native power plate native cooking - the … · native cooking for. kids. native american...

NATIVE COOKING for KIDS

Native American Children’sCooking Curriculum

Ages 5 to 15

5 Lessons

Written by Chef Lois Ellen Frank, Ph.D., of Red Mesa Cuisine, L.L.C., in partnership with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

NATIVE POWER PLATE

Table of ContentsIntroduction and Overview ............................................................................ 3

Class 1: Corn Pudding with Mixed Berry Fruit Compote or Native American Parfaits ................................................................... 5

Class 2: The Three Sisters; Corn, Beans, and Squash .................................... 16

Class 3: Beans for Health and Wellness: Sustenance in a Pod ....................... 27

Class 4: Healthy, Easy-to-Make Desserts and Snacks .................................... 38

Class 5: Savory Snacks Filled with Flavor and Protein .................................. 53

Appendix ..................................................................................................... 63

NATIVE COOKING FOR KIDS 3

Introduction and Overview

We are in a time when our younger generation wants to learn our traditional ways and reclaim the history of who they are, including, and especially, the foods that sustained our Ancestors.

All of the recipes in this curriculum are plant-based, so besides being tasty, they are very healthful —high in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Plants have no cholesterol! Most of the recipes are naturally very low in fat. To prevent and heal diabetes and many of the other chronic disease that have become epidemic, we can reject highly processed foods, added fats, and commercial animal foods. This curriculum allows children to try new foods, or try familiar foods prepared in new ways.

Food can be medicine, but it does not have to taste like medicine!

The illustration on the cover is the Native Power Plate, a graphic designed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The Native Power Plate illustrates 4 POWERFUL food groups: Vegetables, Fruits, Beans and Whole Grains. For adults and children alike, if we can get 80-100 percent of our calories every day from these 4 groups, we could prevent and eliminate most of the diabetes, heart disease and many types cancers. Just 2 tablespoons of beans a day have been shown to reduce early death by 8 percent—imagine what a whole can a day could do! Simple changes: eat more beans. Eat more corn (a healthful whole grain!), and avoid corn oil and high fructose corn syrup. Eat beans and whole grains and fruits and vegetables throughout the day, every day. This is the message that this curriculum is designed to teach.

In good health,

Chef Lois Ellen Frank, Ph.D. Caroline Trapp, N.P., C.D.E.Red Mesa Cuisine Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

For more information and resources, visit www.NativePowerPlate.org

NATIVE POWER PLATE

4 NATIVE COOKING FOR KIDS

Getting Started Each Native Community using this curriculum will want to make adjustments to include information about how certain foods were or are important to people, now or in the past. In addition, you will want to consider the space and equipment available, and the ages of the participants, to plan for a program that works for you.

Class Logistics

• This manual is designed for students ages 5 to 14, with separate classes for the youngest, middle and oldest children, described below.

• Within each class, students are arranged in groups of 5 to 6, with 25-30 students per class, at the most.

• For safety, at least one adult helper (teacher, parent or teacher’s assistant ) per group is required, with two professional chefs or experienced cooking instructors to lead the cook-ing classes and supervise the adult helpers.

• The equipment and shopping lists are each for 1 class of 25 to 30 students.

• Each class is approximately 1.75 hours to 2 hours in length.

If Teaching All 3 Age Groups in One Day:

Student Cooking Class Times:

1st Class: 9 a..m.–10:45 a.m.

2nd Class: 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

3rd Class: 1:30 p.m.–3:15 p.m.

Clean Up: 3:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m

Note: Adults and student volunteers assist with clean up and loading of cooking equipment into vehicle

Student Cooking Groups:

1st Class: 9 to 11 year olds (Middle aged students)

2nd Class: 12 to 14 year olds (Older Students – ask for 5 volunteer students that stay and assist as cooking mentors for the youngest students)

3rd Class: 5 to 8 year olds (Youngest aged students)

Note: Organizing the day was beneficial for several reasons. Student volunteers learned how to mentor younger students and they assisted an adult (teacher or parent) in each cooking


group of youngest aged students. This gave these students and opportunity to teach the culinary skills they learned earlier in the day to the younger (age 5 to 8) students and made it safer for the younger students to use knives and cook over a flame as they had more super-vision. The older age group almost always finished early and could help with additional prep for the younger students.

Cooking Class Flow:

• Cooking stations are set up in the room as described in each lesson, prior to students arriving.

• Students are accompanied into the cooking classroom with their teacher.

• Students sit on the floor or mats or chairs (usually in front of an easel or black board for the lesson part of class).

• Chef and/or instructor does an introduction of the day’s topic for approximately 10 min-utes

• Students pull back or cover their hair, wash their hands, put on aprons, and begin the cooking portion of the class for that week.

• After cooking is complete, the stations are cleaned up, a blessing is offered in accordance with each community’s tradition, and everyone eats!

• Recipes and any additional handouts are provided for students to take home.

Class 1: Corn Pudding with Mixed Berry Fruit Compote or Native American ParfaitsPart 1: Safety in the Kitchen and the Introduction to Cooking

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the joy of cooking and eating foods they helped to prepare, and to working safely in a kitchen environment that involves the use of knives to cut food with and a flame on a stove or portable burner to cook with.

Learning Objectives:

At the end Part 1 of this session, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate rules of kitchen safety.

2. Demonstrate the safe way to use a knife to cut vegetables.

3. Demonstrate the procedure to turn on/off flame/burners when cooking.


Lesson Plan:

1. Safety in the Kitchen

a. Long hair is pulled back or covered.

b. Always wash hands before beginning to cook

c. If you touch your face and/or hair you must wash your hands again.

d. No Running in the kitchen at any time

e. Always Be respectful of others in the kitchen

f. Short demonstration on “How to Handle Knives Properly”

g. Short demonstration on “How to Use Knives to Cut Vegetables”

2. How to Turn on/off burners

a. Always turn on flame or burners with care

b. Use a kitchen towel or cooking mitt when handling a hot pan

c. When finished cooking always make sure flame/burners are turned off

3. How to Sauté Vegetables over a Flame

a. Heat pan

b. Add a few spoonfuls of bean juice, corn cooking liquid, or water.

c. Sauté vegetables until soft.

d. Turn off heat and proceed with remainder of recipe.

Part 2: Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Learning Objectives for Parts 2 and 3:

1. Describe the importance of corn in Native American Cuisine

2. List the four different colors of corn and describe how long corn has been used by our Native American ancestors

3. Demonstrate how to prepare an Ancestral cornmeal dish that can be made into a con-temporary Native American parfait and used as a snack, breakfast dish, or dessert.

4. Measure ingredients and calculate amounts of food needed for these recipes. (Exam-


ple: How many apples are there in two cups?).

5. To teach students how to assemble a recipe that contains more than one part.

6. Taste a traditional Native American corn mush or corn pudding dish.

Description:

Students receive an introduction on the importance of the Cultural History of corn to Native American peoples of the Americas. Corn is the oldest Native American ancestral ingredient in Native American cuisine and the dominant grain to the American continent. Each Native Community can outline this brief lesson to fit the importance of corn to their community. Examples of different colors of corn are passed out to students for them to handle, look at, and touch. Students prepare an Ancestral Blue or White Corn Mush depending on what the tribe or community has access to or grows themselves.

