This month is all about celebrating our roots! And today we're excited to have special guest Jen Haugen, award-winning registered dietitian and mom extraordinaire, share five ways to celebrate your roots together in the kitchen as a family. Happy reading!
How do you celebrate your roots in the kitchen? With food, of course! All celebrations somehow include food and fall is the perfect time to focus in more on our roots. What country we came from, a favorite relative’s recipe, places we have visited; all of it can be celebrated.
Last year, my son and I were researching our family history because of a class he was in, little did we know how much we would discover about our roots. Here are five ways you can celebrate your roots together in the kitchen as a family:
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Research your history. Make it exciting – kids will identify with a story or pictures from times gone by. In fact, they are fascinated by them if you share a fun story they can relate to. Do some research together; it might involve a trip to the library or a trip to talk with relatives. Or even check out an online genealogy site like ancestry.com. You will be surprised at what you can learn. And kids that know more about their history tend to be more resilient as they can think about what their ancestors went through during hard times, too.
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Make a fun cooking video with a relative. This is an entertaining way to get that famed recipe on tape and it’s just a whole bunch of fun to do!! Grandma’s Apple Pie or Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup, the recipe doesn’t matter, just be sure to get the details on where the recipe came from, how long it’s been in the family, favorite kitchen tools and secrets…share them all inside the video. You will love the memory you created. Be sure to share the video with family.
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Discover a food tradition by making a food from the country your family emigrated from. As our roots are held in different places around the world, this is a great opportunity to experience global cuisine.
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Celebrate a state you were born or lived in by making a food that’s well-known to be from that state. Check out this resource for ideas: http://www.letsmove.gov/kids-state-dinner featuring recipes from kids throughout the United States.
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Spend a day with a relative making a traditional recipe that’s been passed down from generations before. Favorite holiday recipes lend themselves well to this. My kids love to bake holiday cookies and it’s fun to get grandparents involved as well.
And of course, after making that special recipe, be sure to invite the family to the table for a memorable meal. Be sure to take some pictures so you can pass these memories down!
Get your Celebrate Your Roots kit today!
Jen Haugen, RDN, LD is a mom, award-winning registered dietitian and writer. On her blog (www.jenhaugen.com), she nourishes moms so they can nourish their families. With a degree in food and nutrition, and experience in balancing being a working mom, Jen’s goal is to help moms regain balance as well – both in life and in the kitchen. For the past 13 years, Jen has worked as a clinical dietitian at Mayo Clinic and then a supermarket dietitian at Hy-Vee. Now as a registered dietitian for Austin (MN) Public Schools, Jen’s focus is on kids and feeding them well. She has previously collaborated with brands and organizations like Midwest Dairy Council, The Family Dinner Project, Tropicana, Let’s Clear It Up, The Soy Foods Council, Supermarket Guru’s Food Nutrition & Science and the Academy’s Food & Nutrition Magazine as a Stone Soup Blogger. In 2012, Jen received the Emerging Dietetic Leader Award from the Minnesota Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She most recently delivered a TEDx Talk on “How Moms Can Change the World.” Jen lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. You can find Jen on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Raddish is a cooking club for kids! Created with a mission of bringing families together in the kitchen and at the table, our monthly thematic cooking kits take the guesswork out of cooking with kids while creating delicious kitchen memories along the way. Raddish is designed by a team of educators and chefs who believe the kitchen classroom is the tastiest place to learn. Join our membership today!
