Nutrition Project

It's the start of a new half term here, and bearing in mind that DD1 will be going to secondary school next year, I'm trying to get the girls do some "work" every day. 

When Home Educating, there is no requirement for formal work at all, let alone a number of hours that need to be complete each week.  There is no need to follow the National Curriculum (depending on the subject, it seems randomly too shallow or too narrow), but need to ensure that the education is suitable to the child's needs, age and ability.

So, yesterday DD1 asked me to set them a maths quiz.  I said I would, on the condition that I could teach them something new first, but wouldn't limit the quiz to that topic.  So I taught both girls about fractions, how to add and subtract them when the denominators are not the same, how to simplify and what mixed numbers are.  DD2 found it more difficult, as expected, and stopped halfway through the questions.  DD1 was determined to complete the set, even though she was frustrated at times for not remembering what she once knew (long multiplication and division).  With a bit of help, she completed it, and got them all correct.

Today, I have decided to set each girl a challenge.  And it will be a challenge, because my girls are very particular about what they will and won't eat!

DD2's Challenge:

• Find a recipe that all four of us will eat, that is at least 50% vegetables
• Write out the recipe (ingredients and method) very neatly
• Decorate with pictures if you want

DD1's Challenge:

• Find a recipe that 3 of us will eat (Mum, Dad and DD1), that is at least 50% vegetables and under 400kCals per portion.
• Write out the recipe (ingredients and method) very neatly
• Decorate with pictures if you want

This will be a challenge for each of the girls.  

DD1 eats a wider variety of foods and vegetables than DD2, so I didn't want her to be limited by what DD2 will eat, but as an added difficulty (and hopefully some hidden maths) of working out the calories within foods.  She has started by writing out a list of all the foods that she likes, and is watching YouTube videos to spark ideas as she thinks about creating a recipe.  I have mentioned to her that Recipe Finders do exist on the internet, where she can input ingredients and it will suggest recipes that fit, but for now, she wants to try and develop her own.

DD2 has started by making a list of all the vegetables she Likes; Don't Like but Will Eat; Don't Like; and Never Tried, using the list of vegetables on Wikipedia.  So far (she hasn't finished yet) there is a grand total of 1 vegetable in the Likes column, 4 in the Will Eat column (though one is potato, so not counted in this challenge), nearly an A4 page in the Don't Like column and almost a page and a half in the Never Tried one.  At the moment, it looks like DD2's suggestion might end up being something like Sausages with Sweetcorn and peas, though I'm hoping that she'll end up with something a bit more adventurous/tasty.

I have given both girls until the end of the week to develop their recipes and write them up, and then I plan to cook them for the family next week.