Cracking eggs and peeling apples are not typical activities of 6-year-olds, but that is what children at the
YMCA were doing at the recent "Taste Buds" class at the facility in Blue Water, Michigan, The Times Herald reports.
Children learned how to make vanilla French toast, raisin applesauce, vegetable quesadillas, tomato salsa and no-bake granola bars. Although the options on the menu were appetizing, they were also chosen to teach kids about nutrition, according to Audrey Mitchell, who taught the class.
"We wanted to make sure it was healthy," she told the news source. "That was the biggest thing."
While health was at the top of the list in order to counteract the growing trend of childhood obesity and to promote
healthy kids, Mitchell said that the foods had to include ingredients that would make the children more likely to try them. In addition, they were easy enough for the children to be able to replicate at home for their families.
The children enjoyed learning new skills in the kitchen, but they were also finding out that trying new, healthy dishes may not be such a bad thing. According to Nemours, a children's health organization, getting kids involved in the food preparation process can help them get interested in nutrition, teaching them to plan a balanced meal and check out food labels to find nutritional value.