DirectionFive and Staying at Home

We understand that the coronavirus has changed, well, everything. With your kids at home, let us help you with tips on kids in the kitchen.

Here is the beginning of DirectionFive, which is the Culinary part of our program. DirectionOne through DirectionFour will be discussed at a later date.

DirectionFive

Culinary

Introduction

Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives is the mantra for this program.

When you understand the foods that support your health, and then you learn to create sumptuous meals for you and the people in your life, you feel satisfied and contented.

In the Kitchen

Kids, like most adults, simply want to jump in and make homemade pizza, but there are basics that need to be learned first, for safety and sanitation reasons, of course, but also so one knows how to measure properly, what size and type of pan to use and other basic information needed for a successful kitchen experience.

Safety and Sanitation

Before you enter the kitchen, tie your hair back if you have long hair, and if you’re sick, stay out of the kitchen altogether. Next wash your hands in warm, soapy water. If you have any cuts or sores, be sure to cover with a bandage. While you’re in the kitchen, if you sneeze, cough, touch your hair, nose or any other body part, or eat, please wash your hands again. You obviously wash your hands well after you use the restroom. If you handle raw meat or fish, please wash your hands before touching any other food. Ideally your clothes and aprons should be clean.

Here are some very important tips to always keep in mind when you’re in the kitchen:

  • When you work with food, keep raw foods away from cooked foods.
  • Keep food away from cleaning products.
  • Wash all raw fruits and vegetables before preparation.
  • Rinse off your meats and fish as well, pat dry and leave in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them. Raw and thawing meats and fish should always be kept on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to avoid dripping and contamination.
  • Do not thaw foods at room temperature; thaw in a proper container in the refrigerator. Do not refreeze food after it’s been thawed.
  • Food needs to be held at proper temperatures to avoid the growth of bacteria that can make you sick. Cold foods should be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuffed meat and reheated leftovers should be kept at 165 degrees, beef and other hot food, 140 degrees, fish and poultry, 145 degrees and cooked pork, hamburgers and eggs, 155 degrees.

Kitchens can be dangerous places, with sharp equipment and hot stoves! It was my experience when I had my cooking school that, in order of accidents, potato peelers, graters, knives, and hot stoves and ovens, were the major culprits. With some very basic and very important rules, well learned, accidents rarely happen.

A tip for adults working with kids in the kitchen is to try not to hover. I understand the nervousness about watching an eight-year hold with a knife, but hovering only makes them nervous and makes the kitchen a stressful place, when it should be a warm, nurturing place. When they understand basic kitchen safety and the proper use of equipment such as knives, they’ll be fine.

There is one basic rule when working in the kitchen-stay focused on the job at hand! If you are grating or chopping, your eyes are on that knife and cutting board and nowhere else. When this is learned, accidents rarely happen.

Let’s begin with knives. When choosing a knife, how does it feel in your hand? A ten year old with relatively small hands wouldn’t be comfortable using a twelve-inch chef knife. A good knife can last a lifetime, so choose your knife carefully. A knife store with salespeople who really understand all the intricacies of knives is an invaluable source of information. Here are some basics:

The knife has a blade, which does the cutting. The example, below, is a typical western knife that is sharp on both sides. Japanese knives have blades that are sharp on only one side, as they believe they cut more effectively.

There are various types of blades:

Carbon steel – Our ‘knife –guy’s’ favorite knife because it takes a great edge but discolors when they come in contact with anything acidic like tomatoes or citrus fruit. A carbon knife will rust so be sure to clean and dry them after every use.

Stainless Steel – They don’t rust so taking care of them is much easier, however, they are difficult to keep a good sharp edge.

High carbon stainless steel – Tough, holds an edge and they don’t discolor. The carbon adds strength to stainless but also more cost. A good choice.

Titanium – Much lighter than steel, holds its edge, and is also flexible, so it is a better choice for boning and filleting knives.

The spine is opposite the blade and adds weight and stability. The tip of a knife is at the point and is used for inserting the knife into something and for cutting small items. The tang is that piece of metal that extends from the blade to the back of the knife and the handle attaches to. The tang also gives a knife some weight and balance. Better knives have tangs.

