodsthat are different colors,such as red apples,orange oranges, purpleplums, yellow bananas.How are these foods thesame? How are theydifferent?


Natural Dyes

This is a messy activity butvery interesting. (Youmight want to do thisoutdoors in thesummertime.) Choosesome colorful berries, fruits,or vegetables, such asgrapes, walnuts, grass,beets, onions. Place thefood in a saucepan. (Use aseparate pan for each food).Add water, cover, and bringto a boil. Allow to simmerfor 1/2 hour. Remove thefood from the pan with aslotted spoon or pour into acolander or strainer. Besure to save the liquid.Allow the liquid to cool.

Set out the pans of coolliquid. Give the childrensmall pieces of white cloth(pieces of old sheets aregreat). Let them dip thepieces of cloth into the pansof liquid. See if they canguess which foods madeeach dye.

In many parts of the world,natural dyes are still usedfor dying clothing. Youmay want to ask parents tobring a white t-shirt for thechildren to dye or let themdye fabric to make curtainsfor the classroom. Also, trydying a peeled cooked eggin beet juice!

Nutrition Lesson—selectsome of the foods used fordyes for a snack. A lessonon color can be taught withthis activity, for example,mixing blue and yellow toget green.

Dried Apple Rings

(older children can help tomake this recipe)

1/2 apple per child

1 part lemon juice

4 parts water

Wash, peel, and core apples.Slice into 1/8" thick rings.Mix lemon juice and waterin a bowl. Dip apple ringsin lemon-water mixture.String rings on a clean,strong thread. Don’t letrings touch each other. Letrings hang until fruit isdried.

Talk about Favorite

Snacks

Help the children writedown a list of their favoritesnacks. Make up a list ofcategories such as the oneslisted below. Talk with thechildren about which snacksbelong in each category.

– baked in the oven

– comes out of therefrigerator

– comes out of a box

– grows on a farm

– tastes sweet

– tastes salty

Juicy Finger Blocks

3 envelopes unflavoredgelatin

3/4 cup boiling water

1 can (12 oz.) frozen apple,orange, grape, or otherjuice concentrate

Dissolve gelatin in boilingwater. Add juice and stiruntil mixed. Pour into alightly greased 9"x13"pan. Chill in therefrigerator until firm(about 2 hours). Cut intosquares or use cookiecutters to make shapes.Store in an airtightcontainer in therefrigerator.

Sweet Carrot Sticks

Cut raw carrots into sticks.Place in a container and pourin unsweetened pineapplejuice to cover. Chill for anhour or more before serving.



Fruit Leather

2 cups fully ripened fruit(do not use bananas orcitrus fruit)

2 tablespoons honey orsugar

Optional: a combination ofany of the following season-ings to equal 1 tablespoon:ground cinnamon, nutmeg,lemon or orange peel and/or cloves.

Wash fruit well (don’tremove edible peels). Cutinto large chunks. Put fruitin blender with honey orsugar. Add desiredseasonings. Blend for 15seconds.

Cover baking sheet withplastic wrap (mixtureshould not leak under thewrap). Spoon individualservings of the fruit mixtureonto plastic wrap (fruitshould be about 1/8" thick).Set on sunny window sillfor approximately 12 hoursuntil firm and not sticky(cover with a nylon net ifbugs are a problem) OR putin oven at 150°F with doorajar for 4 hours.

Fruit leather can be frozenor stored in a sealedcontainer for 6 months to 1year.

Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking power

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whole-wheat orgraham flour

1 egg



1/4 cup milk

1 banana, sliced

Sift together all-purposeflour, baking powder andsalt. Stir in whole wheat orgraham flour. Blend egg,apple juice concentrate, oil,milk, and banana in ablender. Combine dry andliquid ingredients. Spooninto greased or lined muffincups. Bake at 400°F for 20to 25 minutes. Makes 12muffins.

Variations:Fruit MuffinsAdd 1 cup chopped fresh orcanned fruit to the muffinmix before filling muffincups. Peaches orblueberries are especiallydelicious!

Bran MuffinsSubstitute 2 cups branflakes for the whole-wheator graham flour.

