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Kidsville Kitchen

5 Quick, Affordable Dinner Ideas

Many families face hectic schedules and tight budgets. A few quick meal solutions can help you spend less at the store and enjoy more time with your family on weeknights. Comforting and convenient, a store-bought rotisserie chicken — with a few other additions — can help you create a complete meal for the family in 30 minutes or less. However, quality is important. Theo Weening, global meat buyer for Whole Foods Market, believes that the best-tasting meat comes from chickens raised the old-fashioned way. “Preparing great-tasting meat starts long before you bring it home from the store. It starts on the farm,” Weening said. “Check the label and opt for chicken that was raised the way nature intended — on a vegetarian diet with no added growth hormones and no antibiotics ever.” For example, the rotisserie chickens at Whole Foods Market come from farms that have been certified to the Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating System, so consumers can know exactly how the animal was raised. While rotisserie chicken on its own is a delicious, easy go-to meal any night of the week, don’t forget to shake things up. Try these simple ideas: • Shredded in tacos or quesadillas: Quick and simple, chicken will be the star of this easily portable meal. • Cubed in a cooked grain salad: Step up a side dish and make it an entrée. Add chicken to whole grains, like brown rice or barley, for a filling meal. • Added to rice and steamed veggies: Turn this plain dish up a notch with protein. Pair with your favorite sauce or dressing for extra flavor. • Added to pesto pasta: Mix whole wheat pasta with pesto, chopped tomatoes and chicken for a well-rounded dinner. • Kabobs: Easy to assemble with fresh or pre-cooked veggies, chicken kabobs make a nice addition to your tried-and-true menu. Want some inspiration? Try this recipe for Easy Chicken Burritos. Ingredients • 2 teaspoons canola oil • 1 small onion, diced • 1 cup frozen corn kernels • 2 cups shredded (about 7 ounces) roasted or rotisserie chicken meat • 1½ cups cooked brown rice • 1 cup salsa • 6 tablespoons sour cream • 6 large whole wheat tortillas, heated • 3 cups baby spinach leaves Directions Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and corn (no need to thaw it) and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn begins to brown, about eight minutes. Add chicken and rice, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in salsa and sour cream. Line tortillas with spinach leaves and spoon about 2/3 cup chicken mixture down the middle of each. Fold in top and bottom and roll up. More time saving tips and recipes can be found at WholeFoodsMarket.com/recipes. Having plenty of dinner tricks up your sleeve can make weeknights simple.

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Around The World

Around the world – December 2014

How Do You Say Merry Christmas? All over the world, people celebrate the Christmas season. While in America, we simply say, “Merry Christmas!” Here’s a list of how other people around the world wish each other the joy of the season! In Africa, they say “Geseende Kersfees!” while in the Czech Republic they say, “Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok!” Those are a little longer than our English version, but here is a list of a few more: Danish: Glaedelig Jul Finnish: Hyvaa Joulua French: Joyeux Noel German: Froehliche Weihnachten Greek: Kala Christouyenna Hawaiian: Mele Kalikamaka Italian: Buon Natale Spanish Feliz Natal And, if you are wondering what children around the world call Santa Claus, try these out: Belgium: Pere Noel Brazil: Papai Noel Finland: Joulupukki France: Pere Noel Hawaii: Kanakaloka Italy: Babbo Natale Norway: Julenissen Russia: Ded Moroz United Kingdom: Father Christmas New Year’s Eve All over the word, people gather to ring in the new year. One of the biggest celebrations occurs in New York City in Times Square. The celebration first occurred in 1904. The first bash commemorated the official opening of the new headquarters of The New York Times. The newspaper’s owner, German Jewish immigrant Alfred Ochs, had successfully lobbied the city to rename Longacre Square, the district surrounding his paper’s new home, in honor of the famous publication. The night was such a rousing success that Times Square instantly replaced Lower Manhattan’s Trinity Church as “the” place in New York City to ring in the New Year. Before long, this party of parties would capture the imagination of the nation, and the world.

