Cook Because It Makes a Difference
Hsiao-Ching Chou
Author's Note: For the month of November, I am participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) and pledge to post once a day.
Today, my daughter said thank you. She thanked me for not feeding her processed junk foods after hearing from a guest speaker at school about how food dyes are made from petroleum. Amidst a chorus of "eeeewww!" and "that's disgusting!" my daughter looked at me – I was volunteering in her class today – and said "Thank you, mom."
The Pure Food Kids Foundation offers free workshops for fourth and fifth graders, which teaches them some basics about reading food nutrition labels and helping them begin to understand how to make better food choices. An instructor spent 2.5 hours with the kids, explaining some of the marketing techniques companies use to entice to kids to want their products, and the difference between a processed food and one from whole ingredients. The kids were impressively receptive to the information. From the foundation web site:
Students learn to become Food Detectives in our academically-aligned workshop. We get kids asking questions about what’s in their food and excited about real food and cooking! The Pure Food Kids Workshop is a no-cost, commercial-free, common-core learning standards-aligned, food education workshop for 4th and 5th grade students in the greater Seattle and New York City metro areas. The program is free to public, private, and home-schools, equipping students with information and skills to make healthy food choices for life.
I have made a commitment to my family to cook from whole ingredients as much as I can and to sit down for dinner together around the dinner table every night. When I cook, I try to involve my children. Even if they don't feel like participating, they can see that I'm cooking. It may take awhile for the value to sink in, but it will.
I love teaching kids how to cook, because it's a skill that not only helps them learn how to feed themselves (some day when they're off on their own) but it can give them a way to better understand the world around them. They can explore foods, flavors, chemistry, techniques, culture, history.
My friend Luuvu shot this video for me in 2010 when I offered free weekly cooking classes for kids at the farmers market. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution launched and I wanted to do my part on a local level. The classes, ultimately, weren't sustainable because I paid for all the materials and ingredients out of my own pocket. But the purpose remains strong.
This year, I started teaching occasional kids' classes out of my home. It felt good to reconnect with that side of me. Hearing my daughter say "thank you" for protecting her from the perils of processed junk foods makes my resolve even stronger.