The Cooking gives our children a chance to learn a lot of things!

Today, the city there is my office was holiday, so no work today. I was able to cook and prepare Lino's Baon with my children.

When I cooked the shrimps, he noticed that the color of shrimps changed and the size of shrimps also changed.

He said, 『Mam! The black shrimps have turned red!! The shrimps became smaller!』

And he asked me,

Lino:『Why did the color of shrimp change? 』

Me:『What do you think？』Lino:『Because of  heat?』Me:『Why do you think so?』Lino:『Because the pan is hot!』Me:『Yes. The shrimp become red after heating.』Lino:『But why? And why did the shrimps become smaller? Why?...』

When I cut the Okura, he noticed there are 5 holes inside of the Okura. 

He said,

『There are 5 rooms for seed in the Okura. Oh, this Okura also have 5 rooms. Why do all Okura have 5 rooms? 』

And he also noticed that cut Okura is sticky.

Of course he asked me

『Okura was not sticky. After boil and cut Okura, it became sticky. Why??』

I couldn't answer for his questions correctly. But I think that the teaching correct answer is not important. I think that the thinking with children through experience is important!

Today, he noticed a lot of things during the cooking. He learned a lot of things through experience. At lunch, he remember and told me about these things.  

If children cook with parents, they become to be interested in the food. And children become to be able to eat any food cooked by themselves. 

Would you like to try to cook with children next weekend?

Vegetable donuts, Let's take vegetable by snack Part 2

Yesterday, I tried to cook the vegetable donuts ( Carrot donuts and Kale donuts) first time.

Left: Kale donuts, Right: Carrot donuts

These were yummy! These donuts include a rice flour, so we can enjoy elastic texture like rice cake. And these donuts are good for children who have an allergy of the egg because the egg isn't used for these donuts. I will describe the recipe of the vegetable donuts.

[Ingredients]

• Vegetable, 30 g

( In case of using a Kale or spinach, add one table spoon of water and total of veggie and water is 30g.)

• Corn starch, 25g

• Rice flour, 35g

• Tofu, 40g

• Sugar, 20g

I've used organic carrot and kale for donuts. I tried to cook the Filipino taste by using coco sugar!

[Provedure]

1. Grate the Carrot. Toss the Kale and water into the blender.

2. Mix all ingredients and keep it in the refrigerator at least 30 min. After cooling, roll it into one bite size. Fry it.

My children ate the carrot donuts only. I think the Kale donuts were little bit bitter for children. I and my husband liked the Kale donuts. It is also delicious to eat them with honey.

If you have any question about recipes (not only the recipe of vegetable donuts), feel free to ask me through e-mail. → linosbaon@gmail.com

日本語のレシピ（ドーナツだけでなく、過去のレシピも）を見たい方は、お気軽にメールでリクエストしてくださいね！linosbaon@gmail.com 質問もお待ちしてます。

Today's Baon

It was not cute ..... (ｰ ｰ;)

• Panda rice balls

• Tofu steak

• Hushed Carrots

• Rolled egg

• Boiled Tat-soi

• Tomato 

Trying to live longer! (Benefit of chewing well, Part 3)

5. Health of teeth

There are two major disease of tooth, these are cavity and gum disease. We can prevent these disease by chewing well.

The fiber of vegetables, meats, and fishes remove plaque by chewing well. 

The saliva is secreted by chewing well. The saliva include some enzymes that helps to maintain clean condition of oral by  preventing increase of bacteria. 

The saliva can maintain neutrality condition.

The ion such as Ca and F In the saliva repair the tooth which were dissolved by acid.

As you know, cavity and gum disease relate with other whole body disease such as heart attack. 

Of course, brushing the tooth after every meal is most important to prevent the cavity and gum disease. 

The combination of tooth brush and chewing well is perfect!!

6. Prevent cancer

Currently, it is said that one of two people become Cancer. The some of cancers are known that relate to food deeply. There are many factors related to cancer, some factors are lost by the saliva.

For example, immerse some carcinogens in the saliva 30 seconds then the carcinogenesis action become less than 1/10 to 1/20!!

It is difficult to avoid all carcinogen included in food perfectly. So, please eat  with chewing well!!

Today's Baon

• Bullet train Rice ball

• Rolled egg with chopped carrot

• Sautéed  breast chicken and vegetables

• Boiled Okra

- Recipe of Hot Salad-

✳︎Ingredients✳︎

• Cabbage 1 pc (small) 

• Cauliflower 1 pc

• White mushroom 6 pcs

Sauce

• Oil 2 tbsp

• Salt 1/2 tsp

• Honey 1 tbsp

• Vinegar 2 tbsp

• Garlic 3 to 5 cloves

• Onion 1/2

• Onion leaks 1 pc

• Sesame 1 tsp

✳︎Procedure✳︎

1. Cut the vegetable and boil it 1 to 2 minutes. 

2. Chop the vegetables for sauce.

3. Put the oil in heated frying pan and sauté  chopped vegetables 3 minutes. Put all ingredients of sauce in the frying pan and heat it 30 seconds.

4. Mix boiled vegetables and sauce.

Vegetable day and Recipe of Shiitake mushroom

Last time, I heard from my friend that her daughter's class have the vegetable days twice a week, everyone have to include vegetable for their lunch at the vegetable day.

At first, I was shocked that the class had to establish the vegetable day. If there are no vegetable days, don't some students' lunch box include any vegetables? How about other three days? (If they don't consume the vegetable on other three days , Saturday, and Sunday, total five days without vegetables!!) Can you believe this?

