Simple Savings

 (10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare)

By Lisa Messinger
Food and Cooking at Creators Syndicate

Bravery, strength, courage, conviction: These are just a few of the adjectives conjured up when thinking about the origin of Memorial Day. However, with its current celebration as a three-day holiday weekend and the media marking it as the unofficial beginning of summer grilling season, some military and veterans' groups have noted that the real meaning of Memorial Day often seems to be lost.

Memorial Day is the day in which we remember those who have died in active military service.  If your kidlets like to bake, there are a number of ways they can learn the meaning behind the holiday - and deliciously spread the word to others. Fun baking, as seen in the recipes below, is just more proof that preparation can be easy, nutritious, economical - and fast. They take just 10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare. The combinations are tasty proof that everyone has time for good "home cooking" and, more importantly, the healthy family togetherness that goes along with it! Another benefit: You and the kids, as you supervise them, effortlessly become better chefs, since there are no right or wrong amounts.

Cupcakes of Honor
When the kids are baking their favorite cupcakes, simply show them how to write in icing on top of the frosting some of the strong adjectives that describe military heroes, such as "Brave," "Strong," "Courageous," "Noble," "Selfless," "Generous," "Gallant," "Valiant," and "Heroic."

Quick Quotes with Lots of Meaning
Have the kids research history quotes that convey the meaning of the deeds of those who fought for their country, and then include all or part of the quotes:

--- In homemade fortune cookies
--- On the inside lid of cookie tins, which show as the tins (filled with red, white and blue homemade cookies) are opened
--- In red, white and blue icing on top of frosted homemade or store-bought sheet cakes. For effect, consider baking a white sheet cake and including red candies, white marshmallows and fresh blueberries (or similarly colored sprinkles) in the batter.

Feasting with Flags
Decorate the top of a sheet of brownies or a sheet cake like a flag, leaving the center open for kids to write with icing one of the meaningful quotes they found during their research.

QUICK TIP OF THE WEEK: For further history lessons, as they eat one day, have your kids jot down a few of the major foods they enjoyed, such as "cereal," "bread," "banana" and "chicken," and later look up their origin, first introduction, and importance to the food supply.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food and nutrition writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Council Against Health Fraud and author of seven food books, including the best-selling The Tofu Book: The New American Cuisine with 150 Recipes (Avery/Penguin Putnam) and Turn Your Supermarket into a Health Food Store: The Brand-Name Guide to Shopping for a Better Diet (Pharos/Scripps Howard). She writes two nationally syndicated food and nutrition columns for Creators Syndicate and had been a longtime newspaper food and health section managing editor, as well as managing editor of Gayot/Gault Millau dining review company. Lisa traveled the globe writing about top chefs for Pulitzer Prize-winning Copley News Service and has written about health and nutrition for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Reader's Digest, Woman's World and Prevention Magazine Health Books. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.