Students are introduced to Traditional Ecological Knowledge or TEK. This is an ancestral way of Native Knowing coming from our ancestors that is handed down from generation to generation. Depending on student’s age level this concept can be explained very basically or more in depth. TEK is a type of Science that holds important knowledge and information for each of our Native communities.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge or TEK Model in Indigenous Communities

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous form of traditional knowledge regarding sustainability of local resources. TEK refers to a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by the accumulation of TEK and is handed down through generations through traditional songs, stories, beliefs. This includes knowledge about agriculture, harvesting techniques, gathering and growing food and food practices. TEK involves the relationship of living beings with their traditional groups with their environment

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous form of traditional knowledge regarding sustainability of local resources. TEK refers to a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by the accumulation of TEK and is handed down through generations through traditional songs, stories, beliefs. This includes knowledge about agriculture, harvesting techniques, gathering and growing food and food practices. TEK involves the relationship of living beings with their traditional groups with their environment.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge or TEK Model in Indigenous Communities


Below are some sample questions for students. This talk and part of the lesson should be approximately 10 minutes in length.

Questions for Students

Question #1: When did Native American people first start eating corn?

Answer: Western Scientists and Native American Oral Traditions tell us that corn has been around for approximately 9500 years! Corn has been used by Native American communities all over the Americas for thousands and thousands of years and is the domi-nant grain to this continent. Just as wheat is the dominant grain to Europe and rice is the dominant grain to India and Asia, corn is the dominant grain to America.

Question #2: How many colors of corn are there?

Answer: There are four major colors of corn. Yellow, White, Red, and Blue/Black are the four colors of corn. These are the four colors on the Native American Medicine Wheel. These represent the Four Directions. All colors of corn can and are eaten by different tribes.

Question #3: What dishes does your mother/grandmother make using corn?

Answer: Answers will vary here by tribe. Students can share traditional corn dishes that have been made in their families and that they have tasted.

Part 3: Cooking

Students are assigned to a cooking station with a chef and/or adult. Students wash their hands, put on their cooking aprons and find a spot at their cooking station. Students cook both recipes and assemble Native American Parfaits. Students Eat Parfaits before leaving class. (This part of class is approximately 1 hour in length of cooking and 15 minutes for eating).

Food Ingredients and Shopping List for one class of 30 students:

• 5 cups finely ground blue or white corn meal

• 20 Apples (Gala, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious or any kind of apple can be used)

• 3 cans frozen apple juice concentrate

• 5 bags (1 pound each) of mixed frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, and/or strawberries can be used)

• 5 cups unsweetened applesauce

• 5 tablespoons agave syrup


• 3 cups Granola for topping Parfait (optional) Students can sprinkle granola on top of their parfaits.

• 3 cups toasted chopped Pecans for topping Parfait (optional) Students can chop and toast nuts for topping their parfait.

Materials:

1. Four or more different colors of dried Native American corn

2. Fresh ear of yellow and or white corn from supermarket

3. Grinding stones for grinding corn

4. Traditional Brush and Stirring Sticks (varies with each tribe and Native community).

5. Aprons for cooking

6. Copies of recipes for each student to take home.

7. Hard clear plastic cups or glass cups for parfait (8 to 12 ounce size)

8. Compostable spoons and napkins

9. All Food Ingredients as per recipe for class.

10. Natural dish soap for cleaning dishes.

11. Hand soap and paper towels for hand washing.

12. Sponges for washing dishes.

13. Dish towels for drying dishes.

Equipment at Each Cooking Station:

1. Recipes for the two dishes for Class (one set per station)

2. Two cooking burners per cooking station (two per cooking station)

3. Traditional stirring sticks or wooden spoons

4. One 2 to 3 quart saucepan with lid for cooking berry compote (one per cooking station)

5. One 2 to 3 quart saucepan for cooking corn mush (one per cooking station)

5. Two kitchen towels or two cooking mitts (two per cooking station)

7. Measuring Cups (two per cooking station)


8. Measuring Spoons (One set per cooking station)

9. Vegetable Peelers (Two per cooking station)

10. Two Cutting Boards (Two per cooking station)

11. Two Knives Per Cooking Station (Note: For the youngest age students they use smaller steak knives for cutting the apples and not the larger chef ’s knife.)

12. Ingredients for each recipe (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe)

13. Compost Bag or Bucket for apple cores and peels (Students or Instructor can take home food scraps to feed animals or to compost)

Procedure:

1. Students are assigned a cooking station with a chef and/or adult

2. Studentss pull back or cover hair, wash hands and put on aprons

3. Students cut the apples and cook the berry compote as per the recipe.

4. Students prepare the mixed berry compote and cook.

5. Students prepare the blue corn mush as per the recipe.

6. Students set out parfait cups and put first layer of the corn mush in each cup.

7. Students add second layer of berry compote.

8. Students add another layer of corn mush.

9. Students add final layer of berry compote.

10. Students add optional topping to final layer of Native American parfait and set aside. (Granola and/or chopped nuts)

11. Students clean up their cooking stations and wash measuring cups and spoons, knives, pots, and cutting boards and re-set their cooking stations for the next group of students.

12. Students can eat at the cooking stations or find a place to sit and eat.

13. Students eat the Native American parfait. (Approximately 15 minutes to eat).

Note: If instructor does not wish to do both the corn pudding and the cooked berry compote then just the corn pudding (corn mush) can be cooked for this portion of the class. We made both and students put the berries and corn in layers together, which they ate or placed in the refrigerator for later.


Students grinding corn.

Students using brush on grinding stone.


Example of finished Native American Parfait topped with chopped nuts and granola.


TEK Handout: Tr

aditi

onal

Eco

logi

cal K

now

ledg

e or

TE

K M

odel

in

Indi

geno

us C

omm

uniti

es

Trad

ition

al E

colo

gica

l Kno

wle

dge

(TEK

) des

crib

es in

dige

nous

form

of t

radi

tiona

l kno

wle

dge

rega

rdin

g su

stai

nabi

lity

of lo

cal r

esou

rces

. TEK

refe

rs to

a c

umul

ativ

e bo

dy o

f kno

wle

dge,

bel

ief,

and

prac

tice,

ev

olvi

ng b

y th

e ac

cum

ulat

ion

of T

EK a

nd is

han

ded

dow

n th

roug

h ge

nera

tions

thro

ugh

tradi

tiona

l so

ngs,

sto

ries,

bel

iefs

. Thi

s in

clud

es k

now

ledg

e ab

out a

gric

ultu

re, h

arve

stin

g te

chni

ques

, gat

herin

g an

d gr

owin

g fo

od a

nd fo

od p

ract

ices

. TEK

invo

lves

the

rela

tions

hip

of li

ving

bei

ngs

with

thei

r tra

ditio

nal

grou

ps w

ith th

eir e

nviro

nmen

t

Trad

itio

nal

Eco

log

ical

Kn

ow

led

ge

(TEK

) d

escr

ibes

ind

igen

ou

s fo

rm o

f tr

adit

ion

al k

no

wle

dg

e re

gar

din

g s

ust

ain

abili

ty o

f lo

cal r

eso

urc

es. T

EK r

efer

s to

a c

um

ula

tive

bo

dy

of

kno

wle

dg

e,

bel

ief,

an

d p

ract

ice,

evo

lvin

g b

y th

e ac

cum

ula

tio

n o

f TE

K a

nd

is h

and

ed d

ow

n t

hro

ug

h

gen

erat

ion

s th

rou

gh

tra

dit

ion

al s

on

gs,

sto

ries

, bel

iefs

. Th

is in

clu

des

kn

ow

led

ge

abo

ut

agri

cult

ure

, har

vest

ing

tec

hn

iqu

es, g

ath

erin

g a

nd

gro

win

g f

oo

d a

nd

fo

od

pra

ctic

es. T

EK

invo

lves

th

e re

lati

on

ship

of

livin

g b

ein

gs

wit

h t

hei

r tr

adit

ion

al g

rou

ps

wit

h t

hei

r en

viro

nm

ent.