Purple Cow

1/4 cup unsweetened grapejuice

1 cup milk

1 banana, sliced

Mix all ingredients togetherin a blender. Makes 4 to 6small servings.

Pink Deviled Eggs

4 eggs

1 small can beets

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon preparedmustard

Hard cook eggs. Cool andremove shells. Cut eggs inhalf lengthwise and scoopout yolks into a small bowl.Pour juice from the can ofbeets into a cup. Soak eachegg white half in the beetjuice for 1 minute. (Theegg whites will not tastelike beets.) Remove eggwhites and drain on a papertowel. Mix egg yolks withmayonnaise and mustard.Fill the pink egg halveswith the yellow deviled eggmixture. Makes 8 deviledeggs.

Iron-a-Sandwich

Prepare cheese sandwichesas you would for grilling.Butter the outsides of eachslice of bread. Wrap thesandwiches in aluminumfoil. Iron the sides of eachsandwich with a warm ironfor 1 or 2 minutes on eachside. This is a fun snack fora rainy day.


Golden Gelatin Eggs

3 cups unsweetened applejuice, divided

2 envelopes unflavoredgelatin

diced fruit (optional)

lettuce

10 plastic eggs

Wash plastic eggs. Allow todry. Bring 1 cup of the applejuice to a boil in a saucepan.Empty 1 envelope of gelatininto a bowl and pour in thehot apple juice. Stir untilgelatin is dissolved. Add 1/2cup cold apple juice and stir.

Place the top halves of 10plastic eggs in a thoroughlywashed empty plastic eggcarton. If desired, spoon asmall amount of diced fruitinto each egg half. Fill theegg halves with the gelatinmixture. Carefully placethe egg carton in therefrigerator. Chill for about2 hours or until the gelatinhas set.

Make another batch ofapple juice gelatin. Holdone egg bottom in yourhand and fill it with gelatin.Place an egg top over theegg bottom. Secure the twohalves tightly. Place theegg, top half down, in theegg carton. Return eggs tothe refrigerator. Allowgelatin to set for about 2more hours.

To unmold, place each eggin hot water for 1 minute.Carefully remove the plasticeggs. Place each goldenegg on a bed of lettuce on asmall plate. Makes 10gelatin eggs.

Rounds

Slice carrots, cucumbersand zucchini into rounds.Let the children spreadthem with cream cheese,peanut butter, egg salad, etc.

Caution: Young children caneasily choke on rawvegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts,peanut butter, hot dogs, etc.Do not give these foods toinfants. Closely watch youngchildren when they eat thesefoods.

Celery Vehicles

Wash celery stalks.Cut each stalk intopieces (2-3 inchlong). Fill thecenter of eachpiece with peanutbutter or egg salad.

It’s easy to turn filledcelery pieces intotransportation snacks.Hook two togetherwith toothpicks to makean outrigger. Add a papersail to one to make asailboat. Attach carrotwheels to the sides ofanother with toothpicks tomake a racing car.

Peanut Butter

Have the children help youto shell a package of roastedunsalted peanuts. Grind thepeanuts in a food grinder.Mix the ground peanutmixture with softenedmargarine. Add salt totaste. Spread the peanutbutter onto crackers.

For a special treat spreadthe peanut butter on whole-wheat toast and top withwarm applesauce.

Peach Yogurt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup diced peaches


Mix all ingredients togetherin a blender. Spoon intocups. Makes 6 to 8 smallservings.

Grape Punch

5 cups unsweetened grapejuice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon unsweet-ened orange juiceconcentrate

1 cup water

Ice cubes

Orange slices

Stir first 4 ingredientstogether. Pour into glassesover ice cubes and garnishwith orange slices. Makes24 small servings.

Celery Logs

Mix equal portions of gratedcarrots, peanut butter andcrumbled spoon-sizedshredded wheat. Pressmixture into celery stalks, cutinto 2-3 inch long pieces.

Cheese Toast

Lightly toast slices of bread.Put bread slices on a cookiesheet and cover withshredded Cheddar cheese.If desired, sprinkle onsesame seeds or sunflowerseeds. Broil until cheese ismelted. Cut each slice into3 sections.