On the vegetable day, some students bring only one leaf of lettuce and they eat it unappetizingly. 

Probably, their mother still hope their children to become to be able to eat the vegetables. However, they don't enjoy original taste of vegetable. And the taste of lettuce leaf included lunch box is not good because it is not fresh. Please provide to them the vegetables with other taste (especially salty, sweet, and umami. Please refer my previous blog→Who have many taste buds? Adult or child?). Don't give up to provide to them the vegetables!!

Some mother may already give up and they think that it is no problem to supplement by providing to their children the supplements. 

I think that we have to avoid to extra supplements. These contain additives many. For example, magnesium stearate or talc are contained for more than 90 % of tablet or capsule as lubricants. (These substances are provided enough evidence of safety and used in all over the world.) If you supplement some nutritions using supplement, you have to consume the substances which we don't need. The supplement is very easy to take a nutrition but please effort to obtain a nutrition from food!

Today's Baon

• Fried rice

• Meat stuffed Shiitake mushroom

• Celery salad

• Boiled spinach mixed with katsuobushi 

• tomato

- Recipe of stuffed mushroom -

✳︎Ingredients✳︎

A) • Ground meat (chicken or pork), 50g

    •  Onion, 1/2 pc

    • Onion leaks, 1 pc

    • Ginger, a little

    • Salt, a little

    • Corn starch, a little

B) • Soy sauce, 1 tbsp

     • Honey, 1/2 tbsp

     • Water, 3 tbsp

✳︎Procedure✳︎

1. Cut all vegetables like picture.

2. Mix the all ingredients of A).

3. Remove the part of axis from Shiitake mushroom and cover with little bit corn starch.

4. Put the mixture on the Shiitake mushroom and sauté with a little oil from the meat side.

5. The meat color change brown, sauté 3 minutes the other side also.

6. Put the all ingredients of B) into the frying pan and heat it until sauce become concentrate.

Who have many taste buds? Adult or child?

Do you know what is the taste buds?

We sense taste by the taste buds on the surface of the tongue.

The answer of title is child!!

The peak of taste buds amount is after 3 months of giving birth and 3 months baby have the taste buds 1.3 times than adult.

It is told that there are 5 types of taste, and these are Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty, and Umami.

The breast milk or formula milk include 3 kinds of taste,Sweet, Salty, and Umami.

The baby love these 3 tastes instinctively.

Sweet: Energy （carbohydrate）

Umami: Protein (amino acid)

Salty: Mineral （natrium)

The baby hate sour and bitter instinctively also. It is important for the baby because it helps to avoid rotten food (sour) and poison(bitter).

The formation of sense of taste is started from baby food and the foundation of the sense of taste has been formed until 5 years old by experience.

Do you provide for your baby or children a wide variety food? The baby and children really need the experience to eat a wide variety food for the formation of sense of taste.

If you provide the food that only children's favorite, your children's sense of taste will be limited. Aren't you relying too much on the formula milk in the case of little children meal? The formula milk includes only baby's favorite taste, and the formula milk is easy to provide perfect nutrition. However, the formula milk is not able to give to children the experience of variety taste. Please provide a wide variety food for your children and please supplement a deficient nutrition of meal with formula milk.

Also the meal for 6 years old or older, please provide a wide variety foods of course. Please guide them to become habitual to eat variety food  before the foundation of sense of taste that has been formed until 5 years old is firmed up.

Don't forget that your children's sense of taste are depending on parents.

(Last time, my husband pointed out many mistakes of my English. I would like to apologize about my English. I hope that you can understand what I want to say. I wish My English will become well through this blog.)

Today's Baon

・Yaki-udon 

・Boiled green beans mixed with ground sesame and sweet soy sauce
・Boiled egg
・Tomato  

Shokuiku at home

In previous blog 『My experience of Shokuiku 2』, I described that "The most important activity of Shokuiku is daily meal!! You can start your Shokuiku from today!!".

I would like to describe about Shokuiku at home in concrete terms.

1. Enjoy meal with the whole family

Do your family have a meal with whole family at least one meal/day? Do your family enjoy a meal with an amusing conversation? If children want to continue playing, you should not allow and please teach them an importance to have a meal with family.

2. Cooking with children

I cook with my son sometimes. He peel carrot, remove a strings from a green beans, mix an ingredient of cup cake etc. He has been interested in food through cooking. Enjoy cooking with your children♪

3. Eat all

Please teach your children to eat all food provided. Of course,except when their feeling is not good, we should avoid an over eating. If your children have a least favorite food (vegetables etc), please recommend to eat only 1 bite at first. Please show your eating that food with the word "yummy".

If they can overcome the least favorite food, they can eat a verity meals and enjoy eating more!!

Last year, I tried to overcome to eat a fresh coriander and succeeded! Now I really like to eat Asian food (Thai, Vietnam, etc). But I do not like a liver still now... Hehehe...

If you have a episode related to Shokuiku at home, shall we share for everyone?  How do you enjoy your meal with your children or grand children? If you have a question for Shokuiku, we should share also. Let me know about these by sending comment or E-mail.

E-mail address: linosbaon@gmail.com

Today's Baon

Sushi

• Tamago (rolled egg sushi)

• Boiled Carrot and Potato, mixed with a little bit curry powder and salt

• Seasoning ground chicken and boiled broccoli

My son likes Sushi and he requested Sushi for his lunch. Of course I can not put raw fish in lunch box, so I made this.