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Cultural Connections

Cultural Connections – December 2014

Board games can be a lot of fun, especially on days when the weather is bad and it is too cold or wet to play outside. In fact, people have been playing board games since as far back as 2500 B.C., but they didn’t become popular until the 20th century. Did you know that board games can also be good for you? Many board games help our brains by helping us learn to detect patterns, plan ahead and learn from experience. Here are some other benefits to playing board games. • They help us learn to understand rules and practice following them. • Games require reasoning skills as well as social skills. • Board games can help you learn how to lose (and win) graciously. • Many games teach practical life lessons. • Games teach you to strategize and think logically. • Playing games is a fun way to bond with friends and family. • Board games are inexpensive and offer hours of entertainment. • Many board games help reinforce math skills and increase mental agility. • Games require the players to think ahead and plan. • Board games reinforce the concept of actions and consequences. • Games help you learn about teamwork. • Playing games is a great way to unplug from electronics and build relationships. So instead of watching a movie or playing video games, consider spending time playing board games. Not only is it good for you — it’s fun!

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Cool Kind Kid

Happy Holiday Happenings

When the kids came into class, they were all excited. Ms. Gilmour looked at them and smiled. Tanner asked, “Why are you smiling?” Nicole wondered what was going on. Rudy just looked at the other kids, while Truman the Dragon puffed out a little smoke and sat down. Ms. Gilmour then sat down, too, and asked the rest of the kids to sit down. Once everyone was seated, she said, “I see how happy you all are, and I’m guessing that you had a great Thanksgiving vacation. Am I right?” They all started talking about what they did and where they went for Thanksgiving. She then said, “And what vacation are you looking forward to next?” Again, everyone said at once, “Christmas break!” Carmen added, “That’s a much longer vacation from school.” Stephen said, “I like the parties we have in December, not just when school is closed.” Tanner thought about that, and added, “December can be one long party month. We have school parties, my scout party, my soccer team party and family parties.” Truman added, “I have the Dragon of the Year Party in December.” The kids weren’t sure about that one, so they asked him if that was true. He said that he was just joking about that, but when his family gets together, it’s like a Dragon Party. Rudy asked, “What do you serve for food, people?” All the kids laughed at that one. Truman laughed and said that dragons like fruits, vegetables and some meat, just like people eat for a healthy diet. Ms. Gilmour then asked the kids, “What are some tips you can think of for being a ‘Cool Kind Kid’ during the holidays?” Tanner was first to answer, “Be sure to treat others just the way that you want to be treated!” “Good one,” she replied. “What else?” Nicole shared, “My family tries to think about others whodon’t have as much as we have.” Carmen added, “We do that, too. We collect toys for kids who don’t have any and help at a homeless shelter. Rudy spoke up and explained, “My family adopts another family in our neighborhood. We get gifts for the kids, make cookies for them and help with a holiday dinner.” Stephen added, “My dad is a veteran, so we visit our local veterans hospital and take cards that we made. We also practice some songs and sing to them. They like that.” “These are all great ‘Cool Kind Kid’ tips. What else can you think of?” asked Ms. Gilmour. Nicole said sadly, “I like getting gifts as this time of the year, but I know that isn’t the reason we are celebrating. I try to be grateful for a gift, even if I don’t like it.” Carmen added, “Always say ‘thank you,’ for a gift, a compliment or for someone inviting you to their party.” Ms. Gilmour ended the class by saying, “You are all ‘Cool Kind Kids.’ Have a great holiday.” “What do you serve for food, people?” Note to Parents from Ms. Gilmour: Bullying is the #2 epidemic in the U.S. In addition to these Cool Kind Kid articles, we endeavor to provide up-to-date research, articles and other news on this topic on our Facebook page. For your kids, we post Tanner’s Tuesday Tips on Tuesdays and Cool Kind Kid Challenger Tips on Fridays. We also post Shocking Sunday Stats to keep this issue in the forefront of people’s minds. We’d love to post stories and photos of your kids being Cool Kind Kids, and how you have successfully dealt with bullying. Go to http://www.facebook.com/coolkindkid. To send photos and stories and give your permission to post, go to info@coolkindkid.com.

