Because of Covid, last year we met either outside or virtually. Its funny, even though the numbers are far higher now than they were last year, I'm a lot less worried about it. The kids have all had the chance to be vaccinated and we know that for the most part, the kids aren't the ones in danger from this virus. Now that the weather has turned cold, we have moved inside and so we have been working on the cooking badges--Snacks for Brownies and Simple Meals for Juniors.
Brownie Snacks Requirements
Make great snacks for yourself and your friends.
- Find out about different types of snacks
- Make a savory snack
- Try a sweet snack
- Snack for energy
- Slurp a snack
Junior Simple Meals Requirements
Make amazing meals and learn to create a whole meal of your own.
- Step up your skills with a pro
- Whip up a great breakfast
- Fix a healthy lunch or dinner
- Create a delicious dessert
- Make your own meal
When you've earned this badge, you'll know how to serve up a meal for your family and friends.
How We Earned These Badges
Learn About
I broke this badge up into four different meetings. We usually meet for an hour on a Monday night each month, and on a Saturday. On Saturday I may split the group and do an hour with the Brownies and an hour with the Juniors, or if I have something time-consuming I want to do with the whole group, we all meet together for two hours.
We did the first activity on a Saturday morning during a two hour meeting. We made breakfast. I split the girls into three groups. One group worked on word searches about kitchen gadgets and, following a diagram, set the tables for us. The covid numbers were pretty low when we started this so we put three girls at tables meant for 8 with space between them. That worked toward #1 for both badges. We also talked about healthy vs unhealthy snacks (while sampling Girl Scout Cookies).
Whip Up a Great Breakfast and Slurp a Snack
The second group that first Saturday made smoothies, thus fulfilling #5 for Brownies. Each girl got to measure at least one ingredient that went in the blender and we talked about 1/2s, 1/4s. etc.
The third group made French toast and scrambled eggs. First, we used this worksheet to decide how much of each ingredient we needed. I took this idea from the Junior Design With Nature badge though the math on this was a lot easier. Once each group figured out what they needed, they made the French Toast and Scrambled eggs. We kept them warm until each group had a turn to do everything, and then we enjoyed our breakfast.
Create a Delicious Dessert/Try a Sweet Snack
The girls wanted S'mores at their holiday party and so we made oven s'mores. For the chocolate I bought a bag that had plain chocolate, York Peppermint Patties and Reeses mini-cups. Girls got to pick which they wanted on their s'more and we talked about how a lot of recipes could be changed to make them different, but still good.
Snack for Energy/Make Your Own Meal
This was another two hour Saturday meeting. We talked about how bread has carbohydrates and they give you energy. By this time the Covid numbers were skyrocketing and I did not want masks removed inside so my plan was to take the food outside to eat if the weather was nice, or to send it home if not. We sent it home. Unfortunately I think half the troop was out with covid so we are going to take a vote about whether to cook another whole meal.
We had three stations for this meeting. The first was to make refrigerator rolls. The second got a lesson on knife safety and use and then cut up fruit for fruit salad. The third made spaghetti and meat sauce. We put the water on to boil and learned to peel garlic and onions. We chopped up a small onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and cooked them in the browning hamburger. After the leader poured off the grease the girls added canned spaghetti sauce. They learned to use a manual can opener too.
Make a Savory Snack/Fix a Healthy Lunch or /Dinner
We made Pita Pizzas. You just take a piece of Pita Bread, cover with pizza sauce and add toppings. Put it under the broiler until the cheese melts. We made these inside and then went outside to eat. It was about 50 degrees and I told the parents to send coats.
My Comments:
I always enjoy cooking with the girls and they like it too.
My Brownie expressed reservations about using a knife so I gave the same speech I give at the campfire: Who thinks matches (knives) are dangerous? (Girls who haven't heard the speech raise hands). Who thinks pencils are dangerous? (girls who have heard speech may or may not raise hand). Who wants me to poke you in the eye with a pencil? (no hands up). Who thinks pencils are dangerous (hands up). Then I go on to point out that just like pencils matches (or knives) can be dangerous when misused, but they are tools that are safe if we use them correctly.
I'm fortunate to have access to a kitchen to complete these badges. I really think Girl Scouts needs more skill-based badges.
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