Junior Chef: Remembrance Day Poppies

Remembrance Day is recognized by all Canadians in different traditions, parades and ceremonies. momstown Mississauga is no exception.  Our Junior Chefs met on Remembrance Day to make “poppies” out of fruits and veggies.  

momstown moms and kids used cherry tomatoes, strawberries and red peppers for the petals, blueberries for the middle and celery and cucumber for the stem.  They were excited to make their poppy masterpieces all by themselves, but their favourite part was eating it once they were done!

Once the kids had their fill of yummy snacks, they were given an opportunity to colour a poppy wreath with the famous poem “In Flanders Field” printed in the middle.  This was a great way for our moms to speak to their children individually about the importance of Remembrance day, and start the conversation about why we take time to remember.

At 11am the mamas agreed to have a minute of silence, to remember and honour those who gave their lives for our freedom. Sensing the importance of that moment, the children followed suit.  Needless to say, we had a group of very proud mamas!

Junior Chef is a monthly program run by momstown Mississauga.  It is a great way to get young kids involved in the kitchen. They have the chance to prepare simple, toddler-friendly recipes in a group setting!  Not only will the children feel accomplished, but it’s also a fantastic way to encourage healthy eating and trying new foods. 

Our mamas have found the group setting makes even the most unadventurous child want to try something new.   We hope to see you at our next Junior Chef next month! All of this is included in the annual family membership - buy yours today! 

momstown Mississauga's Junior Chefs Create Lasagne with Chef Boyardee

momstown Mississauga's Junior Chefs cooked up some delicious recipes last week at our Chef Boyardee sponsored event. The moms and kids made take home lasagnas using Mini Ravioli's from Chef Boyardee as the base ingredient. 

Cooking & Eating the Chef's Recipes

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The easy open cans allowed the kids to scoop the mini raviolis out into our baking trays after a quick spray with Pam. By adding fresh vegetables, cheese and spices our Junior Chefs were able to create a whole different meal with the canned mini raviolis! Our moms all agreed the taste was surprising. Using the canned pasta as the base to a main meal was an inspiration!  

Quotes from our message board:  

I was pleasantly impressed!
Canned pasta is always kinda a stigma almost for me anyways! So I was curious to taste what you could make with it. To be honest, this is the first time I have ever had Chef Boyardee too and I enjoyed the dishes that were made.  I would totally make them again for my kids! 

I cannot believe how spoiled we were!  An apron for my daughter to take home, cans of food given to us, and we made dinner for that night, which btw both my husband and kids loved and I will be making again!  What a good idea to add spinich to make it healthier.  :)  We are for sure coming to the next junior chefs!!! 

I was impressed as well! I usually stay away from canned foods like this but it really is a quick meal for those busy nights and adding the vegetables and other ingredients it turned out pretty good! We heated up the meal the kids got to make at the event for dinner and dad loved it!

Yummy! 

Did you know that Chef Boyardee can help to make meal time enjoyable for the whole family by providing quick and easy meal ideas!? Yummy enriched pasta, cheese and meaty tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee is a hot and hearty meal or snack.  It’s kid approved pasta, and has no preservatives!

momstown Mississauga families sampled two recipes at our junior chef event, in addition to making the take home lasagnas. The Chef's Pizzaroni Skillet and the Chef's mini-ravioli lasagne. 

Mini Ravioli Lasagne  & Pizzaroni Skillet 

Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 cans (2 x 425 g) Chef Boyardee^® Mini Ravioli^®, Beef Ravioli or Lasagna
• 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped spinach
• 2 cups (500 mL) grated Mozzarella cheese, separated into 1 cup (250 mL) portions
• 1 cup (250 mL) 2% cottage cheese or Ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Spray 8" square or round baking pan with PAM^®.
2. Spread 1 can of pasta on the bottom of the baking pan. Place chopped spinach in a glass bowl and microwave for 10 seconds; drain. Spread spinach over pasta and top with cottage or Ricotta cheese, 1 cup (250 mL) Mozzarella cheese and ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) Italian seasoning.
3. Layer second can of pasta. Top with remaining Mozzarella and Italian seasoning.
4. Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Allow 10 minutes to stand before serving. 

Family Spaghetti Dinner with Enriched Pasta from Barilla Pasta

momstown Mississauga families gathered for a spaghetti dinner at our June Junior Chef event held at the Fun Side. The dinner was sponsored by Barilla Pasta we tried their new Barilla Plus pasta.

The kids, parents and babies all unanimously enjoyed the pasta. It was gobbled up! You can see by the messy faces that this pasta was a hit with these kids!

  

 

 

Our recipe for the sauce was simple, simmer crushed tomatoes with parmesan cheese, Italian spices and garlic. We heated some of the meatballs in the sauce and saved some of the sauce for our veggie friends.

This pasta is great for vegetarians as it is enriched with high quality proteins and added fibre. Barilla Plus pasta provides 27%  more protein than traditional  pasta. You would never know that this product is healthy because it's just as tasty as traditional pasta with no difference in texture or taste.


It’s a quick and easy solution for providing a delicious balanced meal that even the pickiest eaters in your family will enjoy. Barilla PLUS is available in four different varieties including Penne, Rotini, Spaghetti and Spaghettini.

  

After our dinner was done we enjoyed some fun pasta crafts. Many necklaces, bracelets, and even rings were designed and strung on yarn.

For more great family friendly events like this please join us! momstown Mississauga is creating a community across our city that supports and connects moms and kids for fun and social events like this! For $45/year per family it is a deal you cannot beat!

 

Making Fruit Fun - How to Turn a Mango into a Hedgehog

Do your kids love to eat fruit? At momstown Mississauga one of the 6 pillars of our programming is  Nutrition. We offer a program each month called Junior Chef, where our momstown our kids (aged 18m- 6yrs) get cooking in the kitchen dishing up some fabulous snacks and easy meal ideas. This experience  gets them excited about healthy eating.

Make a mango an extra special treat by following these easy steps to turn a mango into a fun and fabulous creature - a hedgehog! No special tools are required!

Finished Hedgehogs

Supplies:
Mango (s)
Knife

Step 1. Make sure the mango is ripe. It should not be too firm; press the mango lightly and see if it springs back.   

Step 2. Wash the skin of the mango

Step 3. Holding the Mango on a cutting board slice down from the Stem along the middle of the fruit, just to skim the pit in the centre. Slice the other side next. You will end up with 3 pieces. Two can be hedgehogs!

 

Step 4. Holding the cut side in your hand gently run your knife in a pattern inside the mango skin being careful not to pierce the skin. Make a pattern of squares.

Step 5. Gently push on the skin side to puff up your hedgehog. Place it on a plate and decorate with eyes. Use cut up grapes, cherries, strawberries etc.

Step 6. Enjoy! My kids ask for hedgehogs for dessert! It's messy though! 

While mango isn't a tough sell for lots of kids since its so sweet, turning the fruit into something fun can inspire consumption in those who are harder to convince!