Education in the Kitchen
What Your Child Can Learn From Baking
from the instructions for a pastry to go from delicious to disgusting. Spending
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably wracking your brain for the perfect recipe to bake for your loved one. There’s nothing wrong with store-bought chocolate, but there’s no topping the personal touch of some homemade baked goods. If you have kids, baking alongside them can be just as rewarding as enjoying the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus, baking is a hands-on opportunity where your child can learn all sorts of important concepts. Here is a short list of some of the educational lessons hiding in your kitchen. Math Baking is a numbers game. Just take a look at any recipe, and you’ll recognize the importance of math in building a beautiful cake. Having children measure out ingredients helps them learn about fractions and ratios. You can also test your kids by doubling or halving a recipe for multiplication and division practice. With older kids, practice unit conversions by asking, for example, how
time in the kitchen, then, is a great way for kids to learn the importance of reading directions carefully and comprehending what they’ve just read. Cultural Understanding
Cuisine is a fundamental part of every culture. Introducing your child to dishes from around the world will expand their horizons. Want your child to be a less picky eater? Involving them in the cooking process is the surest way to get them excited about trying new flavors and ingredients. Nutrition Now, you might not think that baking cookies will encourage greater nutritional awareness, but hear us out. Sugar is often buried within packaged foods. When you bake something at home, a child gets to see, firsthand, just how much sugar goes into certain sweets. Meanwhile, cooking savory dishes also allows them to learn what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet.
many pints are in half a gallon. Following Directions
Not unlike computer science, baking requires a strict order of operations. The wet and dry ingredients often need to be mixed separately and then folded together. It only takes one deviation
Need a Little Spice in Your Life?
Spices and herbs add much more than flavor and aroma to your favorite beverages and treats. They also offer many health benefits. When properly utilized, these spice rack staples can ease a variety of symptoms. Ready to find your new holistic health kick? Read on. Nutmeg This spice, known for its earthy, nutty flavor, has anti- inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Want to calm nagging pain? This spice has been used to treat joint pain and arthritis. It can even be used to remedy bad breath. Nutmeg is most potent when it’s freshly grated, so it’s recommended you purchase whole nutmeg seed, found in most specialty food stores. You can incorporate nutmeg into your diet by taking it as a supplement in capsule form or simply sprinkling it into your next chai tea. Your achy joints will thank you. Ginger This root is an essential natural anti-inflammatory. It can help ease an upset stomach and finally tame your nausea. You can safely eat it raw, candied, as a supplement, in tea, or in baked goods. Ginger is most effective when it’s ingested raw or in capsule form. If you have morning sickness, raw ginger might do
the trick. Just ask the people of ancient China. Like many spices, ginger’s use as a supplement goes back centuries. Southeast Asian countries used it to ease their own common ailments. Call
it tried and true. Peppermint
You can use peppermint as an essential oil, steep the leaves for tea, or take a supplement capsule. Each form comes with its own benefits. As an essential oil, peppermint is great for treating colds. It’s a mild decongestant, and it helps with coughs and stuffed-up noses. It also soothes sore throats and headaches. Rub one or two drops under your nose, on your temples, or over your sinuses and feel the relief wash over you! Even further, a study published by The BMJ found that when administered as a capsule, peppermint helped reduce the symptoms of IBS in a majority of patients.
2 • healthmasterspt.com
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