Category: Foods & Nutrition

Kitchen Sink Cookies Challenge

I’m sure if you teach a food class and run labs you know that you always have a few odds and ends type of ingredients leftover. It’s just how it is no matter how hard you try to calculate them correctly! Having students prepare Kitchen Sink Cookies Challenge is a great way to use up all of those ”bits” of leftovers in a tasty, creative way!

What’s in Your Cart? A Receipt Analysis Activity

No two grocery carts are the same! Everyone has different food preferences based on a variety of food influences. You can tell alot about a person’s food habits and dietary lifestyles based on what you see in their cart. In this What’s in Your Cart? A Receipt Analysis Activity students infer, analyze, reflect and make connections to MyPlate and create meal plans all from the grocery cart receipts! The beauty of this activity is that you can choose to do only certain parts or you can assign the entirety to students.

Marshmallows: Mini-Lesson & Lab

I don’t know if this happens to you, but it happens to me quite frequently. Let me explain…I can go for a long time never seeing anything about a specific topic and then all of a sudden it’s everywhere!  This happened with homemade marshmallows. All of a sudden, I’m seeing videos, blog posts, social media feeds, etc. about homemade marshmallows everywhere. Maybe it was my sign to create this Marshmallows: Mini-Lesson & Lab for you to use with your students!

Project ABC for ANY Topic

Sometimes you need a generic project that can be used as an individual student assignment when class sizes are small or a group project when class sizes are large. This is where Project ABC for ANY Topic comes in! Regardless of the topic you are teaching, this activity can be used as a review of materials or as an assessment of materials in ANY course, with any topic! It even includes a version that can be turned into a bulletin board or wall display afterwards.

Food Safety & Sanitation

After talking with Angela Koster-Sorenson about her interactive food safety activities at a recent conference in Minnesota, I was excited to feature her! In this Food Safety & Sanitation unit, students learn the need for proper safety and sanitation practices in food preparation, food service and food storage to prevent food contamination, bacterial growth and illness in a variety of ways. Read on to learn more.

43 Minute Lab Series: Hash Brown Patty Pizza

After noticing continuous requests for lab suggestions that are doable in 43 minute class periods, I’ve decided to do a recurring series, featuring recipes that can
be completed from beginning to end in a 43 minute time frame. In some cases, longer recipes will broken into two day labs. When possible, I will include my pre-lab review questions that pertain specifically to the recipe. This helps to ensure that students are reading the recipe. It also allows me time to show any videos that may demonstrate the product or specific techniques. So, without further ado, I present the 43 Minute Lab Series: Hash Brown Patty Pizza!

Make Your Own Series: Flavored Finishing Salts

It’s been awhile since I shared a post in this series. So, in this Make Your Own Series, I’ll be sharing products that can easily be made from scratch, using common ingredients. Today I’m sharing…Make Your Own Series: Flavored Finishing Salts. Introduce your students to different types of salts, their characteristics and uses before creating their own finishing salts and experimenting with them in the lab.

Sheet Pan Meals

I don’t know about you, but I love quick and easy meals for a variety of reasons! With that being said, I thought that a lesson and lab on Sheet Pan Meals was a great topic to add to a culinary class. This activity has students exploring the concept of sheet pan meals, their pros and cons, formulas for putting them together and then creating one for their group to vote on and then prepare in the lab.

Star Superfoods

When teaching about MyPlate and the importance of eating a variety of foods, I always included superfoods as “stand out” foods in each food group because they were extremely nutritious, offering a variety of health benefits. The Star Superfoods is a way to introduce these foods to your students and includes a variety of interactive activities that will keep your students engaged!

Mastering Food Textures: Why Some Foods Crunch, Chew, or Melt in Your Mouth

I’m excited to introduce and share this article and lesson plan collaboration by Dr. Courtney Simons and I titled, “Mastering Food Textures: Why Some Foods Crunch, Chew, or Melt in Your Mouth”. Dr Simons is a food science educator and is an Associate Professor at Wright State University-Lake Campus and the founder of Food Science Toolbox. His goal, like mine, is to help teachers feel confident and prepared by giving them resources to deliver engaging, effective lessons while saving time and reducing stress. Continue reading to learn more about this topic!