Make-A-Meal Mondays: Child-Friendly Banana-Raisin Bran Muffins

Posted on March 21, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

The theme for my posts this week is companions.

The dictionary defines companion as one that accompanies another comrade or associate, a friend who is frequently in the company of another.

When I think about ingredients that are happy companions of each other, this simple, child-friendly recipe for BANANA BRAN MUFFINS comes to mind.

After all, how can something with applesauce, bananas, cinnamon and raisins taste badly…and when you add oat bran and whole wheat flour, you get a muffin that packs an enormous nutrition punch!!!!

CHILD-FRIENDLY BANANA-RAISIN BRAN MUFFINS

These highly nutritious muffins make a wonderful snack…or team them with a vegetable salad or soup for a terrific lunch!!

You will need: 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 cup oat bran, 3 Tbs milk, 1 egg, ½ cup canola oil, 1 cup mashed banana, ½ cup raisins, 1 cup applesauce, 1 tsp honey, a large bowl and a lightly greased 12-cup muffin tin.

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well.

2. Add milk, egg, applesauce and oil and blend together.

3. Mix in raisins and mashed banana.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

5. Cool well before serving. Makes 12 regular size muffins.

This recipe is just one of 100 easy child-friendly healthful cooking activities you will find in SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING. This book is a wonderful resource and shortcut for busy parents and teachers who want to provide educational fun-filled activities for preschoolers. Visit my website to take advantage of the 50%-off-the-cover-price sale, going on until April 9^th! You can also enter to win a great colection of craft supplies for your preschoolers by purchasing a copy or by just filling in the contact form on the website or leaving me a comment here on why you would like to win the craft supplies. Make sure you leave your email so I can notify you if you are the winner. Winner will be announced April 10th.

Please stop by tomorrow for Quotable Timeless Tuesdays for some great quotations on Companionship.

Make-A-Meal Mondays: Child-Friendly Sweet Raisin Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 14, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Some of the bakers with some newly baked bread

Image by National Library of Scotland via Flickr

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day…here’s a simple Irish Soda Bread recipe that your child can help prepare.

You will need:

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
4 Tb margarine
1 beaten egg (reserve 1 Tb)
¾ cup buttermilk or sour milk
¼ cup raisins
2 Tb honey
Large bowl
Medium bowl
Greased baking sheet

The bread is supposed to serve 16, but it will probably be less, because everyone will want seconds and thirds. 🙂

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. Cut in margarine until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

3. Combine raisins, beaten egg (minus the 1 Tb) and buttermilk.

4. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until moistened.

5. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently for 1 minute.

6. On a greased baking sheet, shape dough into a 6-inch round loaf.

7. Cut a 4-inch cross, ¼ inch deep, on the top.

8. Brush with reserved tablespoon of egg.

9. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes until golden and cool on rack.

Important tip: When I made bread with my own children and the children in my daycare group, we always made enough dough so that EACH child could make his or her OWN small bread. The families of the daycare children definitely looked forward to our bread-making day each week…and how proud each child was, clutching his wrapped bread loaf as he made his way home!

Why do I always encourage parents to invite their young children into the kitchen to help cook and bake?

When your children help measure and mix the ingredients, they are gaining a sense of competence and confidence, two of the building blocks of high self-esteem.

When you spend time with your children, participating joyfully in an activity, your children understand that they are worthy of your precious time and they are people of value…these are also important factors in acquiring a positive self-image.

Would you like 99 other simple child-friendly cooking activities?

Just visit my website and buy a copy of SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING…still on sale for 50% off the cover price! This is a unique resource for parents, daycare providers and preschool teachers. It also provides 100 easy eco-friendly craft projects and 100 summaries of picture books your young child needs to hear.

Oh, and don’t forget…we are awarding a CRAFTY EASTER BASKET, filled with craft supplies for your preschooler, to ONE LUCKY WINNER! If you purchase a copy of the book, you will be automatically entered to win…otherwise, you can fill out the contact form on my website for a free entry.

Please stop by tomorrow for Quotable Timeless Tuesdays.

Make-A-Meal Mondays: Homemade Butter

Posted on March 7, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Although it happened over fifty years ago, I still remember licking the cream off the cardboard caps that sealed the bottles of milk that the milkman had delivered to my grandmother’s house.

These days, most of us buy all of our groceries at the store, including milk and butter. And, because of the push many years ago to replace butter with “margarine” or other butter-like spreads…which more recent health studies show are probably worse for us than the natural product…many children these days have no idea what real butter tastes like.

Take this opportunity to make some real butter at home with your child!

HOMEMADE BUTTER

You will need: 1 cup heavy whipping cream, electric mixer and a large bowl.

1. Pour the cream into the bowl and beat on medium till stiff peaks form…about 1-2 minutes. This is REAL WHIPPED CREAM! Taste some for an out-of-this-world treat!

2. Continue beating…about 4-8 minutes…and soon the curds will separate from the whey. You could sing “Little Miss Muffet” with your child while you are doing this.

3. Pour off the whey and you will be left with a lump of pure butter.

4. Enjoy with crackers, bread or toast.

5. Put in a covered container and store in the fridge.

6. Instead of using an electric mixer, you could put the cream in a glass jar with a lid and shake…but this will take between 5-30 minutes and little hands might get tired.

Cooking with young children is only one of the many activities that builds self-esteem, develops pre-literacy skills and creates a life-long parent-child bond. If you are looking for more child-friendly healthful recipes or other educational fun-filled activities, grab a copy of my new book for parents and teachers of preschoolers, now on half-price sale with FREE shipping till March 9^th, at my website.

And please stop by tomorrow for Quotable Timeless Tuesdays