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Kids

Save Energy This Holiday Season

Decorating for the holidays is a lot of fun, and the sparkly lights sure are pretty, but even during the holidays there are ways to save energy. Here are a few things you can do: • Use LED Christmas lights instead of regular Christmas lights. LED lights use 90 percent less electricity and cost about $10 per strand. • Consider using fiber optic decorations. Most fiber optic decorations just use a single bulb, and it lights up the entire decoration. • Use time limits. Instead of keeping the Christmas tree lit all day and into the evening, turn your tree lights on after it gets dark. Remember to turn them off when you go to bed, too. Timers come in handy for making sure the lights get turned off at night. • Buy smart. Consider buying gifts that don’t use electricity or batteries. Energyquest.ca.gov says that 40 percent of all batteries are bought during the holidays. Instead, buy gifts that encourage recipients to use their imagination. • Turn the thermostat down a degree or two and save money on the heating bill.

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Come Out and Play

Come out and Play – Chess

Playing outside is a fun way to stay active, but not every day is full of clear skies and sunshine. But just because you have to be inside, it doesn’t mean the day has to boring. Board games are a great way to have fun with friends. They are challenging, interesting and a great way to bond with friends and family. There are huge numbers of board games; one of the most popular is chess. This is a game of strategy that requires patience and thought. Board games have been popular all around the world for centuries. Every culture has its own variations; archeologists have even found evidence of vikings playing board games. And the popular game Chutes and Ladders is thought to have originated from India as a religious tool before it was brought to England. So spending a rainy day inside with friends is a great tradition that has been passed down for centuries. Here is how to play: This is a game for two players. To play, you need a chessboard and pieces. The goal of the game is to capture the opponent’s king. To start the game, each player should have one set of pieces of a specific color, and each piece moves in a very specific way. The king can move one square in any direction. The queen can move as far as she wants in any direction until she captures a piece or runs into one of her own. The rook can move as far as it wants in a straight line. The bishop can move as far as it wants but only diagonally. The knight can move two squares in one direction and then one square in another direction to make the shape of an “L.” The pawns can only move forward one square at a time, but they can capture one square diagonally in front. The first move of the pawn can be two squares. If pieces end their turn on an opponent’s square, the piece is taken off the board. Some think chess originated in India.

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Kidsville Connections

Consumers and Producers

Last month when we studied the food chain, we learned that there were producers (plants and animals that fed the food chain) and consumers (the animals that ate the producers.) In our economy, there are also producers and consumers, and, believe it or not, the relationship between producers and consumers in the economy is not that different from in the wild. Let’s check it out! Producer [pruh-doo-ser] noun 1. a person who produces. 2. Economics: a person who creates economic value, or produces goods and services. Your birthday is coming up, and you want a new bicycle. Can you make your own bicycle? Probably not. So, you go to the store and pick out the perfect bicycle. In this case, it’s bright red with big tires. The store where you bought your bike did not make it. They bought it from another company. That company probably didn’t make all the parts of your bike either. One company produced the metal that goes into your bike frame. Another company produced the tires. A new company produced the seat, and yet another company produced the paint. Finally, a company gathered all of those pieces together and created your bike. At a minimum, there were five producers who worked to create that great bike you got for your birthday. Along the way, each company got paid for its part in creating the materials to make your bike. Then their employees (the people who work for them) were paid for doing the work to make the parts and pieces of your bike. In turn, those employees used the money they were paid to pay for their houses, their cars, their clothes, their food and maybe even a bike for their child’s birthday. The producers then became consumers — just like you. Consumer [kuh n-soo-mer] noun 1. a person or thing that consumes. 2. Economics: a person or organization that uses a commodity or service. Goods are items you can actually touch and include things like clothing, food or toys. Services include bike repairs, receiving a haircut or your house being supplied with electricity. These are services provided to consumers by others. The interactions between producers and consumers not only keep people happy because they have jobs and they have the things they want, but it also puts money into the economy, which is defined as the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services. With that in mind, throughout your life, you will be both a producer and a consumer!

