More Microwave Leader's Guide
More Microwave Leader's Guide
A Foods and Nutrition Project Manual for 4-H Leaders
By Doris Krumenacker
More Microwave is intended to be used by 4-H'ers after they have taken The
Microwave Connection. More Microwave is written for 12 to 16 year olds who
have some food buying, cooking, and nutrition knowledge.
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR USING MORE MICROWAVE:
Each lesson or chapter, including the Introduction, can be a separate meeting.
In the second through the sixth meetings, where cooking is done, the intent
was to select and prepare one or two recipes from that lesson, not all of
them.
You can follow a different sequence or order lessons from the way they are put
together in the manual. Another arrangement might be more convenient or
economical, especially if certain foods are on sale or abundantly available at
a particular time.
To help you manage or organize a group of 4-H'ers, divide the group into
teams, and rotate the duties each team performs from meeting to meeting. For
example:
1. Planning team - decides on the recipe for the next meeting, makes a
shopping list, equipment list, etc.
2. Preparation team - prepares and serves food, and cleans up.
3. Instruction team(s) - does the "Discover for Yourself" experiment;
presents, summarizes or describes some or all of the written information in
the lesson; does a show and tell; or, other things listed below.
A system like this is described in more detail on page 7 of the General
Leader's Guide for levels 1, 2, and 3. That leader's guide and others have
more meeting management and teaching ideas you can apply to this microwave
project.
SOME IDEAS TO USE OR ADAPT FOR EACH LESSON OR MEETING:
INTRODUCTION OR MEETING 1 - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Get acquainted, establish date, place, time of meetings, and a system for
having the ingredients on hand at each meeting.
Review what was learned in The Microwave Connection.
Review and reinforce some principles of basic nutrition, safe food handling,
and food shopping by reading the information in the Introduction.
Preview what is included in More Microwave, glance through the book, and note
the different lessons and what they contain.
Each lesson has short items on:
nutrition - "Nutrition Notes:"
cookery - "Preparation Principle"
food or kitchen safety - "Safety Sense" or "Cooking Caution"
microwave cookery methods - "Microwave Reminder"
microwave experiments - "Discover for Yourself"
learning review - "Check it Off..."
and recipes.
There are also a few word games scattered throughout the manual. These can be
used to keep the 4-H'ers occupied if there happens to be a lull in the project
activity or a delay of some sort.
SOUPS AND SNACKS - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Remind the 4-H'ers to use basic sanitation or personal hygiene such as washing
their hands thoroughly before handling food, using clean utensils, and working
on clean counters or tables.
Arrange to have one or several members give a show and tell or a short
illustrated talk on the basic four food groups.
Help members identify which food groups the different foods they are using
today belong to.
Encourage your 4-H'ers to evaluate or rate the quality of the food they
prepare. Remind them that microwave cooking isn't as exact science due to
variations in ovens. Some experimentation may be necessary. They may have to
select different time settings with the oven at home. Or, the oven used at
the meetings may require different cooking times from those given in the
recipes.
MEATS AND MAIN DISHES - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Have the members read through the recipes they plan to prepare at the meeting.
Perhaps have someone read the list of ingredients and directions out loud.
Explain any cooking terms or ingredients that may be unfamiliar.
Describing or demonstrating some cooking terms could be the object of a show
and tell; examples: basting, creaming, drizzling, folding, mixing, beating,
tossing, skimming, etc.
FRUITS - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Encourage members to use the microwave cookbooks they have at home. They
could show and tell, or share, by having each one bring a microwave cookbook
or use and care manual from home to show at one of the meetings. Find out
what information the book contains other than recipes.
Have 4-H'ers look through any cookbooks, conventional as well as microwave,
that may be available at the meeting for a recipe that uses their favorite
fruit. Ask them to tell what type of recipe they've selected, for example:
condiment, side dish, salad, and dessert.
Remind the members about kitchen sanitation. Some aspect of this would be a
good topic for a show and tell.
BREADS - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Review (demonstrate) correct measuring techniques for dry and liquid measure.
Emphasize that most recipes for baked foods, especially cakes and breads,
require accurate measure to ensure success.
Discuss the results of the "Discover for Yourself" activity. Have the members
record the results on the diagram in their manuals.
Ask members to tell what their favorite pasta dish is. If it is not a great
bother or expense, show examples of some different types or shapes of pasta.
Talk about ways these are usually prepared or served.
Without going to any extra expense, have a display of simple and complex
carbohydrates that may be available at the meeting place. Remind the 4-H'ers
that simple carbohydrates are the familiar very sweet foods or ingredients -
sugar, honey, corn syrup.
VEGETABLES -- THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
The "Discover for Yourself" activity.
Review the basic four food groups.
Have the members do a quick 24 hour food recall. How many had at least one
serving from each of the four groups in the last 24 hours? How many had four
or more servings of any food group? What food group was it?
Demonstrate the proper, safe way to use knives and peelers for different
slicing, peeling, and cutting tasks.
Encourage members to tell about any microwave cooking they've done at home -
successes, failures, and family's reaction.
Have 4-H'ers bring labels or empty containers that show different forms of the
same food; that is, fresh, canned, frozen, dried, plain, in combination with
other food or ingredients.
DESSERTS - THINGS TO DO OR DISCUSS
Give members a packaged food item that's available in the kitchen where
they're working (or ask them to bring a food label from home). Have each
member tell what information is on the label of the product they have. Or,
ask if a specific piece of information is on the label such as a list of
ingredients, cholesterol content, number of calories, words that indicate
sugar content, etc.
Have a 4-H'er give an illustrated talk on what information generally appears
on food labels.
Arrange for a show and tell on ways to keep the microwave oven clean inside
and out and/or how to clean the oven interior if it gets spattered and soiled.
Have members design a food package label for one of the foods they prepared
today. It could include name of the food, weight or number of items, list of
ingredients, name and address of manufacturer, etc.
Doing some of these "Things to Do or Discuss" will help expand what your
4-H'ers learn and make the meetings more than just cooking, eating sessions.
The 4-H Roundup exhibit requirement for More Microwave is three Crazy Cookies
on a small white plate or 1/3 of a Banana Bread Loaf on a white plate.
Enjoy More Microwave with your 4-H'ers!
Contact for questions
 |
to Jan Scholl's home page |
Updated 8/15/05