Virtual Field Trip Friday: 8 Family Friendly Dishes from Turkey to Make at Home #WidenYourWorld

“What did you eat while you were in Turkey,” Emily asked with wide eyes right after she gave me giant welcome home hugs.

“Everything,” I replied. “Each meal seemed more delicious than the last. Is that even possible?” I wondered aloud, knowing that my meals at home would pale in comparison to those sampled during my trip.

As someone who loves food, I had to try it all in the name of research.

After all, one of the best ways to introduce your children to countries around the world and new cultures is through food. Sampling cuisine from different countries has been one of the first ways my kids have learned about countries around the world and letting them help in the preparation makes them excited to try new dishes.

While Turkey may seem like an exotic destination full of unfamiliar foods, there are plenty of dishes that even the pickiest eater might be enticed to try because they bear a similarity to familiar foods they probably eat at home.

This week’s virtual field trip to Turkey focuses on food and making unfamiliar foods more familiar to those who dream of visiting the country. Families who feel challenged by potential eating issues can rest assured that even the pickiest eaters will find similarities between the foods they love and those in Turkey.

As a bonus, I’ve rounded up some great recipes from around the web (including ones that we’ve tried as a family!) so you can try cooking these items at home to introduce a small sampling of foods from Turkey to your dinner table.

Over the course of the next couple months, I’ll be sharing some of the experiences from my travels each Friday as a way to #WidenYourWorld. Here’s a look at some of the topics that are part of the series. Links will go live as virtual field trip posts are published.

• Art– Ebru paper marbling and ceramics
• Food– 8 Family Friendly Dishes from Turkey to Make at Home (includes simit, irmik helfasi, kebab, dolmas, dondurma, midye dolma, Turkish coffee, spices, and more!)
• Geography– Where in the World is Turkey: Finding Turkey on a Map & Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys and caves
• History– The Silk Road and importance of caravanserais
• Religion– An Introduction to Mosques in Turkey
• Math– Converting money from dollars to Turkish Lira
• Music & Dance– The Sufi Whirling Dervishes
• Science & Engineering– Turkish Airlines Flight Training Center
• Writing– Calligraphy

Huge thanks to Turkish Airlines for extending a very generous invitation for me to join them in flying business class to Turkey and organizing and funding my adventures in Istanbul and beyond. Inspiration for using Sway for my #WidenYourWorld virtual field trip of Turkey came from attending Microsoft’s recent #ChampionsSummit in Seattle. All opinions are my own. Images taken with the Samsung NX1 and NXMini.