The Starmont STARS program has been enjoying nutrition education every Wednesday. During lessons, students learn about the importance of nutrition, how to eat locally and seasonally, and how to make their own food.
The class made homemade applesauce from local, Strawberry Point apples. The students each had the chance to core and wedge apples for the sauce. While the apples were cooking down, they all participated in an activity to learn how our food travels to our plate. The students pretended to be apples on a truck traveling from Washington State to Iowa. We stopped along the way to fuel up by doing exercises. At the end of the journey, we talked about how much easier it would be for the apples to travel from Strawberry Point than from Washington. Not only did the kids agree they would rather come from Strawberry Point, they loved the applesauce made with local apples.
Even though we are working our way into the colder months, there are still lots of local foods we can use in our cooking. Root vegetables and winter squash store well in the winter. Try picking up some local produce today and making some homemade recipes. Your kids will like it even better if you ask them to help. Don’t be afraid to try new recipes. You and your kids will never know if you like it unless you try it! Just ask the STARS!
If you’d like to try a simple recipe, gather up some garlic, onions, carrots, potatoes, and butternut squash. Peel and cube the carrots and potatoes. You will need to add the extra step of seeding the butternut squash to the peeling and cubing. Finely chop the garlic and onion. Put some olive oil or melted butter in the bottom of a baking dish. Add all the vegetables, salt and pepper, and stir until well mixed. Bake on 425 for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly brown and tender.
If you would like a similar, more structured recipe, here is a great one. Click here! You can leave out or add in any local root vegetables. Have fun and don’t be afraid to experiment!
