Cooking with Kids in the School Garden

Introduction

Cooking in the garden is a rewarding endeavor that brings the growing classroom full circle, from seed to plate. Growing vegetables with kids is a great first step to get them excited about vegetables. Children tend to be more willing to try foods they grow themselves. Similarly, children are also likely to try foods they cook on their own. While gardening gives children the skills to grow their own food, cooking shows children what to do with it.

Both gardening and cooking teach critical thinking skills and conceptual understanding. They offer opportunities for real-world application of math, science, literature, social studies, health, and art. This makes cooking and gardening easy to connect with most common curriculum standards.

Teaching children basic cooking techniques like chopping, mixing, and sautéing equips them with skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Research shows that the more kids are exposed to unfamiliar foods, the more likely they are to try and eat them. Although cooking (especially outside) may seem challenging at first, with the right cooking tools and preparation, anyone can learn to turn the garden into their very own experimental kitchen.

Planning and Organization

The key to a successful cooking activity is to be well-prepared. Consider keeping a checklist of supplies, to assure that you don't leave behind a cooking tool or key ingredient for your recipe. Also, you must know how many students will be participating to make sure you have enough ingredients.

Regardless of how long you think a cooking activity will take, it is wise to always bring a backup activity in case it finishes early or if a recipe, such as applesauce, needs to cook and there is down time.

Outdoor Classroom Management

One fear you may have is that chaos will ensue if a large group of children is outside. To maintain control and stay organized, it is important to have a detailed plan with plenty of jobs for kids to do. For 10 or less students, everyone can work on the same recipe without much complication.

If a group is larger than 10, it is helpful to divide up into small groups, making sure to have other volunteers available to assist. Thirty kids can quickly turn into six groups of 5 kids – which is much more manageable. One strategy is to have different stations set up for them to rotate through, allowing each student to take part in every step of the recipe. This is useful when making a recipe like a vegetable pizza, where all the ingredients are put together at the end.

Another strategy is to give each group a specific part of the recipe to work with. For instance, when making a kale smoothie, one group can remove the stems from the kale; one group can chop up a banana; one group can measure yogurt; and so forth. No matter how simple the recipe may be, it is important to find as many jobs as possible for students to keep busy and contribute to the final product.

A third strategy is to divide up into groups, and each group makes their own recipe. This is a good option for something like a salad, as it is not too labor-intensive and you can allow each group to customize their recipe, which allows for some creativity.

It can become quite challenging if at least one other volunteer is not present to help. An extra set of hands is very helpful when several kids are cooking at the same time. There is no magic number for amount of support but beginning with an adult-student ratio of 1:8 is a good start. Realize that different students need different levels of support as they cook and know your age group before you determine how many volunteers to recruit. Consider asking parents, college students, or even culinary students looking for volunteer hours for assistance. For information on age appropriate cooking activities use thekidscookmonday.org.

Supplies

Use this list of essential supplies to make your cooking project successful:

1. Fold-up cart or bags: Useful for storage and to transport supplies between the classroom and the garden, you'll want to have a cart or supply bag(s)on hand.
2. Outdoor sink: For cleaning hands and washing fresh-picked vegetables from the garden, this is a great tool. Note: If no outdoor sink is available, a colander and hose work well for washing vegetables outside. Buckets filled with soapy water work for hand washing as well. (Do not use soapy water on vegetables.) However, the best option may be washing hands before heading outside, when possible. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer is also appropriate when hands are not visibly soiled with dirt. If they are, hands must be washed with soap before applying hand sanitizer.
3. Fold up table: To do the actual food prep and cooking, make sure the table is big enough to allow for enough room that kids and adults can easily work on the recipe you are making. More than 1 may be necessary.
4. Canopy tent: Helpful for shade, or protection from inclement weather.
5. Basic kitchen supplies: Measuring cups, measuring spoons, knives, spoons, forks, cheese graters, bowls, and plates are just some of the standard supplies you need to prepare and taste the food.
6. Cutting boards: Generally something always needs to be chopped, so cutting boards are a necessity.
7. Child-size cutting safety gloves: These are very helpful when doing any kind of chopping or grating. They decrease the likelihood of accidents.
8. Trash bag and compost bag: Ideally most scraps can go in compost, but you may have some un-compostable materials that can be trashed.
9. Paper towels and soap: Helpful for cleaning up the inevitable spills (and kids).
10. Blender: Great for making smoothies, hummus, pesto, and drinks. Keep in mind that an outdoor electrical source is necessary if using outside.
11. Induction cooktops + pots: For any kind of outdoor stovetop cooking, such as applesauce, soups, and stews, these portable and fast appliances are a must-have.
12. Extension cord and power strip: An extension cord is a big help if you plan to use appliances outside, especially if an outlet is a far distance from the garden. Consider using an extension cord floor cable cover to prevent tripping hazards.

