Longing for yesterday...

Any of my local readers studied in government schools? any of you remember the Home-Economics classes they used to offer?

Cooking in schools is making a come-back! Well not really a come-back, but some schools in the U.S. have adopted programs such as Cooking With Kids, citing the many benefits of such programs.  Even though that specific program only cites benefits related to healthy food choices and awareness (including understanding nutritional value of food, choosing healthy food, etc), other benefits can be found including:

• Increasing a child's ability to work in a group
• Using hands-on experience to understand mathematical concepts
• Increasing problem solving skills
• Patience
• Independence skills
• Decision-making

It may not be possible to have a cooking class as part of the weekly schedule, but I do believe that having a monthly "activities" class can be very beneficial to our kids, especially for KG and Elementary kids.  Hands-on and experiential learning is highly effective and unfortunately underused. 

...Perhaps a place like Young Chefs Academy in Kuwait could approach schools with a proposal to do in-school classes?

The Other Voice: Um um for baby...

Written by my wonderful sister Noor, who is an incredibly hands-on mother... Enjoy!

Most of us get a warm and fuzzy feeling hearing brands that we grew up on like Cerelac cereal, Milupa teas and Farley’s biscuit. However, I feel our local supermarkets have not caught up with the increasing awareness our generation has about ingredients, as well as our rising demands for wholesome and organic products!

I find the limited choices we have in our local supermarkets contain unnecessary sugars, salts, artificial flavors and I would really prefer to have most of the ingredients my child intakes to be organic. At least at the beginning, which sets his/her preferences and tolerances for foods in a future near approaching.

Apart from home cooked purees of fresh vegetables, fruits and, when the time comes, meats, we need cereals, biscuits and sometimes a little help with something in a pot! With that in mind, here’s my list of favorite foods available in Kuwait and others that can be purchased from abroad.

Kuwait:

Plum Organic cereals and meals available in Sultan Center and select co-ops, however not always in stock

Gluten free pasta from Sultan Center

Hipp Organic Formula Milk and Finger Foods, sometimes available at Baroue

UK:

Organix finger foods, biscuits and cereals (international shipping available! www.organix.com)

Hipp Organic biscuits, cereals and baby rice (available in most UK supermarkets and pharmacies)

Lebanon:

A New Earth Organic Store

65 Zahret el Ihsan st
Beirut, Achrafieh Lebanon
01 219 920

Offers a nice selection of cereals, biscuits and ready meals for babies.

Online Options:

Amazon

Annabel Karmel baby pasta

Ella’s Kitchen baby foods

One could argue that we all turned out ok before the increase in demand for organic products, while that’s true we always strive to give our little ones the best when available. I hope the list above gives mothers some alternative sources for healthier options for their little ones. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a choice?

"The Other Voice"- Is our contributing authors post.  If you would like to contribute, email me at zalzabin@gmail.com for approval, editing and eventual posting:)