The bolster is that little collar that separates the blade and the handle and adds strength and balance. The bolster can run from the spine to the edge or just part way. You hold onto the handle and it’s important for the handle to feel good in your hand. It can be made out of wood, plastic, composite or stainless steel.

Knives are blocked, forged or sintered.

  • Blocked knives are cut from a single sheet of metal usually of the same thickness. Think of using a cookie cutter on rolled dough. The blades are then ground to form the edge and handles are added to the tang. They typically don’t have bolsters and are less expensive to make and therefore buy.
  • Forged knives, as the name suggest, are forged, and not stamped. The manufacturer takes metal, heats it up and pounds it into the correct shape using a drop forge machine. These knives typically have bolsters, more weight, and thicker bolsters and cost more to produce. They are better balanced knife that when taken care of properly, can last a lifetime.
  • Sintered knives, or Eastern-style knives, is a process where they take a separate blade and fuse it to a separate tang.

Whatever type of knives you choose, you must frequently sharpen them, as a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife. With a dull knife you exert more pressure on the knife, which generally means more accidents. Always hand-wash your knives, dry properly and store where they won’t rub against other knives. Besides a chef’s knife, you will also need a paring knife, which has a short blade and is used for small jobs, a bread or serrated knife, a boning knife for removing meat from joints and a carving knife, for carving and slicing meat.

A few last tips: never try to catch a falling knife! When you carry a knife it should point down and the blade should face backwards. Carry it close to you but not against your body. When you carry your knife to the sink, carry it by itself and not on your cutting board where it could fall. Do not place knives in a sink full of dirty dishes as in retrieving them; you could grab the blade by mistake.

Cutting boards can be made of any number of material, wood, plastic, bamboo or composite, which are various material fused or glued together. Wood boards are the easiest on your knives, but cannot be put in the dishwasher, plastic boards and composite boards can be washed in the dishwasher, but gouges can harbor bacteria, bamboo is a sustainable wood product; whichever you choose, wash it carefully between uses.

Now that you understand more about knives, you need to learn basic knife cuts. The proper knife cut affects cooking time and visual appeal.

Basic Knife Cuts:

  • Julienne: A stick cut. Strips 2-2 ½ inches long. 1/8” X 1/8”
  • Brunoise: A dice cut. 1/8” X 1/8” X 1/8”. Made from cutting a julienne.
  • Batonnet: A strip cut. Strips 2-2 ½ inches long. ¼” X ¼”
  • Small Dice: A dice cut. ¼” X ¼” X ¼”. Made from cutting a Batonnet.
  • Medium Dice: A dice cut. ½” X ½” X ½”.
  • Large Dice: A dice cut. ¾” X ¾” X ¾”
  • Mince: Small cut with no specific dimensions made by rocking the knife back and forth.
  • Chiffonade: Stacked leaves, rolled up, then sliced thinly.
  • Roll Cut: Slice vegetable on the diagonal, roll vegetable 90 degrees and slice gain
  • Diagonal Cut: Oval shaped slices. Made by cutting the ingredient at an angle. The knife is held at an angle–the more the angle the shorter the cooking time.

Kids and Climate Change Class

The purpose of the Kids and Climate Change Class was to educate kids about aspects of climate change, and then empower them with information so that they know that what they do to help matters. This happened while they learned how to make Minestrone Soup with Farro. Kids always enjoy cooking, and love knife skills. They especially loved eating their delicious, nutritious soup at a communal table. Such a great class!

Macronutrients and Mustard Vinaigrette

For this class you can begin by teaching about protein. You could dry toast some nuts to put in the salad for a protein source or grill some chicken or salmon or other fish. Carbohydrates and fats/lipids can be taught while they’re eating their salad.

Macronutrients:

Macro means large and nutrients are needed for your body’s survival. There are three macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Protein

Protein is from the Greek word, ‘proto’ meaning first or of first quality. Protein is an umbrella word for the twenty-two organic amino acids, of which thirteen are non essential to our diet, meaning our body can synthesize them. The other nine are essential amino acids meaning it is essential that we obtain them from our diet.

Proteins build and maintain our body tissues, help produce antibodies, enzymes and hormones such as insulin. Protein is the primary component of muscles, skin, nails, hair and internal organs, especially the heart. Each gram of protein releases four calories or units of heat or energy for the body. Your intake of protein should be approximately 25% of your daily caloric intake.

