Cook Shop!

Today was our first Chef Lesson in Cook Shop.  Cook Shop is a program found in New York City Public Schools that is organized by the Food Bank of NYC.  I couldn't state it better than their website does in saying, "CookShop, the core nutrition education program of the Food Bank For New York City, gives low-income children, adults and teens the knowledge and tools to adopt and enjoy a healthy diet on a limited budget. With hands-on workshops reaching approximately 30,000 New Yorkers across all five boroughs, CookShop teaches cooking skills and nutrition information and fosters enthusiasm for fresh, affordable fruits, vegetables and other whole foods."  It's a great program and our kids are loving it!


The program is divided into 6 units.  Each unit is 3 weeks long.  In week one we introduce the topic and do a small 10-minute lesson each day.  The following week is the week with Wednesday Chef Lessons (cooking!).  The last week of the unit is a follow up about what we've learned.  


Our first unit was about MyPlate.   (The next 5 units will be about each of the 5 food groups more specifically.)  MyPlate is the USDA's nutrition program.  The MyPlate model replaced the old food pyramid most of us grew up with.  We learned about the 5 food groups and why the sizes of each group is different in the model.

Using this model, we discussed what foods fall in each group, what we could add to our lunches to make them even more healthy, and what we could remove from our meals to make them more balanced as well.


As I said, today was our first Chef Lesson and we got to cook!  We made Black Bean Burritos.  Yum!  


Our first step was to read our recipe and gather all of our ingredients and materials.  Next, we did the most important part.  We washed our hands!  We stood in the hall and washed for 20 seconds.  To count it, we sang the ABCs really slowly.  We then walked like doctors (hands up!) to our tables to begin preparing.

Step one was to cut the lettuce.  We chopped it out really fine.  Next was to cut the red peppers.  We cut that really well too!  Now our meal has fruits and vegetables!

After chopping, we had to get mixing.  We mixed black beans, salsa, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper together in a large bowl.  We all got a turn to stir.  We have protein and more fruit and vegetables now!


Then we spread our mixture on a whole wheat tortilla.  There's the grain!  After spreading it out, we topped it with our lettuce and red peppers.  It looked like a pizza almost!  

Then we rolled it up into a big burrito.  To help us share, we cut it into four snack-sized pieces.  






The last step was the best step - we got to eat it!  It was delicious.



In Cook Shop, all ingredients can be found in both supermarkets and in corner stores/bodegas.  This feature makes it even more accessible for families to make at home.  We realized that our snack had grains, vegetables, fruits, and protein - yet no dairy.  We discussed additions we could make (sprinkle in some cheese, add some yogurt on the side) but concluded that since it's the smallest amount to have each day, the recipe-writers probably assumed we'd just had some dairy at lunch - and from our post-lunch discussion, that sounded about right.


Ask your child what they thought of the snack.  Were there things they liked?  Didn't like?  Would they want to teach this recipe to a family member?  Encourage your child to be part of food choices and to select balanced, healthy meals.