The Coolest Way to Eat Your Greens! Frozen Greensicles

These Greensicles get their vibrant green color from spinach. Including spinach in a popsicle (or smoothie) adds vitamins A and C as well as potassium and magnesium. Making this easy recipe along with kids is fun and will help get them comfortable cooking with and eating greens. For extra fun make up your own name for the greensicles (hulksicles, grasshoppersicles, greenmonstersicles). 

Frozen Greensicles Recipe

Yield: This recipe makes 4 greensicles
Prep time: 5 minutes
Freeze time: 5 hours (or a bit longer depending on your freezer)

Ingredients:
½ cup spinach or other greens
½ cup pineapple (frozen, canned or fresh)
½ cup milk (dairy or dairy free)
½  cup yogurt (dairy or dairy free)
1 banana (frozen or fresh)

Tools:
Blender*
Popsicle molds**

 Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend mixture until it is smooth and creamy and there are no large chunks of spinach left. If your smoothie is too thick add some extra milk, yogurt or water and blend some more. Ask an adult to assist when working with a bender and food processor.

2. Pour mixture into popsicle molds

3. Freeze for 5 hours or until frozen

4. Release popsicles from the molds and enjoy 

Modifications: 
You can add any fruit you have on hand to your greensicle recipe. Some fruits like blueberries will taste great and also change the color of your greensicle. Have fun experimenting with different flavor and color combos.

*If you don’t have a blender you can use a food processor or put all the ingredients in a zipper bag and smush the mixture with your hands (chop the spinach a fine as possible if you are using this method).

**If you don't have popsicle molds you can freeze this mixture in an empty yogurt container and eat it with a spoon like ice cream or “icegreen”.

Cooking Something New in the Kitchen: A Recipe for Learning

If you are like me, you have a few things you regularly cook with your kids. For our family, it is a trusted recipe for double chocolate muffins with banana and zucchini. The recipe is easy, reasonably healthy, and everyone likes it, so we make it often. When I think of cooking with kids I almost always think of things I am familiar with and that also produce a sweet and tasty result (like my chocolate zucchini muffins). 

This year, I have been challenging myself to move away from my comfort zone and try cooking some new things with my kid that aren't so familiar. Things that are new to us both. We have made cranberry sauce, beet hummus, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, and homemade tomato soup to name a few. All things that I have never made before. The results have been predictable; some failures, some success, and plenty of learning. In many cases the cooking process and technique was so much different from the things we usually cook that we couldn’t help but learn (A LOT) along the way. We did research, learned how to use a kitchen scale, tried to understand fermentation and asked friends and family for advice. During this process it occurred to me that the skills required to learn to cook something new (researching, problem solving, resourcefulness) will be pretty useful for my kid as she grows up (probably more useful than the ability to make one recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins). With this in mind over the summer we are planning to continue to cook some new things...and probably some more chocolate zucchini muffins (because they are really very tasty). Next up is fresh pasta…wish us luck!

Want to Cook Something New Together? Here are some tips: 

Decide what you will make together:

• Look in magazines or online for inspiration 

• Pick an item from your heritage and call a family member to ask for the recipe

• Think of what you might order-in and find a similar recipe that you can make at home. 

Research, explore, and prepare together:

• Watch some videos together (we watched someone make sourdough on Youtube about 6 times before we felt ready to try it)

• Ask friends and family for tips (you probably know someone that knows how to cook what you are cooking)

• Explore any concepts that are new to you both, this might be the origin of the dish, cooking techniques or terms

Take some notes:

• Write out the recipe to make sure you all understand the steps

• Take some notes for next time you make the recipe (ie. turn down oven temperature, too dry,  yummy)

Anticipate some bumps:

• It might come out perfect the first time….and it might not. Be prepared to fail(ish) and try again if you like

Have fun cooking something new! 

Getting Back to our Roots with Food Traditions: Part 4

We hope you enjoy this food tradition from the home of Amanda, our Program Manager.

Every year for the past 5 years, during the first week of January, my partner and I have hosted a large Ukrainian Christmas Dinner for as many of our friends as we are physically able to fit in our little home. It has become quite the event, not just for us but for those of our guests who look forward to it and come each year. We spend two days preparing everything using the knowledge and skills my Mom and my Grandma taught me and from my exploring of a cookbook I have inherited from my Grandma with traditional Ukranian recipes, in which she has of course, added her own notes and corrections in the margins. There is only one rule for guests that are attending this feast, no one is allowed to bring anything but their appetites- it is a full meal prepared and cooked by us for them and there is no shortage of food or drink to go around. 

