What's in a Recipe?

This morning during ARISE academy's enrichment class, the kids learned about recipes. Miss Kelly was the guest speaker, presenting on why we use recipes, what recipes consist of, and reviewed the specific recipes we would create during the HEAL after school club.

The children were excited to see pictures of how certain fruits and vegetables grow, while Miss Kelly explained the health benefits of eating each one. We talked about vitamin K in cucumbers, healthy fats in avocados, lycopene in tomatoes, potassium in bananas, and vitamin C in oranges to name a few. It was thrilling to see how many students could recognize produce in the early stages of growth.

Due to the large volume of questions the kids had, we reserved a Q&A period at the end of class time. Each student asked Miss Kelly a question (or two), and received two fruit kebabs to sample. 

The kebabs had sliced strawberries and bananas on them. They were thoroughly enjoyed by the students and raised several more questions. Where are the seeds in a banana? Why does a strawberry have its seeds on the outside? What is the purpose of seeds? There seemed to be a huge curiosity about seeds in various fruit.

Banana and Strawberry Fruit Kebabs

In the afternoon, students in the HEAL club had the opportunity to create food for the press conference we are hosting tomorrow morning.

For the conference we'll be serving citrus infused water, rosemary lemon tea, guacamole filled cucumber sandwiches, and fruit kebabs. At the HEAL club meeting the kids prepared homemade guacamole to fill the cucumber sandwiches. They also placed all the orange slices on the kebabs (because the bananas would brown, those will have to wait until tomorrow to go on).

The finished guacamole ready for sampling :)

Our day of food preparation was a success. Attendees of the HEAL club tasted and enjoyed the guac filled cucumber sandwiches. Stay tuned for the recipe!

We continue to beautify the garden in preparation for tomorrow morning's press conference. Now if only the rain would hold off!