It's that time of year I always look forward to... Food Revolution Day, an annual themed good and real food celebration taking place world-wide the third Friday in May. However, the official Food Revolution Day on a global scale has been postponed until later this year. The UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, called a snap general election to take place on June 8th, just two weeks after our intended Food Revolution Day. For many political and press reasons, we know this timing isn’t right to have the impact we (ambassadors) want and for Jamie Oliver to make big noise about child obesity policies that best benefit children's health. As our Food Revolution campaign is year-round, many of us still held events while postponing some others until we get the new date.
For me, while I do enjoy large events to have a greater reach with our universal message (eat real food, get back in the kitchen to cook and food education), I believe intimate, smaller-scale ones are just as if not more impactful. There is better engagement and personable interaction which is harder to come by in a big event. This year, I'm deferring a few school events and held a kids cooking session with my three young boys and their cousins. They did everything from washing, prepping, slicing, chopping, and cooking for the most part with us parents supervising. We made brunch with recipes inspired by Jamie Oliver-- blueberry pancakes and customized omelets. Instead of fruit juice or vitamin water which are loaded with sugar and other stuff, we made real fruit-infused water for a refreshing drink. Now let the cook-off begin! :D
How to cook pancakes...
To make the most of the fruits' flavours in cold water, crush the fruits in glass or pitcher with spoon or fork, and/or let meld for two hours before serving.
What a great day with the family cooking together and forgetting all else for a while. Hearing that the kids had so much fun, and some saying that they don't usually eat omelets but will now because they really liked making and eating it, or liking the fresh fruit water was music to my ears. We will definitely be doing this again with the extended fam. Cooking is a necessary life skill, a rite of passage and opens up a whole world of eating healthily and discovering new tastes. Starting them young is key. The core of cooking is the knife-- get your kids in the kitchen early, teach them how to use it and they will never lose it!
It's been proven, that kids enjoy cooking given the chance. Throw caution in the wind, let it go and let your kids cook with you. Before you know it, they will be trying new foods, getting creative and helping to bring a positive and healthy attitude to the family table.
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| I asked the kids, "What are you cooking with today?" |
Instructions first. Ready set go...
Washing...
Chopping and slicing...
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| IKEA has an amazing SMABIT kid-friendly knife and peeler set. |
These five-year old cousins were in charge of measuring, pouring and whisking up blueberry pancakes.
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| It's all about breaking the eggs and whisking. Taking turns to make a big batch! |
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| Wiping the earth off mushrooms, while explaining why you must never wash them-- gets water-logged that diminishes flavour and texture. The adults were surprised at this too. |
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| It's a whole family affair! |
How to cook pancakes...
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| Lay cooked pancakes on a heightened rack to keep crisp and not soggy. |
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| Grate that cheese- but carefully! |
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| My dad imparting safety chopping techniques. |
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| Customizing omelets from a selection of meat and veggie fillings! |
Individual omelet making! Cooking the selected filling and then encasing in cooked egg crepe.
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| Mom and Uncle Quan getting in the action! Quan put banana slices in his omelet, and he said it was different and sweet-good at the end. Why not? :D |
Preparing a variety of fresh fruit for real fruit-infused water.
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| I just love seeing kids build knife skills confidence holding a real but safe sharp knife. |
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| Make-your-own real fruit water station with tap & carbonated & coconut waters or combo as a base. |
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| Beautifully vibrant, fresh and delish! |
To make the most of the fruits' flavours in cold water, crush the fruits in glass or pitcher with spoon or fork, and/or let meld for two hours before serving.
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| Much better than sugar-laden commercial soda and fruit drinks. |
Enjoying the fruits of their labour- literally!
Omelet served with hot salsa sauce, and a yummy real mixed fruit beverage. YUM!
What a great day with the family cooking together and forgetting all else for a while. Hearing that the kids had so much fun, and some saying that they don't usually eat omelets but will now because they really liked making and eating it, or liking the fresh fruit water was music to my ears. We will definitely be doing this again with the extended fam. Cooking is a necessary life skill, a rite of passage and opens up a whole world of eating healthily and discovering new tastes. Starting them young is key. The core of cooking is the knife-- get your kids in the kitchen early, teach them how to use it and they will never lose it!
It's been proven, that kids enjoy cooking given the chance. Throw caution in the wind, let it go and let your kids cook with you. Before you know it, they will be trying new foods, getting creative and helping to bring a positive and healthy attitude to the family table.
You guys were Super Awesome! So proud of you all!
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