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SENSE-ATIONAL FOOD
By Ellen Booth Church
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Great recipes to see, touch, smell—and taste!
It really is true that we learn best when we’re fully involved
in an experience: Recent studies have found that the brain remembers
and uses information more readily when all five senses are stimulated.
This explains why kids learn so much in the kitchen, since you
can’t get a more multi-sensory experience than cooking! The
rich textures, colors, tastes, smells, and sounds give your child
all the elements of multi-sensory learning. As you and your child
cook together, you are naturally engaging the different centers
of the brain in processing information. You may think you are
just making tacos—but you‘re also promoting brain development!
Working together in the kitchen is a great opportunity to observe
your child in action and learn more about her learning preferences
and style. What draws her attention most—the look, feel,
smell, sound, or texture of the ingredients? Perhaps she is fascinated
by the different colors of the ingredients and the way they appear
to change when mixed and cooked. Or possibly your child is drawn
to the different textures.
These open-ended recipes invite your child to create delicious
delights.
Tacos
Let your child choose the main ingredient—beef or chicken—and
then select from a variety of tasty toppings.
What you need
1 lb. boneless chicken breast strips or 1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tblsp. olive oil
2 cups water
1 jar (8 oz.) salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix
soft or hard corn taco shells
1 can refried beans
cooked white or wild rice
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
several choices of shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, jack)
avocado chunks
sliced olives
sour cream
What you can do
1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add chicken or beef and cook until lightly browned.
3. Stir in water, salsa, and seasoning mix.
4. Simmer until water is absorbed (approximately seven minutes)
What your child can do
1. Encourage her to explore the uncooked ingredients. Ask how
they feel, smell, sound, and taste. What items appear similar
to others? How are they different?
2. Your child can help you break up the cheese into chunks.
3. After the oil and meat have stopped sputtering, ask her to
help stir it as it browns. Encourage your child to notice how
the food is changing not only visually but in other ways too.
What does she hear as the meat cooks? How have the smells changed?
4. Invite your child to help measure the water and salsa. How
are these liquids different? Feel them to see!
5. Your child can help you prepare the topping ingredients and
then select those she wants to put on her taco.
Fruity Fondue
Cooking aroma-filled foods such as the following fruit fondue
with your child can stimulate her thinking and learning. Focus
your child’s attention on the odors of the different ingredients
by inviting her to smell each item and compare their aromas.
What you need
fondue pot
double boiler
1 small brick of cream cheese
1 tblsp. maple or all-fruit syrup
fruit dippers: apples, grapes, orange segments, pineapple chunks,
strawberries
What you can do
1. Bring water to a boil in the bottom of the double boiler.
2. Place cream cheese in the top of the boiler.
3. Add syrup and stir constantly while melting.
5. Serve warm in a fondue pot with assorted fruit dippers.
What your child can do
1. Ask her to help you cut up the fruit with a plastic serrated
knife and to describe each one.
2. Your child can measure the sauce ingredients and help you stir
them as they melt.
3. While sharing the fondue with the family, help your child notice
what happens to the fruit when it is dipped in the fondue. Does
it look different? How have the smells changed? Encourage her
to note and describe how each fruit tastes.
Cinnamon Pita Crisps
Here is another great-smelling recipe that will have the entire
family racing to the kitchen to see what you’re baking!
What you need
pita breads, split open into halves
cooking oil spray
2–3 tablespoons sugar
spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves
What you can do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine 1 tblsp. sugar with a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.
3. Spray both sides of the pita with cooking oil spray.
4. Sprinkle both sides with sugar and spice mixture.
5. Place the pita circles on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12–15 minutes.
What your child can do
1. Encourage your child to explore the ingredients with her sense
of smell. Do all the items have a smell? How are they similar
or different?
2. Play a guessing game by placing a little bit of each spice
under a paper napkin on a plate and asking your child to match
what is on the plate to the spice container it came from.
3. Invite your child to mix the sugar and spices. Let her experiment
with the ingredients and create her own mixture.
4. Help her sprinkle her sugar and spice creation onto the pitas
and then watch the timer as they bake in the oven.
Reprinted with permission from Scholastic Parent & Child,
February/March 2002. All rights reserved.
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