Trad

itio

nal

Eco

log

ical

Kn

ow

led

ge

or

TEK

Mo

del

in

Ind

igen

ou

s C

om

mu

nit

ies


Class 1 Worksheet:

1. How many years ago did people first start eating corn? __________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

1. How many colors of corn are there? What colors are they? _______________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

1. What dishes does your mother/grandmother make using corn? ____________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________


Recipe Handout:

Corn Pudding with Mixed Berry Compote (Native American Parfait) Makes 6-8 servings

Blue Corn Mush PuddingIngredients:

• 2 cups boiling water• 1 ½ cups cold water• 1 cup finely ground blue or white corn meal (toasted or un-

toasted)• 5 cups finely ground blue or white corn meal

Directions: In a small saucepan boil 2 cups of water. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups cold water and corn meal, stirring constantly with a whisk until there are no lumps. Slowly add the ground corn meal mixture into the saucepan of boiling water, mixing the corn meal with the boiling water to prevent any lumps from forming. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture has a thick consistency. Using a whisk, mix the mush together completely. Cook, slowly, continuing to stir, until it turns smooth and thickens. Remove from heat. Spoon into dishes and serve warm or chilled.

Mixed Berry Compote

Ingredients:• 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples• 2 cups mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and/or cherries),

fresh or frozen, unsweetened• ½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, to taste

Directions: In a medium saucepan combine chopped apples and apple juice concentrate. Bring to a boil, stir, and add berries. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to low and simmer, cov-ered, for about 25 minutes, or until fruit is tender when pierced with a fork. Mash lightly. Add applesauce and heat until compote is hot. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve immedi-atelyor layer together with the corn mush to make the Native American Parfaits.

Place several tablespoons of warm corn mush pudding in small glasses or clear plastic cups for the first layer. Next, add the same amount of the mixed berry fruit compote. Add another layer of the corn pudding, followed by another layer of the mixed berry compote. Top with a few chopped nuts, berries, or granola if desired. Serve warm or chilled.


Class 2: The Three Sisters:Corn, Beans, and SquashLearning Objectives

At the end of this class, students will be able to:

1. List the foods that make up the Three Sisters and describe their importance in Native American communities.

2. Prepare a basic tortilla dough and make homemade corn tortillas.

3. Cut vegetables using proper knife skills.

4. Prepare a cooked dish, involving a more advanced level of culinary skill than in the previous week.

5. Measure amounts of food using math skills with food ingredients and calculate amounts of food needed for each recipe.

6. Taste a dish made using the Three Sisters.

Part 1: Traditional Knowledge

Lesson Description (10-15 minutes)

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the importance of the Three Sisters: Corn, Beans, and Squash in Native American cuisine. Students learn why these three plants are combined together. Students will prepare a meal that uses corn to make a tortilla along with corn, beans, and squash with green chiles made into a sauté and then stuffed inside the homemade tortilla to make a healthy taco.

Note: An ear of corn (dried or fresh), a squash (zucchini to represent summer squash and an acorn or butternut to represent winter squash), and dried beans are passed around for student to handle, look at, and touch.

Corn, Beans, and Squash, also known as the Three Sisters, are considered by many trib-al communities to be sacred gifts from the Great Spirit. Different tribes have stories about these Three Sisters and how they came to be could be told at this time. According to some stories the plants emerged from the first garden as sisters to help and support each other. The Three Sisters also refers to the practice of planting of corn, pole beans, and squash together in mounds. Corn needs nitrogen to grow from the soil, which beans provide and replenish. Beans need a pole to climb up which the corn stalks provide to beans. And squash with its big broad leaves shades the soil keeping moisture in the soil and preventing weeds from growing in the garden. There is much information on the Internet on how to plant a Three Sisters garden for educators who want to incorporate this into their own curriculum.


The Three Sisters are not only important in how they grow together, which is complete-ly sustainable, but also in the nutrients they provide. Corn supplies a variety of important amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein, which our bodies use for growth and repair) and carbohydrates (which give us energy).. Beans are extremely high in protein and low in fat. Squash adds additional vitamins, including vitamin A (good for eyes, bones, teeth, growth, and tissue repair), and fiber (good for our bowels, lowers cholesterol and keeps us feeling full).. Dried and toasted squash seeds are a healthy and filling snack, or are good on a salad. Together, corn, beans and squash make for a very nutritious meal.

Highinproteinandnutrientsandlowinsugarandfat,corn,beans,andsquashalsoknownastheThreeSisters,areconsideredbymanytribalcommuni estobesacredgi sfromtheGreatSpirit.Thewaythesevegetablesgrowinthegardenexemplifiesthisno onofinterconnectedness,asdothecomplementarynutrientstheyprovide.

For the more advanced students, different kinds of native beans can be introduced and their importance to Native People of the Americas can be discussed. Below is an heirloom bean from the Tohono O’odham community that is very healthy. Heirloom beans are open-pollinated seed that can be planted producing the exact same bean. They are old cul-tivars from Ancestral seeds that are maintained by gardeners and farmers commonly grown during earlier periods in human history. Students are asked to think about other kinds of beans that they have eaten and what kind of beans they have seen being grown in their own community or their own family gardens.

The Three SistersHigh in protein and nutrients and low in sugar and fat, corn, beans, and squash also known as the Three Sisters, are considered by many tribal communities to be sacred gifts from the Great Spirit. The way these vegetables grow in the garden exemplifies this notion of interconnectedness, as do the complementary nutrients they provide.


Review Questions for Students

Question #1:What three ingredients make up the Three Sisters?

Answer: Corn, Beans, and Squash.

Question #2: What kinds of beans can you think of that you have eaten?

Answer: Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, navy beans, red beans, garbanzo beans, Anasazi beans, tepary beans, Aztec beans, Black Runner beans and more.

Question #3: Why is it important to continue to grow and eat these native crops in our Native communities?

Answer: Because they keep alive our cultural traditions and give us important nutrients for our health and wellness. Educators could go more into depth here on the use of these important plants and why in their own communities.

Question #4: What is the different between winter squash and summer squash?

The tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) is a native bean that has been grown in the desert for millennia and one of the most heat and drought tolerant annual legume crops in the Southwest, if not the world, making them perfectly suited for the desert environment. These little beans are a perfect food for people prone to diabetes, and a great energy food for athletes and dieters, as they help to regulate blood sugar levels because they are a “slow-release food,” that are full of fiber, and have a delicious rich and nutty flavor. Tepary beans have a higher protein content (23-30%) than pinto, kidney, and navy beans, have higher levels of oil, calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and potassium, yet are lower in polyunsaturated fat.


Answer: With summer squash, you eat the outside (like a yellow squash or zucchini) and winter squash you do not (like an acorn squash or pumpkin).

Note: This introduction is approximately 10 to 15 minutes in length.


Part 2: Cooking

Food Ingredients and Shopping List for 30 Students:

• 10 cups corn masa for making tortillas

• 8 teaspoons salt (Kosher Salt if available) for both recipes

• 3 White onions (medium to large)

• 10 cloves garlic

• 10 cups green zucchini squash (about 16 medium size zucchini)

• 8 cups cooked beans (canned or slow-cooked, rinse if canned)

• 6 cups corn kernels, fresh from the cob or frozen

• 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 1 ½ cups New Mexico or Anaheim green chile, roasted, peeled and chopped

Materials for Class:

1. An ear of either dried or fresh corn, a variety of dried beans, and an example of sum-mer and winter squash to pass around during history lesson part of class.

2. Aprons for cooking

3. Copies of recipes for each student to take home

4. Compostable 9 inch plates, forks, and napkins.






1. Recipes for the two dishes for Class.

2. Two cooking burners per cooking station (Two per cooking station)

3. Metal Bowls (Two per cooking station; one for corn masa and one for chopped vege-tables).

4. Large Cooking Spoons (Two per cooking station)


5. Tortilla Press (One per station)

6. Plastic Bag cut into a circle to fit tortilla press so masa doesn’t stick to press when pressing dough. (One bag for each tortilla press at each station)

7. Cast iron pan or skillet for cooking tortillas. (One for each cooking station)

8. Spatula for flipping tortillas during cooking process (One for each cooking station)

9. Basket lined with two kitchen towels to keep tortillas warm (One for each cooking station)

10. Two Cutting Boards (Two per cooking station)

11. Two Knives per cooking station (Note: For the youngest age students (age 5 to 8) they use smaller steak knives for cutting the apples and not the larger chef ’s knife.)

