KidFit Online

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup instant oatmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 Tbsp margarine
• 4 Granny Smith apples
• 2 cups vanilla nonfat frozen yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
3. In a bowl, thoroughly combine the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and margarine.
4. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.
5. Spread the apple slices evenly over the surface of the baking pan.
6. Sprinkle the oatmeal-flour mixture over the apples.
7. Bake in the preheated over for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.
8. Serve warm, topping each serving with 1/4 cup frozen yogurt.

For more information visit Mama’s Health.

Before you start to cook:-

Wash you hands- Scrub them clean so that no germs are around to get on to the food. Wash them after you handle food as well.

Tie back long hair- There is nothing worse than finding a hair in the soup! You could always get yourself a kids chef hat. Tuck up long sleeves as they can waft into the food or worse still catch fire when near the cooker.

Put on a clean apron- it’s easier to wash than clothes if it gets dirty, and more hygienic.

While Cooking :-

Never touch Gas Flames or Electric Elements. Never touch any electric equipment with wet hands.

Always use oven gloves, or a thick cloth to take hot dishes from the oven.

Turn saucepan handles in so that they don’t stick out over the edge of the cooker, or else they could easily be knocked over. Hold the handle if you are stirring the contents of the pan.

Never leave a frying pan unattended.

Keep raw food away from cooked food.  Be aware that also goes for dishes being used in the kitchen.  Never reuse a plate or dish that was holding raw food.  Clean the dish thoroughly.

Mop up anything that spills on the floor as soon as it happens as you may have a serious accident.

Tidy up as you go along, for instance if you are waiting for something to cook before adding the next ingredient, use the time to tidy the kitchen- it saves having to do it all at the end.

After Cooking:-

Store foods either hot or cold.  The bacteria that causes food poisoning grows quickest when it is warm.

Make certain all the gas or electricity is turned off.

Wash and dry all the utensils used and put them away. Put away all the packets of food. Clean all the surfaces. Leave the kitchen tidy.

Print a kitchen safety chart from Kids Cooking Activities here.

For more information go to Get Your Kids Cooking.

Kids love to cook and want to help in the kitchen. When they are young they pretend to cook in the kitchen, make mud pies in the sandbox, and what kid hasn’t made bubble cakes in the bath tub?  Kids do cooking activities all the time!

Sharing your kitchen can be the first step to a healthy lifestyle for your child by teaching them nutrition and fitness.  Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to get kids in the kitchen!  Not only will their self esteem increase, but they will learn time management, measurements, reading and team work.

Here are 10 reasons why you should do cooking activities with your children.

1. Learning to cook helps kids to learn about nutrition and healthy eating. They are growing up with fast food and junk food at their fingertips, which is part of the reason why child obesity is on the rise! Teaching kids to cook will help instill skills to last them a lifetime.
2. Boost their self esteem. If your child needs a boost of self confidence, (and who doesn’t!) cooking in the kitchen will do just that. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important and contributing to the family.
3. Create family time and bonding. Take time to cook with your kids and they will have memories that they, in turn, can pass on to their families. It may take a longer time to get the meal or snack done but the moments with your children will be priceless. (Just remember to have patience. Don’t worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk).
4. Kids will be more apt to eat what they make. Perhaps, it is the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, but they will be more likely to eat whatever they had a hand in making.
5. Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math and creativity. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects! Visit What do Kids Learn While Cooking page for more information.
6. What a great way to learn life skills. This can be especially helpful when kids are on their own and won’t have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.
7. They can help contribute to the family and they can feel the importance of helping.
8. They are working together as a team, whether it is with a parent or with a sibling to get the job done.
9. Cooking teaches them planning and making choices.
10. Practice creativity and imagination. Kids cooking activities are a great way to express themselves and enjoy their creations.

Find more information at Kids Cooking Activities