Need a fun and interactive way to involve your kids with meal prep? Make taco cups!

If you garden, you’ve probably noticed that once summer squash starts to grow, it comes on fast and with great abundance. From yellow crookneck to zucchini, summer squash comes in many shapes, sizes, and flavors. And, it has just as many uses! 

Unlike their winter counterparts, summer squashes have thinner skins and a shorter shelf life and need to be used faster (you can’t store them in a cool, dry place for months on end). So, if your counters are piling up with summer squash (or even if you just have a few!), try some of these recipes.  

Rosedale Institute created a guide for beginners in food nutrition and school gardening. This wonderful resource provides educators with 4 in-depth lessons, objectives, activities, tips, and tricks - all in one place! Included at the end of the document is a concise material and book list that can easily be referred to when planning the lessons. If you’re interested in gardening, sensory exploration, cooking development and family involvement, check out this rich resource!

Wondering what to do with a few extra leaves of kale, half a pepper, a lonely green onion, and maybe a sweet potato? Make a frittata! 

Cucumbers are easy to grow and fun to pick. While they are delicious to eat raw, if you find yourself with an abundance of cucumbers, make pickles! 

Do your kids just really love ranch? Try making your own! This recipe is an opportunity to use fresh dill, and is a great recipe for kids to help with.

My young cafeteria memories are peppered with the sound of banging trays, the difficulty of opening a cardboard milk carton, and of course, ranch. Ranch in packets, ranch in large bottles, ranch in little plastic cups. Whether it’s carrots, broccoli, cucumber, or any other raw vegetable, ranch seems to be the go-to condiment.

However, teaching children at such a young age to always associate ranch with raw vegetables misses an opportunity to introduce so many other delicious options. Sometimes, hopefully kids can learn to love raw veggies on their own for all their crunchy wonderfulness. Want something else to dip? Try hummus!

Plants are a great opportunity for sensory exploration, especially smell! And what better way to explore smell than with herbs? 

Supporting local foods systems is so important. Here’s how to do it safely. 

Like so many things, shopping for food in the age of COVID-19 doesn’t look like it used to. However, COVID-19 is also reminding us how important it is to support local food systems. 

The following suggestions were pulled from the Minnesota Farmers Market Association and local farmers, and we hope they’ll help you navigate local food sourcing for your family and others you care for this growing season.

Summer is a great time for kids to learn about food, and books are a great way to help them do that. Here are some of our favorite titles, as well as a variety of local and/or BIPOC-owned bookstores where you can buy them.

Books:

• Lenny in the Garden by Ken Wislon-Max
• Grandma Lena’s Big ‘Ol Turnip by Denia Hester
• City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan

Check out this list of BIPOC-authored children’s books about food: https://bit.ly/BIPOCbooksf2ece