Bringing Work Home...

A year ago I attended a work conference and while at it, trained to become a facilitator in the "Stir it Up with Kids in the Kitchen" program. This program was developed by The Community Resource Centre in Renfrew County. I became very excited about this program, which teaches preschoolers and their parents about the four food groups, how to be a smart(er) grocery shopper, Ellen Satter's division of responsibilty in feeding and of course, how to cook together in the kitchen. You make a different recipe together for each of the 6 weeks of the program and then all sit down at the table to eat together. We played games, sang songs, had discussions and tried new foods. Everything we discussed was about food, healthy choices and kids. Right up my alley.

A coworker and I delivered this program last Spring to a number of very appreciative families. We as facilitators learned a great deal too, and I kept thinking how much Makenna would love this program. So yesterday I did one of the recipes with her. The one I thought she would get the biggest kick out of: Orange Cranberry Muffins.

The star of this recipe is a Naval Orange. Must be a Naval Orange, because they don't have seeds.

Simply cut the orange into peices. Leave the peel on.

Throw all the pieces into a blender. Peel still on. Add 1 1/2 cups of orange juice.

Blend it all up for 1-2 mins until it's nice and juicy. The kids get such a kick out of the blender, and of putting the whole orange in, peel and all. The parents were pretty intrigued too. I will admit, when we first did this, I was skeptical.

Add the egg right into the blender.

(love the look of concentration here)

And the butter. Blend until smooth.

Add the dried cranberries. I use craisins.

1/2 cup of craisins. I recommend chopping them up finer than this. Cranberries have a strong taste to them and children (Some adults too) handle them better in small, chopped up doses). You could also use dried blueberries or a combination of dried berries.

Add these to the blender as well and blend briefly until combined.

In a seperate bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to moisten. Notice - no sign of the orange peel!

Fill muffin tins and cook at 400 degrees F for 15 mins.

Ta da! It's a fairly wet mix, so the muffins feel heavy or dense when they are cooked.

With the entire orange, the orange juice and the cranberries, these muffins are fairly healthy. They are great for breakfast, or a nutritious snack. I will admit I was surprised at how well they turned out and how good they taste. They are a lot of fun for kids to make.

Orange Cranberry Muffins:

1 medium naval orange, wasjed. (the one I used above was almost too big)

1 1/2 cups oragne juice

1 egg

1/2 cup soft margarine or butter

1/2 cup dried, sweetened cranberries

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Makes about 18 muffins.