12. Measuring Cups (One per cooking station)

13. Measuring Spoons (One set per cooking station)

14. Stove top grill for roasting green chile (One per cooking station)

15. Glass or Metal Bowl for roasted chiles to cool down during sweating process (One per cooking station)

16. Sauté pan or skillet for sautéing vegetables in (One per cooking station)

17. Two kitchen towels or two cooking mitts (One set per cooking station)

18. Ingredients for each recipe (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe)

19. Compost Bag or Bucket for vegetables skins and peels (Students or Instructor can take home food scraps to feed animals or to compost)

Outline of Cooking Process:

1. Students are assigned to a cooking station with a chef and/or adult

2. Students pull back or cover hair, wash hands and put on aprons

3. Students mix the corn masa dough for the tortillas as per the recipe, place in a metal bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

4. Students cut the onions, garlic, and zucchini.

5. Students roast, peel, and chop the green chiles (unless the educator is using green chiles that are already prepared).

6. Students press the corn masa using tortilla presses into tortillas.


7. Students cook the pressed tortillas in a cast iron skillet or pan.

8. Students place the cooked tortillas in a basket lined with clean kitchen towels to keep them warm.

9. Students sauté the onion, garlic, and zucchini.

10. Students add the cooked beans and corn kernels to the sauté and season with salt and pepper.

11. Students add the green chile to the sauté or place it in a bowl to serve it on the side.

12. Students clean their stations.

13. Traditional song or prayer is offered for the food.

14. Buffet is served and students eat the food they prepared (approximately 15 minutes).

Note: For our student groups we waited until all the groups (cooking stations) were finished, then we placed the food out buffet style. We then had one adult and one child make a blessing for the food and used a hand drum to sing a song before eating.


Handout: Three Sisters Coloring Sheet

Highinproteinandnutrientsandlowinsugarandfat,corn,beans,andsquashalsoknownastheThreeSisters,areconsideredbymanytribalcommuni estobesacredgi sfromtheGreatSpirit.Thewaythesevegetablesgrowinthegardenexemplifiesthisno onofinterconnectedness,asdothecomplementarynutrientstheyprovide.

The Three SistersHigh in protein and nutrients and low in sugar and fat, corn, beans, and squash also known as the Three Sisters, are considered by many tribal communities to be sacred gifts from the Great Spirit. The way these vegetables grow in the garden exemplifies this notion of interconnectedness, as do the complementary nutrients they provide.

Black line drawing that can be colored.


Handout: Today I Tried Beans

SNACK | BEANSThere are many types of beans. All are tasty, and are good for children, adults and elders! Beans have fiber, protein, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins. Besides whole beans, you can enjoy beans that have been made into soy milk, tofu or tempeh (Asian bean products that are now popular in the United States).

Today, I tried: The food tasted:

1. _________________________ 2. _________________________

3. _________________________ 4. _________________________

NATIVE COOKING for KIDSNATIVE POWER PLATE

How many of the beans in this picture can you name?

(Write your answers on the back.)

NativePowerPlate.org


Class 2 Worksheet

1. What three foods make up the Three Sisters? _________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

1. What kinds of beans can you think of that you have eaten? _______________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

1. Why is it important to continue to grow and eat these native crops in our Native com-

munities? _____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

1. What is the different between winter squash and summer squash? _________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________


Recipe Handout:

Three Sisters Makes 4-6 servings

Corn TortillasIngredients:

• 1-cup corn masa flour for making tortillas• 1-teaspoon Kosher salt• 2-cups warm water

Directions: In a medium-size mixing bowl combine dry ingredients, then slowly mix in warm water using a slotted spoon or your hands until completely mixed and you have formed a dough.

After the dry ingredients and water are completely mixed, form balls using your hands. The balls should be just smaller than a golf ball. Set aside.

Preheat your comal or cast iron skillet so that it is hot.

In a tortilla press, place one ball in the center of the tortilla press and press together to make one corn tortilla. I use a plastic bag that I cut in half leaving a seam on one side so that I can place the corn masa ball inside the plastic so that it doesn’t stick to the tortilla press.

Remove the tortilla and place on the comal and cook the first side of the tortilla for 10 to 15 seconds, then turn over and cook for approximately 30 to 40 seconds, then turn over again and cook until it puffs and the tortilla is done.

Place the cooked tortilla in a kitchen towel inside a basket or bowl and prepare the next tortilla following the same steps. Stack the tortilla on top of each other to keep them warm inside the towel. Serve warm with your favorite taco recipe.

Three Sisters SautéIngredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray or a ¼ cup water.• ½ white onion, diced• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped• 2 cups organic zucchini, cut into ¼ inch cubes• 1-½ cups cooked organic cranberry or pinto beans or (1) 15oz can organic pinto beans

(drained and rinsed). • 1-cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh from the cobs of 2 ears oven roasted corn• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt (or sea salt if available)• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions: To saute onions without oil, put onions in pan over medium heat. Cook 3-5 minutes, stiring frequently, until onions are clear.. Add a little water to the pan if the onions start to stick. If using oil, spray olive oil onto cast iron skillet and heat skillet over medium to high heat until hot but not smoking. Sauté onions for 2 minutes until clear.

Add garlic and zucchini and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked beans and corn kernels, stir. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Serve.

NOTE: For the roasted sweet corn, wet each ear of corn and place on a sheet tray. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the tray, about ½ inch of water. Place in a 350-degree oven and roast for approximately 10 minutes, remove from oven, turn over the ears of corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, peel the husks and cut the kernels from the cob. Discard the husks and cob. Use as instructed from the recipe.

Class 3: Beans for Health and Wellness:Sustenance in a PodLearning Objectives:

At the end of this class, students will:

1. Name four important historical periods in the history of Native American Cuisine.

2. Describe the foods that they eat from each of these periods.

3. Taste foods from the Ancestral Pre-Contact period.

4. Prepare a stew from beans and a salad from beans.

5. Use kitchen safety and culinary skills learned from the previous weeks.

6. Prepare bread that is not fried but grilled that can be called No-Fry Frybread.

7. Prepare homemade Lemonade.



Lesson Description:

This lesson is designed to show students the importance of beans in terms of protein and to show them how versatile beans are. Students will prepare a stew made from several


different kinds of beans. In addition to the stew, they will also a prepare salad using a romaine leaf as the taco shell to eat a delicious and easy to make bean salad with.

Students will also learn how to make No-Fry Frybread, which is the same dough as frybread but it is grilled, as an alternative to the traditional fried bread. Fried bread was introduced to Native Peoples during the relocation and reservation period in Native American history.

Students will be introduced to the four periods of the history of Native American cuisine. These four distinct periods in history are the periods that define our cuisine and why we now eat the foods we eat.

These four food periods help to define what happened in Native American cuisine history. The educator will tell students what the periods are and then look at some of the foods that have come from this period in their own community.

Ask the students to repeat the four periods they have just learned before moving on to the individual historical periods.



Question #1: What foods do you know of from this period? (Remind the students of the lesson that they learned from the previous week as several foods from this period). En-courage them to think of foods that they have eaten that are inherently Native American or come from the Americas.