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What’s It Like To be

A Safari Guide

Richard Knocker leads safaris in Africa. His life is full of adventure! Tell our readers a little bit about yourself: I was born on a farm in Kenya. My mother always loved going on safari, so some of my earliest memories are of sitting by the car with a mountain of gear around us — tents, food, stove — before we set off on a trip. In those days, you could go to the Maasai Mara and just set up your tent wherever you wanted — we wouldn’t see another soul for days. School was fun. I always enjoyed learning, and we got to do cool stuff, like the time we went to Northern Kenya to watch a total eclipse of the sun. During the school holidays, we always went to the beach. I adore the ocean; snorkeling and diving are some of my favorite hobbies. After going to university in the United Kingdom, I got a job teaching in Istanbul, my favorite city in the whole world. Then, in 1990, I started working as a guide, and that’s what I’ve done ever since. I moved to Tanzania in 1994 with my wife Jules and three dogs. We live on the edge of Arusha National Park, where my wife makes fabulous cheeses and, occasionally, the elephants come visiting. What is a typical day like for a safari leader? Up early for a quick cup of tea, then off. We might be going for a walk or a game drive, but either way, I have to be ready to explain to my guests what is going on around us: ‘These tracks show where a hippo made its way back to water’; ‘That herd of impala are staring and alarm-calling at the lioness over there’; ‘On this twig, there’s a chameleon, perfectly caouflaged against the bark.’ What kind of training does it take to lead a safari? These days there are lots of different schools where you can learn a great deal about nature and wildlife — the kind of information your guests will love hearing about. But there’s no substitute for practical experience; your best school is the bush, nature herself. Many of my most interesting insights come from my own observations, when I’m out there with my friends and fellow guides, or when I’m guiding clients. What is your favorite animal — it doesn’t have to be a safari animal. Am I allowed two? I’m a sucker for elephants and cheetahs. Elephants are incredible animals; they always seem to be doing something cool. They are social creatures, so you often see interesting interactions: a mother feeding her calf, two young males messing around, a herd luxuriating in a mud wallow. In some ways they seem incredibly human, which makes them all the more fascinating. Cheetahs are just soooo beautiful, the way they walk, the way they lie, the way they groom themselves. A safari supermodel. What is something cool most people don’t know about animals that you see on safari? Did you know there is a bird, called a honeyguide, that makes a special kind of call to get people to follow it to a beehive? The humans can get the honeycomb out of the hive, and they leave a piece of comb for the bird. Honeyguides can digest wax because they are serophagous (which is just a posh way of saying they can digest wax!). When and why did you become interested in this line of work? Thanks to my intrepid mother, I was always interested in travel and nature. But it wasn’t until I got to go on a trip as a trainee guide in Turkey in 1989 that I realized that this was the life for me. I got to go to amazing places, meet lots of fun people and also to share my knowledge. I suppose it is important to be a bit of a show-off if you want to be guide. What is the hardest part about your job? Saying goodbye to my wife at the beginning of a long safari. What is the best part about your job? Whenever we see something amazing and one of my guests says ‘wow!’ Can you tell our readers about your most exciting safari? Hmm, tough one this! Most recently, I spent five days with the Hadzabe, a hunter/gatherer tribe here in northern Tanzania, with a group of teenagers. Every day we walked with our Hadzabe hosts for hours at a time, foraging for food. It was amazing to watch as they hammered wooden pegs into a baobab tree to climb up to get honey from a hive, despite being stung by loads of bees, or to see the women dig up tasty potato-like tubers which they recognized from a shriveled-up stalk above ground and the excitement with which returning hunters are greeted, coming back with a porcupine or hyrax in hand — food for the family. What are some interesting facts most people don’t know about Africa? Africa is splitting apart down the middle, along the geological fault known as the Great Rift Valley. It won’t happen next week, but the eastern part is slowly drifting away from the rest. One day, this will be an island. If you look at an atlas, you can see how this has happened before: the coastline of the western part of Africa fits beautifully into the eastern side of the Americas, like a giant jigsaw puzzle. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working? I love the beach — snorkelling, diving, sailing — but I can’t lie around and work on my tan. Explain to our readers what a safari is? “Safari” in Kiswahili means ‘a journey.’ Most people think of it as being a holiday where you’ll be looking at animals on game drives and possibly sleeping in a tent. To me it’s much more than that. It’s a sort of freedom, a journey to a new and different place. It’s also a journey of…

