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Children are creative geniuses, and they know it. Give them a chance to build and mix, and they'll amaze you every time. Maybe that's why they enjoy cooking so much: it provides never ending opportunities to have fun and be creative.
Here's a creative cooking recipe that can be tailored to the abilities of your child. If you have a more-experienced cook, let them prepare the rice on their own. Beginners can take already-cooked rice and add in the colorful extras. This recipe also provides you with a great opportunity to explain why the various mix-ins are good choices for healthy eating.
From the list of add-ins in the recipe, select 4 or 5 and put each in a small bowl. Line the bowls up on the counter and let your young chefs mix and match to their heart's content. They could even customize individual servings based on what foods they know different family members prefer!
Quick-cook rice only takes 90 seconds to cook, but keep in mind that you'll also need some cooling time before the rice is safe to work with. It might be helpful to either prepare the rice in advance, or plan a two-part cooking session: one time to cook the rice and a second time (an hour later, maybe) to put the rest of the ingredients together.
Happy Rice A Brookshire's Best Recipe Skill level: easy, with adult supervision. No knives or stovetop skills needed.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups quick-cook or instant brown rice 2 1/2 cups water 1 bag frozen peas, thawed 1 bag frozen corn, thawed 2 cups chopped broccoli, steamed or blanched just until tender 2 cups diced carrots, steamed or blanched just until tender 1/2 small red bell pepper, diced 2 scallions, sliced into thin rounds (white and green) soy sauce
Directions: Prepare rice according to package directions. Once cooked, transfer rice to a large serving bowl to cool. NOTE: you can also use leftover cooked rice. Simply warm it in the microwave oven and continue with the recipe.
Place the peas, corn, broccoli, carrots, pepper and scallions into individual bowls in the work area. Have children scoop a bit of brown rice into their bowls, add vegetables of their choice and season with soy sauce.
Option: instead of rice, try a variety of fresh and dried chopped fruit!
Serves 6
Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 271, Fat: 2 g (0 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 245 mg, Carbohydrates: 55 g, Fiber: 8 g
© 2007, Brookshire Grocery Co. Nutrient counts are rounded to the nearest whole number. All dietary and lifestyle changes should be supervised by a physician.
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