Answer: Domesticated Crops:

Including Corn, Beans, Squash, Chiles, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Cassava, Vanilla, Cacao (ma-jor ingredient in chocolate) and many others.Wild Foods Included:

Wild Vegetables—Including Carrots, Celery, Onions, Garlic, Turnips, all types of Salad Greens, Wild Spinach, Wild Mache Lettuce, Fiddlehead Ferns, Purslane Greens, a vari-ety of root vegetables, all kinds of Cacti including Cholla Buds, Nopal Cactus leaves and Prickly Pear fruits, Saguaro Fruits and Seeds, Ocotillo Cactus, Agave, different types of Seaweed, Sea Beans, Wild Mushrooms, all types of Medicinal Plants and many more.

All Types of Fruits—Wild Strawberries, Wild Blackberries, Red and Blue Huckleberries, Blueberries, American Red Raspberry, Chokecherry, Wild Cherry, Wild Currents, Wild Grapes, Saguaro Cactus Fruits, Banana Yucca Fruits, Avocados, Bananas, Mangos, Coco-nuts, and many more.

Grains and Nuts—Wild Rice, Sunflower Seeds, Piñon Nuts, Acorns, Pecans, Mesquite Beans, Cattails, Amaranth, Quinoa and many more.

Medicinal Plants—Arnica, Barberry, Chia, Common Mullin, Creosote Bush, Desert Sumac, Epazote, Four-o’clock, Globe Mallow, Golden Rabbit brush, Horehound, Navajo Tea/Cota, Osha, Rocky Mountain Bee plant, Sagebrush Sand Verbena, Three leaf Sumac, Wolfberry, Wormwood, and many more.


Question #2: What foods do you know that came from this period?

Answer: Pork, beef, sheep, goats, chickens and all of the by products from those animals like cheese, yogurt, milk, butter, and eggs. Also introduced were many new plants: wheat, apples, peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, as well as watermelon, cabbage, figs, olives and citrus.

Question #3: What foods that you eat or have eaten come from this time period?

Answer: Fry bread, the Indian Taco, Prune or other Fruit Pies, Pueblo Oven Bread and any others that you know came from this period in your own communities.

DID YOU KNOW? All of the 566 Federally Recognized Tribes almost every tribe and many of the State Recognized Native American communities in the United States know how to make and have a recipe for Frybread and the iconic Pan-Indian Taco.


This is the period where we are now and the dishes we are going to prepare today are examples of taking Ancestral Native American ingredients and making them into healthy dishes that are easy to make, fun to eat, and healthy.

For the more advanced students educators can talk about ways in which we are making this New Native American cuisine happen today with some of the examples listed on the next page.

Question #4: Are beans Native American?

Answer: Yes, and they come from the Pre-Contact period.

Question #5: Name three types of beans that you know or have learned?

Answer: Any of many beans, including Pinto, Kidney, Black Beans, Anasazi Beans, Tepary Beans, Cannelloni, etc.

Question #6: Do beans contain protein?

Answer: Yes. Beans have been called, “Sustenance in a pod.” Beans, nuts, and seeds are relatively easy to grow, gather, and store. They are an important part of the daily


Native American diet providing high quantities of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Today beans play a crucial role in health as one of the major ingredients in a traditional diet.

Note: This introduction to the Four Periods will take 10-15 minutes.

Part 2: Cooking

Before Class:

The No-Fry Bread dough needs to rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour, so educators must come in with a batch of dough already made for the morning class. Each class will make dough for the next class, before using the dough from the previous class (the youngest class will not make dough).

Note: For our student groups we waited until all the groups (cooking stations) in the class-room were finished, then we placed the food out buffet-style. We then had one adult and one child make a blessing for the food and used a hand drum to sing a song before eating.

Food Ingredients and Shopping List for 30 Students:

• 20 cups unbleached or whole-wheat flour

• 10 Tablespoons baking powder

• 15 teaspoons salt ( kosher salt if available)

• 5 Large Yellow Onions

• 5 Green Bell Peppers

• 5 (18 once) cans whole tomatoes (NO Salt if possible)

• 13 cups cooked dark red kidney beans (6.5 cups dried beans or approximately 3lbs.)

• 13 cups cooked pinto beans (6.5 cups dried beans or approximately 3 lbs.)

• 10 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

• 15 Tablespoons dried mild New Mexico Red Chile powder

• 3 cans black beans (15.5 ounce size can)

• 3 cans pinto beans (15.5 ounce size can)

• 3 cans kidney beans (15.5 ounce size can)

• 5 teaspoons ground cumin

• 3 teaspoons mild New Mexico Chile Powder



• 5 cups roasted corn kernels (Fresh or frozen)

• 5 cups diced fresh Roma tomatoes (about 10 to 12 tomatoes)

• 100 Romaine Leaves (Approximately 5 heads)

• 5 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 25 Tablespoons Agave

• 1 ½ cups fresh squeezed lime juice (about 15 limes)

• 10 fresh lemons

• 1 bag ice for lemonade


1. Students pull back or cover long hair, wash hands and put on aprons.

2. Students mix the flour and knead the dough for the No-Fry Bread. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

3. To prepare the Pinon Chili Bean stew, students cut the onions, green bell peppers, and garlic.

4. Students sauté the vegetables for the stew.

5. Students add the tomatoes, corn, kernels, and spices for the stew.

6. Students let the stew simmer while they begin the next recipe.

7. Students prepare the salad and make the salad dressing.

8. Students roll out the dough using rolling pins and grill the No- Fry Bread.

9. Students make the lemonade and pour into compostable plastic cups.

10. Instructor sets out Romaine lettuce leaves to use as another option besides No-Fry Bread to make Indian Tacos. Also set out Indian Taco Toppings, if using.



14. Buffet is served and students eat the food they prepared. (Approximately 15 minutes in length needs to be left for eating).



1. Recipes for the dishes being prepared for class.

2. Two cooking burners per cooking station. (two per cooking station)

3. Metal bowl to mix dough and let it rest in.

4. Measuring cups. (two per station)

5. Measuring spoons. (one set per station)

6. Rolling Pin for rolling out the dough. (two per station)

7. Tongs. (one per station to flip bread.)

8. Basket lines with two kitchen towels to keep tortillas warm. (one for each cooking station)

9. Stove top grill, to grill bread on. (one per station)

10. Soup Pot (4 to 6 quart) for cooking stew..

11. Large Cooking Spoon. (one per station)

12. Kitchen Towels or two cooking mitts. (one set per station)

13. Two cutting boards. (two per station)

14. Two knives. (two per station)

15. Metal Bowl to mix Salad in (one per station)

16. Can opener (This can be shared amongst the stations.)

17. Lemon Squeezer

18. Pitchers for Lemonade

19. Small Metal Bowl and Whisk to make salad dressing (one set per cooking station)

20. Ingredients for each recipe. (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe)

21. Compost Bag or Bucket for vegetable skins and peels (Students or Instructor can take home food scraps to feed animals or to compost)


1. Aprons for Cooking

2. Copies of recipes for each student to take home


3. Compostable 9-inch plates, 8 to 12 ounce soup bowls, forks, knives, spoons, napkins and beverage cups.






Handout: 4 Periods


Recipe Handout:

Pinon Chile Beans and Indian No-Fry BreadMakes 8-12 servings

Pinon Chile BeansIngredients:

• 2 cups bean juice or water (plus ½ cup for sautéing onions) • 1 large yellow onion, chopped • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped • 2 cups chopped fresh plum tomatoes or 1 28-ounce can unsalted whole peeled tomatoes

with basil • 2 ½ cups cooked dark red kidney beans (or one 29-oz can, drained and rinsed. This is

closer to 3 cups – may adjust seasonings to taste)• 2 ½ cups cooked pinto beans (or one 29-oz can, drained. This is closer to 3 cups; may

adjust seasonings to taste)• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen) • 3 tablespoons dried mild red chile powder • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions: Heat ½ cup water or bean juice in a cast iron soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, sauté for 2 minutes until translucent, and then add garlic and bell pepper and sauté another 2 minutes. If using canned tomatoes, cut each of the whole tomatoes into 8 pieces (a large dice), or dice fresh tomatoes, and add them to the onion and bell pepper. Cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add kidney beans, pinto beans, and corn, and stir well. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Stir in chile powder and salt. Add the bean juice to desired consistency. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.