Crunchy Critter

Cookies

1 cup mixed nuts

1/2 cup dried mixed fruit

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla


3 cups rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Chop nuts in a blender andput them into a large bowl.Then chop dried fruit in theblender and add it to the nutmixture. Add bananas,vanilla, vegetable oil, rolledoats, salt and cinnamon.Stir ingredients thoroughly.Let stand a few minutes foroats to absorb moisture.Place spoonfuls of thedough on an ungreasedcookie sheet and flatteneach one with a fork. Bakefor 20 minutes at 350oF.Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Caution: Young children caneasily choke on rawvegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts,peanut butter, hot dogs, etc.Do not give these foods toinfants. Closely watch youngchildren when they eat thesefoods.

Shopping Spree

Save clean leftover foodcontainers with the labelsuntil there are enough forthe children to play store.Separate food packagesaccording to the foodgroups. Combine them indifferent ways to plan mealsfor a day.

Peach Crisp

4 to 5 fresh peaches

1 cup nut-like cereal


1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon margarine

milk (optional)

Peel and dice peaches.Place in a greased pie pan.Stir in cereal, apple juiceconcentrate and cinnamon.Top with dabs of themargarine. Bake at 350°Ffor 25 minutes. Servewarm, plain, or with milk.Try topping it with PeachYogurt (see recipe on page22). Makes 10 to 12 smallservings.

Watermelon Popsicles

1 cup seedless watermelonchunks

1 cup unsweetened orangejuice

1 cup water

Blend all ingredientstogether in a blender. Pourinto small paper cups.Place in freezer. Whenpartially frozen, insertpopsicle sticks or smallplastic spoons for handles.Freeze until solid. Unmoldby running hot water overbottoms of cups for a fewseconds.

Grocery Helpers

Ask the children to help putgroceries away. Talk withthe children about foods.Compare them by color,shape, texture, and taste.

Toasted Sunflower

Seeds

Shell raw sunflower seeds.Place seeds on a cookiesheet. Spray them withnonstick vegetable cookingspray or sprinkle them with asmall amount of vegetableoil. Stir and spread them outevenly. Bake at 300°F untilcrispy, about 25 minutes.Add salt if desired.


Guess the Food

Put three or four favoritefoods on each child’s plate.Have the children pick onefood out and put it in yourhand or mouth while youcover your eyes. You try toguess by touch or tastewhich food it is. Thenswitch roles, and let eachchild try to guess.

How Bodies Grow

Trace each child’s bodyshape on a large piece ofpaper. Cut out the shape andcolor it to look like the child.Cut out pictures of food frommagazines. Paste thepictures on the body cutout.Talk about how food helpsthe body grow. Ask thechildren if their bodies arethe same size and shape.Compare the cutout to yourbody size. Explain thatbodies grow in differentshapes, and sizes, and atdifferent rates. Ask parentsto bring in a baby picture ofeach child. Discuss how thechildren have grown.


Food Makes BodiesGrow

Make or buy a growth poster.Along the unruled edge,paste pictures of food or havethe children draw pictures offoods. Talk about howimportant food is to growth.Show them how their heightincreases with age.

Fruit Dip

1/2 cup plain yogurt

ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsweetenedfrozen orange juice concen-trate

fresh fruit, such as apples,peaches, oranges, bananas,berries, pears

Have the children help youto wash the fruit. An adultshould cut the washed fruitinto finger size pieces (besure the pieces are smallenough so children won’tchoke).

Have the children mix theorange juice and yogurt in asmall bowl. Let themsprinkle some cinnamon ontop.

Give each child his or herown small bowl of yogurtdip. Have each child spoonfruit onto a small plate, thendip the fruit pieces into theyogurt dip and enjoy.

Nutrition Lesson—whileeating and preparing thefood, talk about thedifferent colors, tastes, andshapes of the fruit andyogurt mixture. Tell thechildren that yogurt is madefrom milk, so it has calciumthat helps make strongbones and teeth.

Pets Grow too

Talk about the family pet, orthe children’s pets. Discussthe importance of giving apet food and water every dayto help it grow and keep ithealthy.

Potato Sampler

Give each child a potato toscrub. Cut one clean rawpotato into slices. Let eachchild feel, smell and taste aslice of raw potato.

