Comparing and Contrasting Foods

When children come to New Zealand from different corners of the planet, they bring with them a rich knowledge of the foods that they have begun to know as quite specific to their cultural group. Many children brought up in New Zealand are unaware of the reasons for food preferences across religions and cultures. The food pyramid was used in order to get the students to consider which foods were included in their own diet and which were normally omitted. It was reassuring to note that across cultures, children enjoyed a number of fruit varieties and grains. Meat and fish consumption was very dependent on historical and family beliefs as was dairy. Vegetables were popular with most children and easily identified. Then onto learning how to combine good foods into one meal. The children compared and contrasted fruit smoothies and mango lassi. Here are some of the photos taken during the making process. The Results: Banana smoothies were very popular as were strawberry combined with banana. The children thought that they were better than the McDonalds shakes. Mango Lassi was not as popular with 50% of the group who taste tested. They did not have an acquired taste for mango and thought that the yogurt was too strong. They thought that this drink was not like a smoothie or milkshake. The positive outcome was that they had tried a drink that is popular on an Indian menu. They also learned that Indian people use yogurt as a cooling agent.