Serve as a stew in a bowl, or on on the Indian No-Fry Bread (recipe below), or on large Romaine Lettuce leave in place of a fried taco shell.

Indian No-Fry Bread

Ingredients:• 4 cups unbleached white or whole-wheat flour • 2 tablespoons baking powder • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt • 1 ½ cups warm water

Directions: In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir in


water until the dough becomes soft and pliable without sticking to the bowl. Knead the dough on a lightly floured cutting board or surface for 4 minutes, folding the outer edges of the dough towards the center. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes to allow it to rise.

Shape the dough into small balls (the size of a ping pong ball, about 1 to 1½ inches in diameter) and roll out to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin or your hands. Stretch or roll the dough out so that it is approximately 8 to 10 inches in diameter. I always use my hands, which makes for slightly uneven round breads but everyone will know they were handmade and I think it gives each bread a little more character.

Heat a cast iron skillet or open flame grill until very hot. Place your shaped dough circle onto the hot pan or open flame grill and let it cook on one side for approximately 1 minute until it puffs up and browns. Using tongs or a spatula, turn the bread over and cook about another minute, or until the bread puffs. Watch closely so it does not burn.

Repeat this process with each piece of dough. Keep bread warm between two clean kitchen towels, in a basket if available.

To make your own No-Fry Bread Indian Taco at home, top with some of the Pinon Chile Beans, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes. Add salsa if desired.

Class 4: Healthy, Easy to Make Desserts and SnacksLearning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. List the “Magic Eight” and the impact these Native American foods have made on European cuisine.

2. Describe the origin of ingredients they will use in today’s lesson.

3. Prepare simple, delicious, nutritious desserts: Fresh strawberries and grilled pinap-ple with chocolate.

4. Prepare three simple healthy snacks: a Fruit Smoothie, Trail Mix, and Air-popped Popcorn with Topping.

5. Use proper knife skills to cut fruit.



Lesson Description

This class is both fun and important as the students learn that a perfectly ripe strawberry and ripened grilled pineapple with a just a little dark chocolate are perfect desserts. It shows them that they don’t need sugary sweet cakes, pies, cookies, or candies to enjoy for dessert. We also learn to make homemade Trail Mix, Popcorn, and Fruit Smoothies. Each group will have what they need to make trail mix and the fruit desserts at their stations, and will then visit a station with a blender to make fruit smoothies, and a station with a hot air popper to make seasoned no-oil-added popcorn

Note: I highly recommend 72% dark chocolate and make sure there is no milk solids in the chocolate used.


These ingredients were given from the New World (the Americas) to the Old World (Europe) changing their cuisines forever. I call the foods that most significantly impacted the Old World “The Magic Eight.” Included are corn, beans, squash, chiles, tomatoes, potatoes, vanilla, and cacao. They are foods that originated in the Americas and were spread to the Old World via Christopher Columbus, most likely on the second and third voyages of his trips between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (the Americas).

Think about this for a moment. In 1491, none of these foods existed anywhere in the world outside of the Americas. There was no Italian tomato and no Irish potato. Britain’s national dish, Fish and Chips, half of which originated from the Americas didn’t exist yet in the U.K. There were no chiles in any of the Asian cuisines that exist today. East Indian curries were savory and not as spicy as they currently are. Vanilla didn’t grow in Madagascar or Tahiti, where much of it is now produced, and cacao (chocolate) didn’t grow anywhere outside of the Americas. There was no European chocolate or any kind of chocolate confection.


In the modern sense we see these two ingredients as inter-connected to each other, va-nilla was and continues to be a crucial part of making chocolate into the sweet and luscious desserts we enjoy all over the world. The indigenous Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs of Mexico have used vanilla and cacao together for millennia, along with chilies and cacao for making mole (coming from the Nahuatl word molli, meaning sauce). And the potato, which is now a staple in the Russian diet, has only been so for approximately the last 500 years.

For More Advanced Students:

In this class, students will use a 72% dark chocolate. Scientists know that cocoa contains the polyphenols know as flavonoids, which are a type of antioxidant. They soak up harmful free radicals from the body. Flavonoids from chocolate may help improve brain function in older people and generally improve the flexibility of arteries. This can help prevent blood clots and strokes.

Dark chocolate, which is closest to what Ancestors ate, has some health benefits. And we can get all the benefits from a small amount, about a 1-oz square. More than that is not needed, and can keep us from filling up on all the other foods we need for health.

Chef Walter Whitewater working with students on desserts.


Grilling pineapple on the stovetop grill.

Grilled Pineapple ready for dark chocolate.


Finished tray of grilled pineapple with chocolate.

Strawberries on skewers ready to be dipped in chocolate.


Dipping strawberries in melted chocolate.

Illustrated here is a finished tray of strawberries and pineapple.


Pictured is an older student mentoring a younger student on how to dip strawberry into chocolate.


Healthy Trail mix in snack bags.

Air popped popcorn with yeast and sea salt.



Question #1: Is cacao, the major ingredient in chocolate, native to the Americas?

Answer: Yes, the cacao tree in native to the Americas. It originated in Central America as well as parts of Mexico over 5000 years ago. It was consumed by pre-Colombian cultures in spiritual ceremonies. Scientific evidence also shows us that cacao was in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico over 1000 years ago, which means the native people to the south walked it here to trade with ancestors from this region.

Question #2: Are strawberries Native American?

Answer: Yes, different Native American tribes have harvested wild strawberries for millennia.

Question #3: Is pineapple native to the Americas?

Answer: Yes. The native peoples of southern Brazil and Paraguay have used pineapples for centuries. They helped it to spread all over South America, into the Caribbean, Central American and Mexico where it was cultivated by the Mayas and Aztecs. Columbus encountered the pineapple in 1493 in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

Question #4: Is popcorn Native American?

Answer: Yes, many tribes have popped corn and eaten it once it was popped.

Note: This introduction is approximately 10 to 15 minutes

Part 2: Cooking

Food Ingredients and Shopping List to serve 30 students:

• 5 Fresh perfectly ripened pineapples (these need to be bought several days in advance and left out to ripen)

• 80 strawberries (or two each per student and adult)

• 80 wooden skewers

• 40 ounces of 72% dark chocolate

• 10 ripe bananas (these will need to be bought several days in advance and left out to ripen)

• 5 cups frozen strawberries

• 5 cups frozen blueberries

• 5 cups packed kale, Washed and stems removed (you can purchase kale already cleaned with the stems removed)


• 10 cups almond milk

• 6 bags of ice (for smoothies)

• 2.5 cups unpopped popcorn (any color or all colors)

• 5 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (not Baker’s Yeast. Nutritional Yeast can be found at natural grocery stores or ordered online. Try Braggs Nutritional Yeast Seasoning. Nu-tritional yeast provides a cheesy flavor.).

• 5 teaspoons sea salt, (finely ground or you may need to grind in a spice grinder)

• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) roasted sunflower shelled seeds

• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) roasted pumpkin shelled seeds

• 2.5 cups (1.5 lbs.) dark raisins

• 2.5 cups (1.5 lbs.) golden raisins

• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) dried apricots

• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) dried cranberries or cherries

• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) banana chips (optional)

• 60 Plastic Snack Size bags (one each for trail mix and popcorn)

Note: This recipe serves 30 students.


