To celebrate Science Week, taking place over Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 August, Mayver’s has put together their tastiest science-inspired recipes to showcase how food converts into energy inside the body, alongside some fun experiments that upcycle empty jars.
Leading dietitian, Susie Burrell, says that Science Week provides a great opportunity to educate your children on the importance of a healthy, balanced diet and how different foods provide different nutritional value.
“Children aren’t always interested in eating or learning about healthy foods, but Science Week turns an every day consideration into something kids can get a bit more involved in,” Susie says.
“Every single part of the human body requires energy to function properly and when food is digested in the stomach, with the help of special acids and enzymes, it converts into glucose to give your body the energy it needs to get through the day.
“Highlighting how this can impact your child’s day, for example staying awake in school, having enough energy to get through football or dance practise or playing with their friends, is the best way to show them the benefits of a nutritionally balanced lifestyle.
“Demonstrating how foods can change when they are cooked or prepared can be a really fun experiment for children and they get to enjoy eating it afterwards too!”
Mayver’s Peanut Butter Overnight Oats is a tasty experiment to demonstrate how the starch in oats thicken when water or milk is added.
And, similarly when cooking baking recipes like Mayver’s Peanut Butter Protein Banana Bread, you can firstly discuss how the flavour and taste of bananas become sweeter as they ripen before talking about the different roles each ingredient plays.
For example, eggs help to bind mixtures, salt strengthens the gluten protein in dough and why special ingredients like peanut butter increase the protein content of the recipe.
If you have a few empty Mayver’s jars lying around the use, you can use them to conduct simple science experiments with the kids! Our favourite is the Cloud Jar experiment, Fireworks in a Jar and Beans in a Jar.
