Walking in Beauty

Walking in Beauty Little hands cooking

Marissa Morgan MPH-HBHP Graduate Student, NMSU

TThis past summer Office of Diné Youth Ft. Defiance agency offered a 7-week kid’s kitchen cooking class. Kids Kitchen is such a wonderful youth cooking program that is offered through New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension, Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition (NMSU-ICAN) program. Students from all over joined the free class and learned so much about kitchen safety, healthy recipes, planning and of course, cooking! ICAN is funded by federal grants to provide nutrition education.

ICAN classes can help your students: -Eat a variety of foods -Eat more whole grains, vegetables and fruits -Be more physically active -Maintain a healthy weight

ICAN Recipe: Sunflower Spinach Chard Power Salad

Prep time: 15 minutes Serves: 8 Serving size: 1/2 cup

Utensils needed:

Colander, measuring cup, knife, cutting board, large mixing bowl, mixing spoon

Ingredients: 2 cups of Swiss chard leaves, thinly sliced 2 cups of baby spinach 1/3 cup of balsamic vinaigrette dressing 1/3 cup of roasted sunflower seeds, lightly salted *Optional: 1/3 cup of dried cranberries

Directions: 1. Wash your hands and clean your cooking area. 2. Rinse the chard leaves and pat them dry. 3. Cut away and discard the stems. Cut the leaves into 1/4-inch slices. 4. Place the baby spinach in a colander and run water over it. Drain it and pat it dry. 5. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Toss the salad gently.

Learning to cook helps students find out about nutrition, food choices and the benefits of cooking at home. Parents joined in on Zoom sessions and helped their child prepare a meal for the whole family. During this pandemic, it has brought light to many new hobbies that people are learning. Some of those hobbies include making new home recipes. I challenge you to get your kids involved in the kitchen! Let them make a meal for the whole family and watch their confidence boost!

3 Reasons to cook with your students:

-Cooking together provides quality family time -Cooking expands their palates -Following a recipe teaches math & reading

Kid’s Kitchen would not have been a success without the help of Margilena Luna (Nutrition Educator) and Katie Sharpton (Family & Consumer Science/4H Agent).