Learn English while cooking

A warm summer deserves some delicious cooking. And what better way to cook something simple and fresh than with your children? Even better, hire a babysitter with us and have them engage in English while cooking, making it a fun and enjoyable moment for the children to both improve their English skills and make a delicious treat. So, lets jump to it; here are some delicious, simple, and fresh recipes to enjoy together with your children this summer:

SUMMER FRUIT SALAD

What is so great about this salad is that you don’t have to complicate things with an intricate recipe, it is simply meant to be fun to make and fresh to eat in the summer heat. This salad is really great for the younger children as they can easily assist with the cookie cutters to cut out nice shapes from the watermelon and pineapple, or any other fruit they may want to have in their salad. This is a great opportunity to utilize your bilingual babysitter, they can engage the children in the English language by talking about colors and shapes of the fruits they are using.

Instructions

Step 1- Choose the fruit you and your children enjoy the most (see example below)

Step 2- Assist in cutting off the peel and taking out the pits

Step 3- Use cookie cutters to make fun and playful shapes of the fruit

Step 4- Place the fruit in a bowl

Step 5- Drizzle the salad with some lemon juice or sugar (optional)

A summer fruit salad for 4 people

½                             Watermelon

½                             Pineapple

15-20                       Strawberries

2 tablespoons          Lemon juice and/or sugar

STRAWBERRY AND PEANUT ROLLS

This simple recipe is great because it is so versatile, you can change up the choice of fruit or the nut butter inside to whatever you have at home or to what your children might enjoy. This is also a fairly filling snack, great for a hot summer day when your children will need that extra energy to run around and play….and its healthy! This fresh recipe is easy to make, making it a great opportunity for your children to interact with their babysitters about the different fruits, likes and dislikes and perhaps even how nuts can be made into a butter! Click here to find out more about hiring a babysitter with us.

Instructions

Step 1- Cut your strawberries into slices

Step 2- Lay your tortilla bread flat on the work surface

Step 3- Spread peanut butter over the tortilla bread

Step 4- Place your freshly cut fruit on top of the peanut butter, making an even layer throughout the tortilla

Step 5- Roll it up like a sushi roll

Step 6- Cut into a nice bite size and serve

Three strawberry and peanut butter rolls

3                                Tortilla breads

10-15                         Strawberries

5-8 tablespoons         Peanut butter

ALMOND BUTTER ENERGY BALLS

This recipe is so fun to make and your kids can easily assist in measuring the ingredients and rolling the balls into… well… any shape they want! This snack is a great energy boost for children as well as adults, and it doesn’t require any baking! You can switch up the ingredients to suit any dietary requirements as well as according to taste. Change the almond butter to peanut or sunflower butter, add some protein powder if you have at home or simply add some chocolate pieces to make it a little bit sweeter. And what’s more, these balls can be put in the freezer to last for a long time, just take a couple out when the children are ready for snack time or perhaps your bilingual babysitter can pack a couple to bring out for a picnic in the park?

Instructions

Step 1- Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and blend until combined

Step 2- Start rolling into any bite size shape you like

Making 20 energy balls

1 cup                         Almond butter

1 cup                         Oats

5                                Pitted dates

1-2 tablespoons        Chia seeds

1-2 tablespoons        Cacao powder

2 tablespoons            Honey

THE ULTIMATE SUMMER MANGO ICE CREAM

This ice cream has only three ingredients and will make a great summer treat for the whole family. If you go for frozen products, this is the quickest ice cream ever made! Again, this recipe can be switched around, change the mango for some raspberries or switch the almond milk to coconut milk (or cow milk if that is what you have at home). This is both a fresh, delicious, and healthy way of eating ice cream. This easy ice cream is a great activity for your babysitter to assist the children with after a long day in the sun, to then cool down with.

Instructions

Step 1- Place the frozen fruit in the blender until crumbly (approx. 30 sec).

Step 2- Add in the milk and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy (approx. 2-3 min).

Step 3- Serve immediately or place in a container in the freezer to eat later

Mango ice cream for 2-4 people

(If you don’t have frozen products. Simply cut up the fresh fruit and let it freeze until solid.)

2 ½ cups                   Frozen mango cubes

1                                Frozen banana in slices

2 ½ cups                   Almond milk or coconut milk

Lets get cooking!

These versatile, fresh, summery, and quick recipes to cook with children are great for your babysitter to pick up when wanting to engage the children in the making of their snacks. There are endless possibilities to practice their English in the kitchen; talk about colors, fruits, vegetables, shapes, equipment, and the importance of cleaning up afterwards, or simply by taking about flavors and smells. Enjoy reading about cooking and food? Have a look at our previous post about British cuisine and their food culture. Don’t forget to sign up for you babysitter here!