1. An example of each of the Magic Eight ingredients to pass around to students during the history part of the class.

2. Aprons for cooking.


4. Compostable 9-inch plates, forks, knives, napkins and beverage cups for smoothies.

5. Plastic Ziploc bags for popcorn and trail mix.






Equipment at Fruit Cooking Station:

1. Recipes for the dishes for class.

2. Two Cooking burners (two per cooking station).

3. Stove top grill for grilling pineapple.

4. Double Boiler (one per station). Can be a saucepan with a bowl that fits on top to melt the chocolate.

5. Metal or wooden spoon for stirring the chocolate and drizzling onto pineapple.

6. Two Cutting Boards (two per cooking station).

7. Two knives per cooking station. (NOTE: For the youngest age students [age 5 to 8] they use smaller steak knives for cutting the apples and not the larger chef ’s knife.)

8. Two sheet trays lined with parchment paper.

9. Skewers for strawberries

10. Two kitchen towels or two cooking mitts (one set per cooking station).

11. Ingredients for each recipe. (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe.)

12. Compost Bag or Bucket for vegetable and fruit skin. (Students or Instructor can take home food scraps to feed animals or to compost.)

Equipment at Trail Mix Cooking Station:

1. Recipes for the dishes for class

2. Large metal bowl for mixing trail mix (one per cooking station).

3. Ingredients for each recipe. (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe to serve the group.)

4. Plastic snack size bags to take home trail mix.

Equipment at Popcorn Cooking Station:

1. Recipes for the dishes for class

2. Large bowl for catching popcorn (one per cooking station).


4. One popcorn popper. (This is shared amongst all groups.)


5. Plastic snack size bags to take home popcorn.

Equipment at Smoothie Cooking Station:

1. Recipes for the dishes for class.

2. One powerful blender for blending smoothie. (This is shared amongst all groups.)



1. Students are assigned to a cooking station with a chef and/or adult.

2. Students wash their hands and wear aprons.

3. Students cut the tops off of the strawberries.

4. Students cut the pineapple into strips. (I usually cut the skin and top off in advance and just let the students cut the peeled pineapple into pieces. If you want to let the advanced students cut the entire pineapple they should have enough knife skills by now to do that.)

5. Students grill the pineapple on the stovetop grill.

6. Students place the pineapple pieces onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.

7. Students set up the double boiler and melt the chocolate that has been cut into small pieces.

8. Students skewer the strawberries.

9. Students dip the strawberries into the melted dark chocolate.

10. Strawberries are placed on a sheet tray line with parchment paper once they have been dipped in chocolate.

11. Students drizzle the remaining chocolate onto the pineapple pieces, which are left to set.

12. Students prepare the vegetables and fruit for the smoothie.

13. Students alternate between stations that have been set up to pop the popcorn, and blend the smoothie.

14. Students mix the trail mix and put into bags while waiting to pop corn and blend smoothie.

15. Students pour the smoothie into plastic cups and set out on their cooking stations.




18. Buffet is served and students eat the food they prepared. (Approximately 15 minutes in length needs to be left for eating.)

Note: For our student groups we waited until all the groups (cooking stations) in the classroom were finished, then we placed the food out buffet style. We then had one adult and one child make a blessing for the food and used a hand drum to sing a song before eating.


Handout: The Magic Eight


Recipe Handout:

Fruit with Chocolate Drizzle, Smoothie, PopcornMakes 8-12 servings

Fruit with Chocolate DrizzleServes 6

Ingredients:• 1 ripe pineapple skin trimmed, cored, and sliced lengthwise• 8 ounces 72% dark chocolate (check for no milk solids)

Directions: Using a cast iron pan or a stove top grill over very high heat, place the pineapple slices onto the grill or pan. Grill for 1 minute then turn over and grill the other side. Once both sides are grilled, remove from heat and set aside.

Using a double boiler or metal bowl over a saucepan with water, melt the chocolate over medium heat. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat, and using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the grilled pineapple slices and serve immediately.

Fruity Green SmoothieServes 5

Ingredients:• 2 ripe bananas, fresh or frozen• 1 cup sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen• 1 cup packed kale, (washed and stems removed)• 2 cups almond milk• 1 cup water

Directions: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. Starting on the lowest setting begin to blend together the ingredients. Slowly increase the setting as your smoothie starts to puree. Blend on high for about 2 minutes until everything is completely smooth.

Serve immediately.

PopcornServes 4

Ingredients:• ½ cup popcorn kernels, red, yellow, or blue• 1-tablespoon nutritional yeast (Note: This is not Brewer’s yeast or baking yeast. Nutri-


tional yeast is yellow and adds a cheesy flavor. It can be found in Natural Food Stores, often in the bulk section, or under the brand name Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast Seasoning. It can also be ordered online.

• 1-teaspoon sea salt

Directions: Place the popcorn kernels in air popper and plug in. Pop all kernels with a bowl or paper bag beneath the spout where the popped corn comes out.

Transfer popped popcorn to large bowl. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and sea salt and mix evenly.

Trail MixMakes 60 ½ cup servings – enough for 30 kids to have one in class ond one to take home

Ingredients:• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) roasted sunflower seeds• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) roasted pumpkin seeds• 2.5 cups (1.5 lbs.) dark raisins• 2.5 cups (1.5 lbs.) golden raisins• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) dried apricots• 5 cups (2.5 lbs.) dried cranberries or cherries• 5 cups high-fiber cereal, such as Cheerios 60 Plastic Snack Size bags)

Directions: In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together all of the ingredients.

Place ½ cup in individual snack size bags for school, home, or travel.

Class 5: Savory Snacks Filled with Flavor and ProteinLearning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Describe additional ways to enjoy some of the “Magic Eight” foods.

2. List one or more medicinal qualitie(s) of chiles.

3. Prepare savory, nutritious snacks dips to eat with corn tortillas, flour tortillas, and/or baked chips.

4. Use proper knife skills to cut vegetables.


5. Safely work with fresh chilies.

6. Measure amounts of food using math skills with food ingredients and to calculate amounts of food needed for each recipe.

Lesson Description:

This lesson is designed to introduce students to the idea that they can eat a healthy sa-vory snack that is filled with flavor and protein. Students will make three different kinds of burrito-style snacks using corn and/or flour tortillas instead of chips that are fried in oil.

Chiles are a Native American ingredient that is both healthy and spicy. This ingredient really shows us how foods can be consumed for taste as well as health. Chiles are used in all of the recipes students prepare on this day.


Illustratedhereisavarietyofchiles,animportantingredientintradi onalNa veAmericancooking,o enreferredtoasthespiceoflife.WhilechilesoriginatedintheAmericastheyhavesincespreadallovertheworld.

HotBananaChilePlant

VarietyofNewMexicoChiles

HungarianPaprikaPeppers

SunsetCayenneChiles

Illustrated here is a variety of chiles, an important ingredient in traditional Native American cooking, often referred to as the spice of life. While chiles originated in the Americas they have since spread all over the world.

Variety of New Mexico Chiles

Hungarian Paprika Peppers

Sunset Cayenne Chiles

Hot Banana Chile Plant


Students will make three different kinds of snack dips, but instead of eating them with chips that are fried in oil, they will eat them with corn and/or flour tortillas making a delicious bur-rito style snack or using the corn or flour tortilla to dip into each different dip or salsa. Fresh samples of both chiles and tomatoes are passed out for students to examine.

Guacamole made with fresh tomatoes, chiles, onions, and avocado.

Chiles have many medicinal qualities.

• One Green Chile has the equivalent in vitamin C of 6 oranges

• Chiles are both anti fungal and antibacterial

• Chiles can be used on the skin to help arthritis, sore muscles, and aches and pains.

• Chiles are the Native American activia or probiotics.


Review Questions:

Question #1: The “Magic Eight” are those foods that were the foods that Native American Ancestors ate before settlers arrives, thousands of years ago, that we still eat today. Are chiles and tomatoes part of the “Magic Eight”?

