Cornbread

Cornbread  (gluten free)

Mix together:

• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 2 tsp. Xanthan gum
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1  1/2 salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups water or milk
• 1/2 cup oil or applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey

Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. 

Bake 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with honey-butter.

Tips:  If you have a grain mill, brown rice and unpopped popcorn make great flour for this recipe.  It also works well to put all the dry ingredients in ziplock bags in the freezer to use later.  It makes a fast wonderful cornbread.   Everyone will love it. 

Food Groups: Grain

Objective: Introduce the grain food group and the importance of the vitamins, minerals and fiber attained from it.

Preparations:

• Magazines with a lot of pictures of food.
• Make a bulletin board with a large circle, divided into 4 sections to look like a plate. And a smaller circle or glass shape in the upper right hand corner to represent a glass of milk. Label each section Fruit, Vegetable, Protein, Grain and Dairy. See example of what it should look like at  http://www.choosemyplate.gov .  (You can print out the “coloring sheet” from this website and have each child make their own collage to take home.) http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/MyPlate/ColoringSheet.pdf
• Glue sticks
• Grain in various form (Wheat, crackers, flour, pasta,etc.)
• Suggested book: The Grain Group by Helen Frost
  Corn by Gail Gibbons
  

Lesson:

Read a book then discuss Grains.

• The Grain Group is an important part of our daily diet because it provides us with the important Carbohydrates and Fiber that we need.
• Carbohydrates help bodies produce energy that we need to be active.
• Fiber helps regulate digestion and can help decrease the risk of certain cancers.
• Enriched grains also contain Iron and Vitamin B. Iron carries oxygen to all parts of the body. Vitamin B helps in the use and release of energy in our body.
• It also helps maintain the health of our blood, skin, and nervous system.
• The grain group contains any food made from grain which is the seed part of plants.  Some common grains are wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, and barley. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, rice, crackers, and tortillas are foods made from grain.
• We should eat grains daily but the amount you needs depends on age and weight.
• The more whole grains the better. 

Activities:

My Plate Collage (This activity can be as a part of a lesson from each food group over several days.)

• Have children find and cut out pictures of food from the grain group from the magazines
• Have them apply glue to the back and stick it on to the grain section of the poster.

Another fun activity is to make tortillas, corn bread or wheat bread with the children. Tortillas, Cornbread and Wheat Bread recipes are also on our blog.  Here is the link to the tortilla recipe.