The average woman needs fifty to sixty grams of protein a day and the average man needs sixty to seventy grams of protein a day. These are very general, as lactating women need additional protein, as just one example. For children the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is based on body weight and included age-related adjustments. Multiply your child’s weight in pounds by the number of grams of protein needed per pound of body weight to calculate their daily protein requirements.

Ages 1 to 3 – 0.81 grams (child’s weight in pounds x 0.81 = daily grams of protein)

Ages 4 to 6 – 0.68 grams

Ages 7 to 10 – 0.55 grams

 

Sources of protein are fish, meat, poultry, tofu and eggs, which are complete proteins, meaning they have all the essential amino acids. You can combine various ingredients so as to have a complete protein: rice and beans, grains and legumes, and nuts or seeds with dairy.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are easily converted to glucose, the body’s main fuel source. Carbohydrates are needed for fat metabolism and to regulate protein. There are simple carbohydrates that have one or two connected sugar molecules and are found in candy, refined foods such as white bread, and many processed foods. Complex carbohydrates have three or more sugar molecules and can be found in whole grains and vegetables.

Dietary fiber passes through the digestive tract almost completely unchanged, helping it to run smoothly and encouraging proper elimination of waste products. There is soluble

and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water and takes on a soft, gel-like texture in the intestines. Insoluble fiber, found in seeds and the cell walls in fruits, vegetables and cereal grains, passes essentially unchanged through the intestines. Dietary fiber is an important determinant of health.

Each gram of carbohydrates releases four grams calories or units of heat for the body. Approximately fifty percent of one’s daily caloric intake should be from complex carbohydrates. Foods rich in carbohydrates include, dried peas and beans, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Many of these foods contain both starch and fiber.

Fats or Lipids

Fat molecules are a rich source of energy for the body. Fats are necessary for the smooth running of our gastrointestinal system, for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and to provide energy reserves and regulation of body temperature. Fats are necessary for growth, healing, healthy skin, reproduction and nervous system functioning.

Essential fatty acids (EFA) are fats that our bodies cannot synthesize and therefore it is essential we consume them in our food. It is important to maintain an appropriate balance between the essential fatty acids: Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and Omega-6’s (alpha-linoleic acid.) Ideally the ratio would be 1:1, but no more than 4 times as many Omega 6’s to Omega 3’s.

Each gram of fats releases nine calories or units of heat or energy for the body. Your intake of healthy fats should be twenty five percent of your daily calories.

Sources of healthy fats are cold-water fish, walnuts, flax oil and seeds, eggs, pumpkin seeds, purslane, olive oil and macadamia nut oil.

Fats to Avoid:

These are unnatural fats or damaged fats; “trans-fats” is another name, and your body can not process them. Watch for the term hydrogenated-fats found in processed foods, margarine and most shortening. Also avoid non-dairy creamers, imitation mayonnaise or sour cream, deep fat-fried foods, pressurized whipped cream, many sandwich spreads, and rancid fats.

Cooking Tips:

Never heat flax oil.

Never smoke fat or use a very high heat on fats; you will create a damaged fat.

Mustard Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, juiced

3/4 cup olive oil, can also use flax oil

In a jar, place mustard, chopped shallots, chopped garlic, and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon, then slowly pour in olive oil and shake.

If you are a purest, then place the mustard, shallots, garlic and lemon in a bowl and slowly whisk in the olive or flax oil. If not, throw it in a jar and shake.

Variation: Add 1 tablespoon of honey for a Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

D5’s gift to our kids and their families

For six years now, we have been teaching kids and their families nutrition, health and cooking classes with great success. We have done before and after surveys for most of our courses, so we know that the kids we teach learn our programs, and since we often teach the same kids year and after year, we know they retain the information. Yes, we are very proud!

Our goal has always been to improve the health of our kids and now six years later, we – Patty James, founder and director, Board of Directors, and our team of advisors- have made the decision to allow everyone access to our tried and true lesson plans and recipes. Whether you are a kid, teacher, parent, or school, you can look at our blog and receive a lesson and appropriate recipe. Yes, it’s our gift to the world!

Check back often and spread the word! DirectionFive is the place to go for tried and true health and culinary lessons.
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