Nothing hits the spot on a hot summer day like an ice-cold treat. When you make the snack a do-it-yourself project, you've got a fun activity with your children in the cool indoors when it’s sweltering outdoors.

by Kathie Sutin

It’s summer, glorious summer—time for outdoor sports, backyard barbeques, trips to the pool, and chasing fireflies. But when you need a break from all that activity or the heat is just is too much, what better way to chill than with a cool and frosty treat?

Whipping up one of the recipes below is also a fun child parenting activity that you can do in the kitchen when it’s too hot to be outside—or when a rainy day cancels your outdoor plans. Some treats are healthful, some are indulgent. All are kid-tested, easy to make, and delicious. How can you beat that—a project you can eat when it’s done?

Fruit Smoothies

Smoothies can be a meal in a glass, a nutritious snack, a pick-me-up, or breakfast on the run.   

Commercially produced smoothies are chock-full of sugar. One of the advantages of making your own is that you can control the ingredients that go into your smoothie. That includes reducing the amount of sugar.

Creating a smoothie is an ad-lib process—almost anything goes. Five simple ingredients make for a memorable smoothie:

• The base:  Milk, flavored or unflavored, skim, low fat or whole. Yogurt, frozen or not. Ice cream. Use about one-half cup per serving.


• Fruit:  Fresh, frozen, or canned.  Try banana chunks, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe cubes, or sliced peaches. Be aware that if you use berries with seeds, the drink will be “seedy.” For a thick smoothie, freeze the fruit before assembling

• Flavoring:  My family likes a splash of vanilla but you can also use maple extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, cocoa, or malt powder.

• Sweetener:  Sugar, brown, granulated or confectioners. Honey. Maple syrup. Sugar substitute. Use as much or as little as your taste buds dictate.

• Protein:  Powdered milk, cottage cheese, peanut butter, or instant breakfast mix can boost the protein in your drink.

Toss the ingredients into a blender and blend until, er, smooth.

If you’re a purist, use only fruit and juice. Optionally, you can blend in a few ice cubes at the end to make the drink colder and to thicken it.

Easy Ice Cream

This recipe, which we got from the label on a can of Eagle® brand sweetened condensed milk, makes a delightfully silky smooth chocolaty ice cream without the bother of an ice cream machine. It’s supper easy—the hardest part will be waiting for the yummy concoction to harden in the freezer.

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 2 cups whipping cream, whipped (do not use non-dairy whipped topping)

In a large bowl, stir together milk and syrup. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into a foil-lined 9 X 5 loaf pan. Freeze six hours. You can also make this into a pie by pouring the mixture into a cookie-crumb piecrust before freezing.

Chocolate Pops

Here’s another super-simple frosty treat recipe. All you need is one package of chocolate instant pudding. If you’d like a smoother result, add a cup of non-dairy whipped topping or replace the milk called for in the directions with whipping cream.

Prepare the pudding according to directions on the box. Pour into ice pop molds or small paper cups and place in freezer. When the mixture is partially frozen, add a stick to the cup. Return to freezer until firm.

You can tweak the recipe by adding sugar or sugar substitute if you like a sweeter pop or add chocolate syrup for a more chocolaty pop. For variety, experiment with other pudding flavors.

Frozen Bananas

A perennial summertime favorite when it comes to cool things to eat is the frozen banana enrobed in chocolate.

• 4 medium-sized bananas
• 8 wooden craft sticks
• 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chips)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, peanuts, or granola (optional)

Peel the bananas and cut each one in half width-wise. Insert a stick into the cut area of each piece. Place bananas on a cookie sheet and stick in freezer for an hour or so.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. If the melted chocolate is too thick to work with, thin with a little water.

Take the bananas from the freezer and dip in the chocolate. You need to work quickly because the cold banana will harden the chocolate. If it’s easier, you can spoon the chocolate onto the banana and spread it around until the banana is covered with chocolate. Roll the chocolate-coated banana in nuts or granola for crunch, if desired. You can either eat the banana now or put it back into the freezer until it is thoroughly frozen, about four hours.

Orange “Potion”

The original smoothie may well have been the Orange Julius that was popular at chain stores in malls throughout the country several years ago. Since then, Dairy Queen bought the chain and now sells the drink in some of its Dairy Queen mall stores.

Many recipes trying to replicate the Julius have circulated over the years and have become a favorite in many families. We tweaked one of them into what our kids called “Mom’s Potion.” You can give it a try yourself. We wing the amounts on the ingredients but here’s a general guide for two servings.

• 6 oz. orange juice concentrate
• 1/3 cup powdered milk (other recipes call for fresh milk but we use powdered milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana (optional)
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (if you’re shunning sugar, you can use sugar substitute or honey)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Six to eight ice cubes

In a blender, blend the juice, milk, sugar, water, and vanilla at high for about a minute. Add ice cubes and blend until the drink thickens. Be careful not to over-blend or the ice will melt completely. Serve immediately.

Orange Dream

We saved our favorite summertime concoction for last—simple, easy and scrumptious.

For each serving, spoon about a half cup of orange sherbet into a glass. Cover with orange juice. For the best flavor, “smoosh” the sherbet into the juice and spoon it into your mouth before it melts.

We speculate that you could get similar results running the juice and the sherbet through the blender but we’re so happy with the mixture in a glass we never tried it.

 

Kathie Sutin is an award-winning freelance journalist based in St. Louis, Missouri. She specializes in writing about medical issues, travel, parenting, education, business, food and people. She has three children.

© Lead photo by Rmarmion | Dreamstime.com • Orange “Potion” photo by Kathie Sutin

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Inspire Your Kids to Cook

 

by Christina DiMartino

 

Your kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.

 

Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)

 

* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating. 

* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.

* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.

* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.

* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.

* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.

* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.

* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.

* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.  

 

It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.

 

A role model for cooking with kids

 

Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)

 

The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.

 

The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.

 

Good cooking habits

 

Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food.  (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)

 

When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.

 

You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.

 

Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.

 

Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.

 

Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.

 

 

CREDIT:

Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.

 

 

PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:

Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org

 

 

TEASER: 

Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.