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Resources, Recipes, & Activities

Knife Safety + Guacamole

Many recipes require at least some cutting so we put together a list of knife safety tips and showed them being put into practice while making a simple and delicious guacamole. See below for written knife safety tips, followed by our guacamole and knife safety video, followed by the written guacamole recipe.

Knife safety tips:

  1. Make sure you’re holding your knife properly. Watch the video below or check out our “how to hold a knife” blog post for visual tutorials.

  2. Before you start, stabilize your cutting board with a nonstick mat or damp paper towel so it doesn’t slide around.

  3. Make sure you always put your knife down safely. Don’t walk around the kitchen with it.

  4. When possible, try to cut ingredients with the flat side down on the cutting board. If the item doesn’t have a flat side, you can cut a slice off the bottom or side to create a flat side.

  5. Make sure your hands and cutting board are clean so food doesn’t slide around while you’re trying to cut it.

  6. If you need to make cuts in multiple directions on the same ingredient, turn your food on your cutting board instead of turning your knife.

  7. When you’re done using your knife, put it in a safe place next to your sink or wash it right away. Don’t put it in your sink so you don’t accidentally cut yourself reaching into the sink.

  8. If you don’t feel quite ready to start using a traditional knife, email info@culikid.org to ask about getting a safe Culikid knife sent to you.

Guacamole Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 avocados

  • 1 small tomato

  • 1/2 lime    

  • 1/2 small red onion

  • 1/2-1 tablespoon cilantro

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Kitchen tools:

  • Cutting board

  • Knife

  • Spoon

  • Medium mixing bowl

  • Masher or fork

  • Measuring spoons

  • Rubber spatula or mixing spoon

Directions:

  1. Carefully slice open the avocados, turning the avocado and slicing around the pit. Twist both sides to separate.

  2. Squeeze the avocado half that has the pit in it until the pit pops out. Then discard the pit.

  3. Scoop avocado out of the skin and into a medium mixing bowl.

  4. Use a masher or fork to mash the avocado into the desired consistency.

  5. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of half of the lime into the bowl with the avocado.

  6. Dice the tomato. First slice the tomato, then cut the slices into sticks. Cut the sticks into dices or cubes. Add the tomato to the avocado bowl.

  7. Cut the onion in half. Put the flat side of half the onion down on the cutting board (save the other half for something else). Keeping the root intact and with the root pointing towards the top of the cutting board, make slices vertically from the root to the bottom of the onion. Turn the onion so the root is pointing towards the left side of the cutting board (if you are left-handed, point the root towards the right side). Make slices perpendicular to the first cuts. This will result in dices. Add the diced onions to the avocado bowl.

  8. Pull cilantro leaves off the stems. Discard the stems. Use hands to tear cilantro leaves or chop the cilantro with the knife. Add torn or chopped cilantro leaves to the bowl.

  9. Measure 1/4 teaspoon salt and add it to the bowl.

  10. Use a rubber spatula or spoon to mix everything until combined.

  11. Taste and add more salt, lime juice, or cilantro if needed.

  12. Enjoy!