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Wildville

Meerkats

A Meerkat is a small mammal that lives in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Herpestidae Genus: Suricata Species: Suricatta Despite their name, they are not actually a kind of cat. They are part of the mongoose family. You may recognize a Meerkat from the TV show Meerkat Manor or as Timon from The Lion King. Meerkats are very social animals, and they live in groups, called clans, gangs or mobs of between 20 and 50. Living in such a large group has its advantages because while the rest of the clan is eating or grooming, a few Meerkats will act as lookouts. When they see predators, they let out a barking noise to warn the rest of the clan. Meerkats play an important role in the desert. They help to keep insect and rodent populations under control. Without them snacking on bugs, the desert would be overrun with pests that would destroy the environment and drive many desert species into extinction. Meerkats are also a very important food source for animals such as eagles and jackals. Without meerkats, the Kalahari Desert would not be the incredibly diverse and lively environment it is today. Here are some facts about Meerkats: Meerkats are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and animals. Some of their favorites are fruit, insects and lizards. They live underground in huge systems of tunnels that they dig called burrows. These burrows provide shelter during the night and protections from predators during the day. They use their long tail to balance. They have tan and brown colored backs with stripes and white bellies Each clan is lead by a dominant pair called the alpha pair, and they are the only couple to have pups. The whole clan helps to take care of pups by babysitting and feeding them. They stand a foot tall.

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Kids

Serengeti

The Serengeti is not a country; it is an ecosystem that spans two countries and several reserves and national parks. For most people, when they think of Africa, the Serengeti is what comes to mind. It is a large lush landscape of open grasslands bordered by harsh rocky hills, and it is home to many different species of animals such as lions, elephants, gazelles, zebras and hyenas. The Serengeti begins in north Tanzania and stretches through to southwestern Kenya in east-central Africa. This vast and complex ecosystem is protected by several parks and preserves that protect 80 percent of the land, but the most famous is the Serengeti National Park. This park began as a 3.2-square-mile game reserve in 1921 in order to protect over hunted lions, then grew into the national park in 1951. Many people visit these parks for adventures like safaris. • The Maasai are a people who live on the Serengeti. • For centuries, they have grazed their cows on the plains. • Serengeti is the Maasai word for “endless plains.” • It is mostly plains, but acai trees also grow and provide food and shade for many of the animals. • There are more wildebeests than any other animal (2 million). • Every year, more than 200,000 zebras and all of the wildebeests migrate across the plains in search of fresh grass. • This migration is the largest mammal migration in the world. • Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only active volcano in the region. • There are two rainy seasons. • Some of the oldest fossils of hominids were found here in the Olduvai Gorge. • The first European, Dr. Oscar Baumann of Germany, entered the Serengeti in 1892. While the animals and landscape of the Serengeti are very beautiful, the weather can be extremely harsh. It is a very warm and dry climate with two rainy seasons, from March to May and October to November. Droughts are relatively common in the area and can be devastating to the wildlife. It is a delicate balance that keeps these plains as beautiful and as rich as they are.

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