Place another potato into asaucepan. Add water andsimmer until tender. Or bakea raw potato until tender.

Peel remaining potatoes.Place in a saucepan withwater and cook until they aresoft enough to mash. Havechildren take turns using ahand masher to mash thecooked potatoes. Let onechild pour milk into thepotatoes, another addmargarine, and another put ina dash of salt. Have thechildren take turns mixing.

Allow each child to take asmall portion of the boiled orbaked potato and a portion ofthe mashed potato. Talk withthe children about thechanges in taste and textureof the potato from when itwas raw to cooked tomashed.

Books and Stories

about Food

Select children’s books andstories that talk about foodor make up your ownstories about food andhealth. Preschoolers likeanimals and other childrenas characters. Ask thechildren questions about thestory. Avoid books thatencourage inappropriatefood uses - reward,punishment or toys.

Peanutty Burrito

Rolls

2 cans (16 ounces each)diced peaches in juice*

1-1/4 cups peanut butter

10 (6-inch) whole grain orenriched flour tortillas**

Drain peaches. Spread 4tablespoons peanut butterequally over one side ofeach tortilla, covering theentire surface evenly.Divide peaches evenlybetween tortillas. Roll up,tucking in sides, to form aburrito. Cut each roll in halfto serve. Makes 20 servings(1 burrito equals 2 servings.)

* Also try shredded carrotsor shredded apples insteadof peaches.

** Use the soft tortillashells that are sold in thedairy case. They can berolled without preheating ifthey are left out of therefrigerator for about onehour.


Vegetable Soup

Read the book Stone Soupby A. McGovernor. Makingvegetable soup is a funcooking activity to use witha number of stories. (PeterRabbit is another favorite.)Talk with the children aboutthe textures tastes, and howthe vegetables look.

You’ll need 1 cup of eachvegetable:

potatoes

celery

green peppers

carrots

2 cups water

2 cups tomato juice

Have the children help youwash the vegetables. Anadult should cut thevegetables into smallpieces. Place vegetables ina pot with water and tomatojuice. Bring ingredients to aboil and reduce heat.Simmer for 15 minutes.

This recipe makesapproximately 12 1/2-cupservings of vegetables.

Frozen Waffle Treat

1 12-ounce box (48 frozenmini-waffles each)

8 ounces fruitflavored yogurt

Have each childuse crayons todecorate his orher own plastic

sandwich bag.

Spread yogurt onone waffle. Use justenough yogurt tocover the top of 24waffles (about 2

teaspoons per waffle).Top each waffle withanother waffle, making asandwich. Place waffles

in decoratedsandwich bags.

Freezeuntilfirm.

Makes 24mini-wafflesandwiches.

Glazed Carrot Wheels

Read Ruth Krauss’s bookThe Carrot Seed before andafter you do this activity.

1-1/2 pounds carrots

2 tablespoons margarine

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup water

Scrape and slice carrots.Melt margarine in anelectric skillet or saucepan.Mix water and honey. Pourinto the skillet or saucepan.Add carrots, cover, andcook on low heat, stirringoccasionally until tender.

This recipe makes about 161/4-cup servings ofvegetables.

Note: Where trade namesappear, no discriminationis intended, and noendorsement by thePenn State College ofAgricultural Sciences isimplied.


The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs,facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, orqualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. The Pennsylvania State University doesnot discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religiouscreed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to theAffirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Willard Building, University Park, PA 16802-2801;Tel (814) 865-4700/V, (814) 863-1150/TTY.

College of Agricultural SciencesCooperative Extension

This publication is available in alternative media on request.

This program is brought to you byPenn State Cooperative Extensionand supported by funds from the

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare,KURC Training Program.

B E T T E RK I D • C A R E

Project DirectorJames E. Van Horn

•Project Associate

Lyn Horning•

Workbook LayoutJane White

•Written by

Madeleine Sigman-Grant

101+ Snack Time - NSCR · Recipes Pilgrim Pudding ... Indian Corn Pudding ... 3 101+ Snack Time...

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Transcript of 101+ Snack Time - NSCR · Recipes Pilgrim Pudding ... Indian Corn Pudding ... 3 101+ Snack Time...