Easy Yogurt Parfait

Cooking in the classroom is an excellent opportunity for students to use their senses to explore unfamiliar foods at their own pace. It helps students to develop age-appropriate food skills and can also include curricular links to various other learning outcomes. This simple recipe gives students practice following steps and measuring ingredients. Students can also develop learning outcomes in math through discussion of patterns, counting, and fractions as they relate to adding ingredients in a recipe.

Provide students with measuring devices for each ingredient and assist them in following the recipe to create their own parfait. Teachers can provide the full recipe on the board for the class to follow or set out one recipe printout for each ingredient in the classroom.

How to create this recipe in your classroom:

1. Two to three days before you make your parfaits, have a class discussion about which two fruits they would like to have for their parfait. Teachers may choose to use this discussion as a class vote to graph and determine the winning ingredients. We have provided a list of ideas below; however, students can come up with their own list.
2. Grocery shop one to two days before you plan to make the recipe.
3. Before class, set up 5 tables in your classroom with one ingredient bowl at each table as well as a recipe printout, cloths/napkins and measuring cups and spoons.
   • Yogurt
   • Seeds or nuts
   • Cereal or granola
   • Fruit option #1
   • Fruit option #2
4. Provide each student with a bowl or cup to make their recipe in.
5. Divide students into 5 groups and have each group start at a table and follow the recipe to add the correct amount of that ingredient. Allow 3-5 minutes at each table and then move groups to the next table.
6. Once all the ingredients have been added the recipe is ready to be enjoyed.
7. As students are eating, you can discuss the foods they are eating as well as additional curricular links; such as:
   • Different textures, shapes and colours they see in their parfait.
   • Other fruit, cereal and nut/seed combinations they could try at home.
   • Differences in parfaits, depending on which table they started at.
   • Fractions they notice in the recipe.
   • How they might create a different pattern by layering their parfait differently.

Supplies:

• Ingredients for parfait (listed below)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Bowls or cups for students to make recipe in
• Spoons
• Cloths, towels or paper towels
• Optional- Index cards with ingredient and amount printed. Alternatively, teacher can provide full recipe on the board.

Suggested Groceries:

10 students

• 3 large tubs yogurt (750 mL each)
• 2 fruit choices (cut into bite sized pieces); for example:
  • 5 bananas
  • 2-3 cups berries (frozen or fresh)
  • 3 apples, sliced
  • 1 pineapple, chopped or 3 (540 mL) cans pineapple, drained
  • 2 (600 g) bags frozen peaches
• 2 ½ cups cereal or granola
• ¾ cup seeds or nuts

20 students

• 5 large tubs yogurt (750 mL each)
• 2 fruit choices (cut into bite sized pieces); for example:
  • 10 bananas
  • 5-6 cups berries (frozen or fresh)
  • 6 apples, sliced
  • 1 pineapple, chopped or 6 (540 mL) cans pineapple, drained
  • 4 (600 g) bags frozen peaches
• 5 cups cereal or granola
• 1 ¼ cups seeds or nuts

30 students

• 8 large tubs yogurt (750 mL each)
• 2 fruit choices (cut into bite sized pieces); for example:
  • 15 bananas
  • 7-8 cups berries (frozen or fresh)
  • 9 apples, sliced
  • 2 pineapples, chopped or 9 (540 mL) cans pineapple, drained
  • 6 (600 g) bags frozen peaches
• 7 ½ cups cereal or granola
• 1 ¾ cups seeds or nuts

Note: this recipe can also be made in a jar and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.