Simple Meals (Junior badge)

The Simple Meals badge is part of the “Legacy” badge set introduced in 2011. It replaces the retired Let's Get Cooking badge.

Activity #1: Step up your skills with a pro
Tour a kitchen. This kitchen can be your own, at school or at a local restaurant or catering company. Use the tour to learn about the different cooking tools and how they are used, along with general kitchen safety. You can make a game out of this activity by having a scavenger hunt to find a tablespoon, baking sheet, whisk, oven mitt, casserole dish, cheese grater and more.

Activity #2: Whip up a great breakfast 🍳
Create an egg dish. Ask friends and family members how they like their eggs. As a troop, make both scrambled and fried eggs. Try adding different spices, veggies and cheese. Take one step further by making a weekend breakfast for your family, with adult help.

Activity #3: Fix a healthy lunch or dinner
Now that you feel comfortable in the kitchen, take on the challenge of creating a bigger meal. Try exploring foods from other cultures! Research dishes and decide what you want to make. You can make this a field trip by visiting a local grocery store to buy the supplies. Follow the recipe to prepare the meal, but remember, you can tweak the recipe to fit your taste!

Activity #4: Create a delicious dessert
Make a favorite dessert healthier. Take a favorite cookie recipe and use whole-wheat flour instead of white, or swap out chocolate chips for raisins. For some cake mixes, you can use applesauce instead of oil. With help from an adult, research a healthy dessert idea you want to try. Baking is like a fun science experiment; if something doesn’t turn out right, you can make changes to the recipe until you get it exactly how you want it.Recipes:
 * Quick homemade ice cream (great for camp!)
 * 'Cup' cakes. Make cakes in a coffee mug in the microwave -- but need to eat them fast before they turn into hockey pucks!

Activity #5: Make your own meal
It’s time to come up with your own healthy meal! Make a salad into a meal using a protein, a vegetable and a starch. For the entree, include your choice of meat, and maybe some noodles or potatoes. You can even bake your own bread and serve it on the side.

Additional Resources
http://www.girlscoutsem.org/content/dam/girlscouts-girlscoutsem/documents/BB_Health_Juniors_Simple%20Meals%20badge.pdf