Kid-Tested Recipes

Kale Salad

Students make their own dressing, massage the kale, and add their own additions like grated carrots, dried cranberries, or chickpeas to make it unique to their tastes. A general rule to follow for the dressing is, for every 3 cups of kale, use 2–3 tablespoons of a vegetable oil (olive or canola work well), 2–3 tablespoons of an acid (vinegar or lemon juice), and salt to taste. Massaging the kale with the dressing will cause it to shrink down and become much more tender.

Try this dressing recipe, courtesy of Lola Bloom of City Blossoms: Oil, Rice Wine Vinegar, Miso Paste, grated garlic and ginger, furikake seasoning (optional), sesame seeds, sliced radishes and cucumber.

Smoothies

Smoothies are versatile in the sense that you can follow a recipe or get creative and make it up yourself easily. Try this recipe for a Groovy Green Smoothie from the Whole Kids Foundation: 1 banana, 1 cup grapes (frozen for a thicker smoothie), 6 ounces vanilla yogurt, ½ apple, cored and chopped, and 1 ½ cups fresh spinach leaves. Check out our Build a Better Smoothie fact sheet for more ideas.

Hummus

A dip that's full of nutrients and fiber. Use carrots, celery, broccoli, or any other veggies growing in the garden as a dip. Feel free to add anything else to this basic hummus recipe from inspiredtaste.net: 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup well-stirred tahini, 1 garlic clove, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon cumin, 2–3 tablespoons water, and a dash of paprika to sprinkle on top.

Applesauce

Cooktop and pot necessary. Use approximately 1 cup water per 8 apples (any variety of sweet apples available, such as Honey Crisp, Gala, Fuji, and Yellow Delicious). Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. Use a potato masher if necessary to break up large pieces. Leave cinnamon on the side for students to sprinkle in their bowls.

Salsa

Great for using up summertime tomatoes! 3 cups tomatoes (chopped), 1 bell pepper (chopped), ½ onion (chopped), ¼ cup cilantro (chopped), 1 lime (juiced), ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper.

Spring Rolls

Helpful for anytime you don't know what to do with the vegetables growing in the garden. The only necessary supply is spring roll paper, which needs to be dipped in warm water for about 30 seconds to become foldable. Thin noodles (cellophane noodles are recommended) mixed with rice vinegar for the inside and soy sauce for dipping are optional additions. Have students harvest and chop up vegetables for the inside of the spring roll and demonstrate how to make it. Place all ingredients on one side of the paper leaving an empty inch or two for folding. Be careful not to overfill. Fold the half closest to you over the filling, fold the left and right sides in, and finish rolling.

Find more recipes at:

1. mynewroots.org
2. planeatmove.com
3. snap4ct.org
4. edibleschoolyard.org
5. leannebrown.com (Eat Well on $4/Day Good and Cheap)
6. cookingmatters.org

Conclusion

Cooking outside can pose its challenges, but with the right amount of preparation, it can be just as easy as cooking inside. Cooking foods from the garden promotes healthy eating – and it offers an engaging (and tasty) option for teaching critical thinking and conceptual understanding. Instead of just talking about nutrition, cooking provides hands-on experience with healthy eating. Combining gardening and cooking helps to connect kids with food, gives them a better understanding of where their food comes from, and introduces them to a world of new flavors, foods, and skills they'll use throughout their lives.

References

• Varman SD, Cliff DP, Jones RA, Hammersley ML, Zhang Z, Charlton K, Kelly B. Experiential Learning Interventions and Healthy Eating Outcomes in Children: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(20):10824.
• Dean M, O'Kane C, Issartel J, McCloat A, Mooney E, Gaul D, Wolfson J, Lavelle F. Guidelines for designing age-appropriate cooking interventions for children: The development of evidence-based cooking skill recommendations for children, using a multidisciplinary approach. Appetite. 2021; 161: 105125.

August 2024