Search

Gratitude

Gratitude > Hands-on options > Manna meal

Manna meal

Fun with food

For one meal, eat only one unsweetened, carbohydrate-based food to help your children practice contentment and appreciate the variety of food available to them.

Your choice of food for this meal could be brown rice, whole grain bread, potatoes, popcorn, crackers or oatmeal. Or alternatively, you might want to make the manna recipe included here to simulate the wafers the Israelites ate in the desert.

Eat your food without any salt, seasoning or added extras like butter, ketchup, sauces or spreads.

During your meal, read Numbers 11:4-35 or consult the “mad about manna” Bible story from the Thanksgiving lesson.

As you eat together, talk about how the Israelites must have felt eating manna day after day for so long. You may also wish to discuss what it might be like to live in underprivileged countries, where people have only one simple meal (or less) to eat each day.

Review your choice of the Scripture verses to help your children understand what the Bible says about contentment.

Finally, practice being thankful for everything – even your “boring” meal – with this thankfulness prayer based on Philippians 4:12:

Dear God, please teach us the secret of being content in any and every situation. Help us to remember to thank You, whether we are well fed or hungry; whether we have lots of things or very little. Thank you. Amen.

Manna wafers

3 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. coriander (optional)
1/8 cup butter, melted, or olive oil
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup unsweetened applesauce (equals one 111 g container of Mott’s brand)
1 egg
sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

  • Preheat oven to 375 °F.
  • Use a hand mixer to blend the butter, honey, vanilla, applesauce and egg together.
  • Sift in just one cup of the whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. baking soda and ½ tsp. powdered coriander (optional – note that the Bible says manna was like coriander in looks, not necessarily taste).
  • Mix the dough until it is uniformly blended. Continue adding flour until the dough is stiff enough to roll out.
  • Roll the dough as thin as possible. The thinner you roll it, the more authentic it will be, as manna was described as being flaky.
  • If you want to sweeten the wafers slightly, sprinkle the surface of the rolled-out dough with white or brown sugar. Gently roll over the sugared surface to adhere the sugar to the dough.
  • Cut the “manna” into squares or use cookie cutters to punch out a variety of shapes.
  • Place the wafers on a non-stick cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375 °F for 8-10 minutes. The manna wafers are done when they are lightly browned and spring back when pressed lightly with a fingertip.
Relevant Scripture

Philippians 4:11b “. . . I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Philippians 4:12b “. . . I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

1 Timothy 6:8 “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

View full lesson Download the lesson PDF Download the planning tools Read the parents' prayer Read the parents' guide
Browse lesson contents
Change lesson
Back to top