Shake it Up GREEN!

Everyone claims to be a "bit" Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

This quick and easy recipe to celebrate the "Wearin' of the Green" can be a "to go" fun thing for the kids with your play groups, pre-school kids or even an after school enrichment program for the younger kids.

Here's what you'll need:
Instant Pistachio Pudding
Milk (very cold)
Zippy plastic bags (sandwich size works!)

So each child is "in charge" of their preparation, you might want to dump the pudding into a small plastic bowl (or large, depending on the numbers you're working with). Have several measuring spoons that are equal to 1 Tablespoon measurement.

Go to each child and have them measure out their pudding and dump it into their plastic bag. Since they're in charge and you're the "adult helper"... ask the kids to take both of their hands and hold the bag open for you so you can dump their milk into the bag... here's the easy recipe and then back for the real fun!

1 Tablespoon Pistachio Pudding Mix
1/2 cup milk

Make sure the milk is extra cold (pop it in the freezer for a little while)... it will make the pudding set up really quickly.

Have an adult help each child make sure their zippy bag is closed tightly. Now for the fun... each child shakes the bags, turns them and can gently squeeze them until the pudding is mixed.

You can even do this outside at the park! If you want to make super sure that the pudding is totally set up you could take a small cooler of ice along and have each child put their name on their zippy bag. If you're in a classroom setting... you can use the refrigerator.

Make the "Green Pudding" the activity and then chill it and it can be saved for snack time. Whatever you decide to do... have fun! The kids love doing this... just remember... St. Patrick's Day is a day for the "wearin' of the green"... but I didn't say the kids should "wear" this green pudding!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Getting Kids into the Kitchen,
Jan McCracken, Culinary Coach