The menu keeps expanding as I explore more traditional Ukrainian foods and recipes but every year the meal always includes:

Kutia - a sweet wheat dish that is central to a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner

Borsch - a bright red beet soup 

Varenyky (pierogies) - a Ukrainian dumpling filled with either potato, cottage cheese, plum, sauerkraut, poppy seeds, berries, or raisins (we typically make a cheese, caramelized onion and potato filling)

Holubtsi (cabbage rolls) - Boiled cabbage leaves filled with rice or beans, mushrooms, and onions. My family usually added ground beef or pork when I was growing up but traditionally these were vegetarian at least for Christmas Eve dinner when no meat was to be eaten.

Nalysnyky - a sweet crepe filled with cottage cheese and dill ( and one of my favourite dishes!)

Kolach - a beautiful braided sweet bread with a crispy crust

Pickled vegetables

Sauerkraut

This is a new tradition that we have started and made as our own. It’s been a way for me to explore more of my Ukrainian heritage through food and hosting the meal really comes from the tradition I grew up with of feeding others and, of course, a love and appreciation of handmade, from-scratch Ukrainian food. Growing up, pierogies and cabbage rolls were always an inclusion at every holiday dinner. Christmas. Easter. Thanksgiving. It didn’t matter if there was a turkey or a ham (or both), it didn't matter how many sides were a part of the meal, there were always pierogies and cabbage rolls somewhere on the table and it was usually one of the first dishes of the meal that was eaten.  

There is something very special about feeding others and it was always something my family was always happy to do. My Grandma always had a fresh made pot of borsch for me whenever I visited. It was about a six hour drive to where she lived and no matter what time I got in at, there was always food that she had made just for me waiting. As soon as I got in the door I could smell the sweet beet aroma from the pot on the stove and after hugs and general greetings she would usher me to the table (usually commenting I was too skinny and needed to eat more) and put a full steaming hot bowl of her borsch down in front of me. This feeding others and hosting friends was a tradition in my home growing up as well. My sister and I were always able to invite friends to join for dinners, especially during holidays when I was in university and many of my friends were far from their own families. They were always invited and welcome at our table.   

Hosting a gathering of our friends and providing them with a hearty meal is how I have chosen to carry on these traditions and making it entirely out of those Ukrainian dishes I grew up with is my own way of exploring and staying connected to my family’s heritage. It isn’t necessarily difficult food to make, but it is time and labour-intensive with many steps involved, and the making of pierogies and cabbage rolls in particular is always a collaborative effort. I still like to help my mom fill and roll the cabbage leaves whenever I am home and she is making them. 

For me, food is meant to be shared with others, including the experience of making it. This is a tradition my partner and I carry on as we set aside a weekend to spend together preparing these dishes to host our annual dinner, stock our freezer, or prepare the dishes to deliver to friends. Even after a few years of making them, we continue to refine our pierogi pinching and cabbage rolling skills, I still do not know how my Grandma got her cabbage rolls so neatly and tightly wrapped. We like to play around a little with the filling recipes, but I definitely stick pretty close to the recipes from my Grandma, as being able to make these foods helps me continue to feel connected to her since her passing.

How to Cook… with Kids!

When I think of cooking with kids, I automatically envision making a cake with my kiddo when she was a toddler (flour everywhere, sticky hands, big smiles, big mess). Anyone who has cooked with kids knows it can be an adventure. If cooking with kids is on your “want-to-do list” in the coming weeks, here are a few tips to maximize the fun and learning!

Growing Chefs! staff member Afton Bell, and her daughter, Penny

Make a plan:

Before you invite kids to cook with you, take a few minutes to make a plan. Decide what tasks are safe (and fun) for kids or how tasks can be modified to suit a child better. For example, a kid can break up green beans by hand instead of using a knife. You know the kids best – pick tasks that suit their age, maturity, and abilities. You can change it up as you go, but a plan it's a good place to start.

Pick your tools:

Select kitchen tools that are the correct size and weight (hint… don’t let kids use your largest kitchen knife). A stool (to stand on) or a small table (to stand at) can be really helpful to ensure that younger children are able to work comfortably and safely. 

Talk about safety:

Talk with kids about safety; including what is hot and sharp and any items that may be off-limits. Chat with kids about how being calm and respectful in the kitchen is essential. If anything feels unsafe; modify or stop the activity. Remember to talk about (and practice) frequent hand-washing. 

Stay in the moment:

Now is not the time to multi-task. Pay attention to what the kids are doing – this will keep things safe and on track. Plus, staying present will be more meaningful for both you and the kids.

It doesn’t have to be Instagram-worthy:

Involve kids in the making of day-to-day (not so Instagram-worthy items). Making toast, opening a can of beans, and scrambling an egg are great basic lessons. These simple meals require almost no prep or pre-planning and still teach valuable skills. 

Expect some spills and embrace the adventure:

Little hands are very capable, but their dexterity and enthusiasm are not always the same as an adult. Expect some muffin batter to land outside the muffin cups and some ingredients to end up in their tummy. Try to enjoy the imperfect perfection of something created by a kid and allow kids (and yourself) to taste, experiment, and create; it is all part of the adventure! 

