Incorporating Beef’s Bold Nutrition into At-Home Learning
By Elesha Ergle, RDN
In these uncertain times, there are some things that continue to remain constant. Good nutrition for our kids is vital for their growth and development. Growing children need plenty of high-quality protein to support proper muscle and tissue growth, with adolescent athletes’ needs being even higher. Lean beef is an excellent source of high-quality protein, with the proteins in beef providing a great source of the amino acid, leucine, which is vital to muscle growth and development. A three-ounce portion of lean beef contains about 25 grams of protein and 10 essential nutrients, giving it the “gold star” of nutrition!
Amid the pandemic, you are probably spending more time eating at home, and beef is here to help. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner has an entire collection of “Kid-Friendly Fare” that can help you get more of beef’s high quality proteins into your little scholars’ diets.
With some schools and sports preparing to return this fall— as well as some preparing for online learning— kids will need optimal fuel to get them through their busy days. Many schools do not offer culinary classes, so teaching cooking skills at home is a great way to incorporate learning while also checking off your lunchtime to-do list.
Because cooking can even be overwhelming to some adults, start simply and slowly. Choose your recipes wisely, and don’t try to cook something that you know your kids will not eat. Ease in to the process with Personal Beef Pizzas. Kids can prepare their own pizza and make a wide variety of toppings available to them to include some veggies. Let them chop or slice veggies (as age appropriate) and through their culinary involvement, they will be more likely to try them. Get kids involved in recipe choices, ingredient swaps, and creative ideas for serving. Let go of your control factor in the kitchen and let them be kids…let them make messes and remember it is not supposed to look just like that picture on the internet.
Assign kids their own tasks that are age appropriate, and let them even have their own measuring cups, plates, or even an apron. Using recipes like Beef Jerky Trail Mix, kids can make their own healthy snacks with no actual cooking involved. Get your young athletes involved in the kitchen by helping them make Beef Jerky Granola Bars. The mix of high-quality protein and carbs in this recipe is the perfect pre-or-post game (or practice) fuel.
While you are teaching in the kitchen, now is the perfect time to talk food safety with your kids. Going through the proper handwashing techniques, using different cutting boards and knives between meats and vegetables, and discussing the proper cooking temperatures are all great life skills that children will need to master to be successful now, and later on, in the kitchen.
Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner is a great teaching tool while working in the kitchen with your kids. From simple recipes and videos to nutrition information and information about beef from pasture to plate, anything you need for a delicious and nutritious lesson plan in there.
So, head to kitchen to prepare for, and tackle, this year’s school year.
This article was funded by the Alabama Beef Checkoff Program. Brought to you by Alabama beef farmers and ranchers.