Answer: Yes the “Magic Eight” consist of Corn, Beans, Squash, Chiles, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Vanilla, and Cacao.

Question #2: Did avocados originate in the Americas?

Answer: Yes. The avocado comes from a tree that is native to South Central Mexico. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped or round. The name comes from the Nahuatl speaking tribes of Mexico and was used by the Aztecs in ancient times.

Question #3: How many of you have ever eaten an avocado or had a dish called guacamole?

Answer: Let’s the students tell you if they have ever had an avocado and if they liked it.

Question #4: How many of you have ever eaten a salsa with chiles in it and felt a hot sensation in your mouth?

Answer: Chiles have an ingredient called Capsicum that is not only the flavor but also the medicine in chiles. This medicine comes up through the root system of the plant into the hat or top of the chile and then down into the area where the seeds and veins are inside the chile. This is where the heat is. The chile is less hot in the areas that don’t contain the seeds or veins.

Note: This is a good time to talk about how the “heat” in a chili can hurt if it gets in your eyes. Remind everyone that when they cut up chilis, do not touch face, and wash hands afterwards so they don’t risk getting hurt.


Note: This introduction takes approximately 10-15 minutes.

Part 2: Cooking

After students receive the introduction on chiles and tomatoes, which are a part of the “Magic Eight”, they are asked the review questions. Students are assigned a cooking station with a chef and/or adult. Students wash their hand, put on their cooking aprons and find a spot at their assigned cooking station.

Students then chop the vegetables for the pico de gallo salsa and mix together, then the gua-camole and mix together. There will be one food processor and each group must rotate to use it.

NOTE: For the younger aged (age 5 to 8) students, they may not want as much chile in either the guacamole or the salsa so if they choose to omit it or make the recipe with less that is completely acceptable for this age group. The middle (age 9 to 11) and older (age 12 -14) seem to like the spiciness of the salsa and guacamole.

Students then heat the store bought corn and flour tortillas to eat with the hummus, salsa, and guacamole. (This part of the class is approximately 1.25 hours with an additional 15 minutes for eating).

Food Ingredients and Shopping List to Make 30 Servings:

• 10 cloves garlic

• 5 cans (15.5 ounce size) beans (garbanzo beans, black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans) NOTE: You can have different groups make different types of hummus and then share them.

• 20 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 15 lemons)

• 10 Tablespoons sesame tahini (1 jar)

• 9 teaspoons Kosher salt (sea salt if available)


• 8 teaspoons New Mexico red chile powder (mild)


• 35 Roma tomatoes

• 3 red onions (medium to large)

• 10 jalapeños

• 5 serrano chiles

• 5 bunches fresh cilantro

• 8 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 10 limes)

• 15 Haas Avocados (NOTE: these need to be purchased in advance and allowed to rip-en for several days.)

• 3 white onions (medium)

• 2 corn tortillas per student and adult (80 per class)

• 1 flour tortilla per student and adult (40 per class)

• Optional: if you can find baked corn chips in the store in white, yellow, or blue corn, these can be used


1. Fresh and Dried chiles and fresh tomatoes to pass around during history lesson part of class.

2. Aprons for cooking.


4. Compostable 9-inch plates, forks, spoons, and napkins..


6, Natural dish soap for cleaning dishes.



Equipment at Hummus Cooking Station:

1. A food processor, or two if available.

2, A spatula to scrape hummus from food processor


3. Measuring spoons

4. Measuring cups

5. Hummus serving bowl for each group

6. Hummus recipe

7. Ingredients for hummus for each group to make this recipe.

Equipment at Other Cooking Stations

1. Recipes for Salsa and Guacamole

2. One cooking burner (One per station)

3. Metal Bowls for mixing Salsa and Guacamole together in. Two per cooking station (Note: The same bowls can be used to serve in as well.

4. Large mixing spoons (Two per cooking station).

5. Stove top grill or frying pan for heating tortillas.

6. Basket lined with two kitchen towels to keep tortillas warm (Two per cooking station, one for corn tortillas, one for flour tortillas).

7. Two Cutting Boards (Two per cooking station).

8. Two knives per cooking station (NOTE: For the youngest age students (age 5 to 8) they use smaller steak knives for cutting and not the larger chef ’s knives).

9. Measuring Cups (One set per cooking station).

10. Measuring Spoons (One set per cooking station).

11. Two kitchen towels or two cooking mitts (One set per cooking station).

12. Ingredients for each recipe (Each cooking station makes one complete recipe).

13. Compost Bag or Bucket for vegetable skins and peels. (Students or Instructor can take home food scraps to feed animal or to compost).


1. Students are assigned to a cooking station with a chef and/or adult.

2. Students wash hands and wear aprons

3. Students rotate by group to use the food processor for the Hummus. Students blend together all ingredients for the hummus and place in a bowl. Each group washes out the food processor for the next group.


4. Before starting to make the Salsa, students are reminded to be careful not to touch eyes after cutting up chiles, and wash hands afterwards..

5. Students cut the Salsa ingredients: tomatoes, red onions, jalapeño, Serrano, and cilantro, and mix together in a bowl.

6. Students who cut chilies wash hands.

7. Students season the Salsa with lime juice, salt, and pepper and put to the side.

8. To make Guacomole: students mash the avocados in a bowl.

9. Students chop onions, garlic, tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, and mix together with mashed avocados.

10. Students heat the corn and flour tortillas on stovetop grills and place in a basket between two kitchen towels to keep warm.



13. Buffet is served and students eat the food they have prepared.


Recipe Handout:

Guacamole and Hummus Snacks

GuacamoleMakes approximately 1½ cups: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:• 3 small ripe Haas avocados• ½ cup white onion, diced• ½ cup fresh tomato, diced• ½ fresh jalapeño, seeds and stem removed, and finely chopped• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice• ½ teaspoon salt• ½ teaspoon black pepper, finely ground• ¼ cup cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped

Directions: Peel the avocados and remove the pits. Mash in a medium-sized bowl with a fork or potato masher. Combine all remaining ingredients in the bowl and stir to mix thoroughly. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill for later use.

This guacamole will not last more than one day and may turn a brownish color from oxidation. If this occurs, remix the ingredients in the bowl before serving.

HummusMakes 2 ½ cups 4-6 servings

Ingredients:• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped (or to taste)• 1 (15.5 ounce size) can garbanzo or other beans, half the liquid reserved or • 2 cups cooked beans (try the brown or white tepary beans), or any other cooked beans,

(remove the bean cooking liquid)• 4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice• 2 Tablespoons sesame tahini• ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt• Black pepper to taste• 1-teaspoon red chile powder (mild)

Directions: In a food processor, puree the garlic until it is a fine purée. Add the garbanzo or tepary beans into the cuisine art, reserving about a tablespoon for the garnish. Place the lemon


juice, tahini, salt, and freshly ground black pepper into the food processor. Blend until creamy and well mixed, making sure there are no lumps or unblended beans. Use a little of the reserved bean juice to make the mixture creamy and smooth until you reach your de-sired texture.

Pico de Gallo SalsaMakes 1 ½ cups

Ingredients:• 5 Roma tomatoes, diced• ½ red onion, finely chopped• 1 jalapeño, finely chopped, seeds and veins removed• 1 Serrano chile, finely chopped, seeds and veins removed• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped• 1-tablespoon fresh squeezed limejuice• ½ teaspoon kosher salt• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix together and serve.

NOTE: The longer this salsa sits the hotter is will get due to the chiles. I like to make it and eat is immediately.


AppendixNative Power Plate


Native Power Plate Coloring Sheet


Crossword


Nutrition Rainbow

native power plate native cooking - the … · native cooking for. kids. native american...

Documents