Have Fun and Enjoy!

Penny, Age 7

Our classes are cooking!

It is our fifth year of delivering our Intermediate fall Classroom Gardening and Cooking Program in the Metro Vancouver area and our first ever year bringing our fall program to Victoria.

This fall, thanks to our amazing team of 75 chef volunteers, we were able to reach over 450 kids in 21 schools:

• 18 Metro Vancouver schools

• three Victoria schools

Our program is very nearly complete, but here’s a sneak peek into what these classes have been up to:

Students are thrilled to meet the chefs when we first arrive in the classroom. The chefs tell them together we will be planting seeds, tasting new foods, and doing some cooking all right in their classroom.

Our lessons begin with students tasting fresh herbs and then designing their own science experiments to learn more about how plants grow. There is a shuffling in each classroom as students eagerly gather into groups, each led by a chef, where they thoughtfully discuss what plants need to grow and how to design their experiment, all while still munching on fresh dill, basil, and mint leaves. Some beans are planted in pots that get full sun while others are hidden away in a cupboard. Some are watered daily while others watered only once a week, and some not at all. Some plants are spoken too, some are sung to, some are watered with sugar water, some have salt or food dye added to their regular water… all experiments designed by students eager to see what happens as their plants grow.

Of course, not everything can be grown all year round, which means the fall is the perfect time to talk about local food, seasonal eating, food miles, and food preservation methods. Our amazing volunteer teams brought in some great examples from their kitchens of foods they preserve. After, our students got to roll up their sleeves and give it a try themselves preparing their own pickled vegetables right in the classroom.

In just a week’s time, we are able to enjoy our delicious pickles as a part fo our healthy snack lesson where students learn about the new Canada Food Guide and explore the artistic side of the culinary arts creating beautiful little canapé snacks, that also happen to be healthy!

Throughout the program, students have been learning recipe planning, flavour profiles, and plating all while practicing their knife and kitchen skills. At the fifth lesson, students’ faces light up as the chefs explain to them that today they will be putting all these skills together to work in teams and design their very own stir fry recipe, which they will be responsible for prepping, cooking, and plating next lesson. The students get right to work in their groups to carefully design and layout their recipes, trying out different flavour combinations of the various vegetables, sauces, herbs, and seasonings the chefs have brought them.

What tasty creations will these young chefs come up with?! We’ll just have to wait and see at our stir fry cooking showcase in the classroom next week!

The 2018/19 School Year

School’s out for summer and that’s a wrap on our 2018/19 program year, once again our biggest program year to date.

We are very excited to share that thanks to 249 volunteers we were able to bring our Classroom Gardening and Cooking Program to 73 classrooms across 13 school districts in B.C. That’s over 1,600 kids learning to grow and cook healthy food!

Every classroom starts our program by planting seeds to start their own indoor windowsill garden. Students then observe and care for their gardens over the course of our three months in their classroom until it is time for us to harvest and cook with what we’ve grown.

As the gardens grow, our chefs introduce kids to new and interesting vegetables, encouraging them to explore new flavours. Our participating teachers observed their students become more willing and interested in trying new foods throughout the course of the program in their classrooms.

Students also learn about nutrition, how foods affects our bodies, and the importance of eating healthy. Entire classrooms would go crazy for second and third helpings of salad made from spinach after hearing how it helps make them stronger. A grade 2 student from one of our classrooms at Van Horne Elementary has even made a habit of showing his teacher the healthy snacks he brings in his lunch every day after their class participated in our healthy salad making lesson.

Every Growing Chefs! lesson involves eating and tasting but no lesson is more exciting for students, teachers, and volunteers alike than our stir fry cooking lesson. Students excitedly sit in their chairs as they watch our chefs go over how to use a knife and demonstrate their knife skills. A grade one class at Tecumseh Elementary even broke out into a chorus of “oo’s and ah’s” as our chef demonstrated how to core and slice a green pepper.

Together students harvest our gardens, washing and laying out all their vegetables, and prepping everything working together in teams. As we start cooking, a murmur of exclamations about the aromas and sounds coming from our sizzling woks starts to spread throughout the group until they cannot contain their enthusiasm and everyone begins talking about how hungry and excited to eat they are.

Servings are dished out and chefs, students, teachers, and even some guests sit down together to enjoy the product of their labours. Seeing the thoughtfulness and pride students take in their creation and participation in our classroom “kitchens” confirms that we have planted the seeds to creating lifelong healthy eaters.

We are so grateful to all of our volunteers and supporters who helped us make this year a success! The impacts you have helped us made are huge:

• 81% of teachers surveyed agree they saw an improvement in healthy eating habits and healthy food included in student lunches and snacks.

• 98% of teachers surveyed agree their students’ knowledge about where food comes from and sustainable food systems improved through our program.

• 100% of teachers surveyed agree that the Growing Chefs! Program improved students willingness to try new foods.