Summer recipes to make with your child!

This summer's recipes:

• Turnip sticks with cottage cheese herb dip
• Cranberry oatmeal cookies

Cooking with children is a great way to spend some quality time together, learning about different ingredients and how to create meals. Involving your child in making meals promotes acceptance of new foods when your child has had a hand in making them.

Your 2-6 year old can help you in the preparation of recipes, depending on their age and ability level. View the chart below adapted from Northern Health's Community Nutrition Program's publication Cooking with Kids.

2 year olds can: wipe table tops break cauliflower scrub vegetables snap green beans wash salad greens put bread in the toaster	3 year olds can: spread soft spreads pour liquids pour cereal place things in trash mix ingredients clear their place at the table
4 year olds can: peel oranges set the table knead dough mash bananas using fork peel hard cooked eggs unload the dishwasher	5 year olds can: measure ingredients break eggs into a bowl use an egg beater use a dull knife to cut soft foods like bananas or spread peanut butter mix ingredients

Turnip sticks with Cottage Cheese Herb Dip

Being in the North, local ingredients are not growing in our gardens yet so we are still using our root crops. Try this refreshing recipe as a new way to eat turnips this spring. You'll love the crunchy sweetness of this raw vegetable! This recipe for dip is from the Dietician's of Canada cookbook Cook Great Food.

Ingredients: - turnips, peeled and cut into sticks - 1 cup lower-fat cottage cheese - 1/2 cup lower-fat plain yogurt - 1 green onion, chopped - 1/2 tsp garlic powder - 1/2 tsp celery seed - 1/4 tsp dry mustard - 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce - pinch of black pepper - dash of hot pepper sauce (optional)

 

1. In a food processor or blender, cream cottage cheese and yogurt until very smooth.

2. Stir in onion and seasonings. Chill overnight.

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Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

As a treat, make these cranberry oatmeal cookies together! For a time saver, freeze a cookie sheet of dough-balls. When frozen, place into an airtight container. For fresh cookies, just thaw and bake!

(From Cook Great Food Dietitians of Canada, 2006.) Ingredients: - 1 cup all purpose flour - 1/4 cup wheat bran - 1/2 tsp baking powder - 1/2 cup margarine - 1/2 cup granulated sugar - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar - 1 egg - 1 tsp vanilla - 1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats - 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease cookie sheets.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, wheat bran, and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well; stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and blend thoroughly. Stir in oats and cranberries.

4. Drop heaping teaspoons of the cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches (5cm) apart. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

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