Week 10 of Nutrition Expedition: Thanksgiving Quinoa Salad!

November 10-14, 2014

Thanksgiving Quinoa Salad

This week in Nutrition Expedition, we continued our study of quinoa by making our very own "Thanksgiving Quinoa Salads"! I used a scaled-down version of this recipe, and gave each of the kids their own bowl of quinoa, individual ramekins of black beans, corn, diced bell peppers, and a lime wedge. They were instructed to add their ingredients to the quinoa, squeeze a bit of lime juice over the salad, and mix together. The kids were super excited to create their very own salad, and the vibrant colors of the beans, corn, and peppers were enough to entice everyone (well, almost everyone ;)) to try it! They've been talking about it all week, and I even had a toddler ask me later in the day after his nutrition class, "where quinoa go?" I guess he enjoyed it!

The infants enjoyed reading the book Let's Go Nuts:  Seeds We Eat, by April Pulley Saire. I also brought a small bag of dried quinoa for them to explore, which they were very interested in! It's so neat to see their curiosity!

Also, as a special treat this week, Ms. Amanda B. brought me a large bag of fresh-picked cranberries from a local farm! I gave each classroom a bag of whole cranberries to check out and taste before cooking, and I made the rest into cranberry sauce. I used this very simple recipe, but cut the sugar content in half. The kids absolutely loved it! 

Be sure to check out the fun pictures below of the kids making (and eating) Thanksgiving Quinoa Salad:

Week 9 of Nutrition Expedition: Questioning Quinoa! November 3-7, 2014

Questioning Quinoa!

This week in Nutrition Expedition, we were curious about quinoa! Unfortunately, I was out ill most of this week, so I was only able to explore this tasty treat with the toddlers and 3's classes.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is technically not a grain, although some people refer to it as a grain. It is a chenopod, which is actually a close relative to beets, spinach, and chard. The leaves of a quinoa plant can even be eaten! It is high in protein, fiber, magnesium and iron, and pure quinoa is gluten-free. Check out this great online resource about quinoa and it's history:

Whole Grains Council- Quinoa

I cooked up a batch of quinoa for the children by boiling it in reduced-sodium chicken broth (for a little added flavor= 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups broth, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until most liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to stand, covered for 5 minutes). I gave each child a spoonful and allowed them to smell and taste the quinoa. Most of them really enjoyed it! It was also a "nibble tray" week. I brought trays of red bell peppers, fresh raspberries, cucumber, campari tomatoes, bananas, and baby carrots. The 3's class even got to try a persimmon (a fruit that resembles an orange tomato, is unique in flavor, and very popular in Asian culture). Try them at home; they can be found in the tropical fruit section at Meijer for 2/$1!

Stay tuned for next week's blog, when we make our very own quinoa salads!