#TWKatHome Activities
Reflecting and Resolving as a Family
Welcome to TWKatHome, our fun, free online content that helps kids and families explore food and build positive, healthy eating habits. As we shift into fall and winter, we are changing our focus to Food Happenings, connecting food to current events. In the coming months, we will be exploring how food can help create a better understanding of the events around us.
In this week of Food Happenings we are talking about the upcoming New Year and how we can reflect on what has happened in the last 365 days. We are taking a simple route this week with our activity and helping you to create a New Year’s Resolution as a family with some questions and prompts.
TasteWise Kids - are you hungry for some learning?
Did you do a TWKatHome activity? Share what you learned or created from the activity on our social media! We’d also love to hear your ideas for what other content you’d like to see from TWKatHome. Share with us on Facebook (@TasteWiseKids) or Instagram (@tastewise_kids) and use the hashtags #TWKatHome and #myTWKsalad, or email info@tastewisekids.org.
Let’s Explore the New Year
This weekend marks the end of 2020 and the beginning of a New Year in the Gregorian Calendar. Did you know there are many different New Years celebrated around the world? For example, the Chinese New Year focuses on the lunar calendar and this year will land on January 25th.
For hundreds of years, humans in all different cultures have celebrated the coming of the New Year. People have celebrated with fireworks, festivals, delicious food and other traditions.
In today’s activity we’re going to be talking about one popular New Year’s tradition in particular: resolutions.
A resolution is a solution to a problem and or sometimes, a firm decision to do or not do something. For example, sharing is a good resolution to an argument over who gets the last cookie. Also, I can make a resolution to help do the dishes when I get home this afternoon.
Although New Year’s resolutions as we know them are a modern idea, the act of resolving to change something in order to solve a problem has been a tradition for a long time. Romans would make promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named, to do or not do something in the new year.
Why is a New Year’s Resolution a Good Idea?
Resolutions are not just about deciding what to do in the New Year. They are also a good opportunity to discuss the past year and think about how you envision the future.
When you are making a resolution, try to do the following three things. It helps to do this with other people such as your family or some friends.
- Reflect on the year that is ending. What happened during this year? How did you change as the year went on? What did you like or dislike during the year?
- Acknowledge accomplishments you made during the past year. Did you gain a new skill? Did you face one of your fears? What did you learn?
- Make Goals about the coming year. What would you like to accomplish? How do you want to grow this year? What things do you want to continue and what would you like to change?
It’s important to remember to pick things that are doable so that next year you can reflect on how you accomplished your goals. It’s okay if you don’t meet all your resolutions, they are guides for what will make us feel better about ourselves but they are not rules written in stone.
A Kitchen Resolution
As you know, we at TWK love food! We especially love exploring and discovering food that is healthy for us and for the environment. There is always more to learn and appreciate about food, and we can’t wait to see what discoveries 2021 brings!
You just learned about New Year’s traditions and how resolutions can help guide us to becoming better versions of ourselves. Now let’s apply that knowledge to the wonderful world of food and build some healthy eating habits in 2021.
In the activity below you will find a fun new way to incorporate food into your New Year’s resolution along with some prompts and suggestions for how to set your goals. We suggest doing this activity as a family, it always helps to work together towards a mutual goal!
Activity: Resolution Jar
We believe its important to include food in your New Year's Resolution so we've designed an activity to help get you and your family motivated to make healthy changes this year.
Follow the directions below to make a Resolution Jar with your family. You can use the prompts and suggestions on page two of this downloadable pdf if you need a jump start.
Don’t forget to share with us!
We would love to what you're putting in your New Year's resolution jar, send us your goals on Facebook (@TasteWiseKids) or Instagram (@tastewise_kids)! You can also email us at info@tastewisekids.org.
Instructions:
Step 1
Gather your materials. If you are using a recycled container that used to contain food, make sure it has been washed out.
Step 2
Decide as a family how many resolutions you would like to make. We suggest 1 for each month of the year but you can do as many as you'd like! Cut your paper into the number or resolutions you want to have. They can be strips or squares.
Step 3
Write different food-related resolutions on each piece of paper. These should be healthy and attainable goals that you and your family can work towards together. See page 2 of the pdf for some starting points
Step 4
Fold your resolutions up and place them inside your container. You can choose to decorate the outside or leave it as it is!
Step 5
Throughout the year, have a family member pull a resolution from your jar. If you made twelve, try doing it at the beginning of each month. Read what has been picked and spend the next month working towards that goal. If you aren't able to complete one, thats okay. You can put it back in the jar and try again another time!
Want to make good on that resolution to eat more veggie-focused meals? Here's a recipe for a variation on Shakshuka that's one of our personal favorites!
One-Pan Shakshuka
Ingredients:
- 2-3 zucchinis
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 eggs
- 2 14.5oz cans of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Cut veggies into medium sized cubes. Coat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange seasoned veggies on a baking sheet and cook in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown.
- Mix tomatoes and spices in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave until steaming--about two minutes.
- Add your tomato mixture to the pan of veggies and stir with a spatula to combine. Continue cooking 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced.
- With the back of your spatula, create six indentations in the veggie mixture. Crack eggs into the wells, season and return pan to oven until eggs are your preferred level of doneness.
You can serve shakshuka for breakfast lunch or dinner! It goes great with crusty pieces of bread or fluffy white rice. Add chopped scallions and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to really make it special!