Live Healthy America- Russia!

This past week my Live Healthy America class learned about Russia!  The students were so excited because they knew that Russia was a huge country.  We learned that we were going to make a Russian Borscht which is a very popular dish in Russia and it is eaten by people of every age.  Beets are an ingredient in borscht and are very nutritious and rich in vitamin C.  Cabbage is another main ingredient in borscht.  Cabbage comes in many colors including red, purple and green.  Potatoes are a main ingredient in borscht and are grown in over 125 countries around the world.  We learned about russian traditions.  Matryoshka dolls are a series of hand painted wooden dolls.  The largest contains the next in size which in turns opens to reveal the next and so forth.  Usually a set contains six dolls but can contain up to 30!

To prep for making the borscht, the students chopped the cabbage into bite size pieces, tore the chives into small pieces, measured out 1 tablespoon red win vinegar and measured out 1/2 teaspoon thyme.  We let our borscht cook and the students said how it smelled amazing!  Everyone was able to try a cup of the soup and we had leftovers and students requested to take it home for their families!  It was so great to see them have another good time with this class that I teach!

Here is our recipe!

10 Healthy Smoothie Recipes!

Sometimes I find myself craving a smoothie or milkshake and then I remember that those have 500 calories on average!  I found these 10 different healthy smoothie recipes and thought they were amazing!  My favorite is the chocolate and peanut butter smoothie. Try these and find out your favorite!

Taken from: Easy meals healthy families by Meijer

Live Healthy America Class- Ethiopia!

In class this past Wednesday, we learned about Ethiopia!  In this lesson we make Wat and tried Injera.  This is a traditional food from Ethiopia.  First we started out by preparing the food and then while it cooked we learned about the country!  Students started out by chopping the carrots, tearing the chard leaves, chopping the chard stems, chopping the celery, grating the ginger, and crushing the garlic.  After all the food was prepped, we went over a power point on Ethiopia!

We learned about the geography.  I explained to them that this country is landlocked.  That means it does not touch any major bodies of water.  We also went over traditional Ethiopian food like lentils and injera.  Lentils are legumes that come in many different colors and injers is a traditional large spongy pancake made of teff flour and water.  Injera is served with all kinds of dishes on any occasion and eaten with the fingers.  Some traditional Ethiopian spices are paprika and tumeric.  There are more than 70 languages spoken in Ethiopia and one of the official languages is Amharic.  People in Ethiopia prefer to eat with their hands because they say it gives you a more personal connection with your food.

Attached here is the recipe we used to make the Ethiopian food!  Enjoy!