Cooking with Kids

I am a big believer in cooking with your kids.  It teaches them cooking skills, so they don’t grow up thinking food should just appear in front of them.  It usually gets them to actually eat dinner, whereas typically in my house it is like a hostage situation to get The Boy to take 3 bites. And it teaches them healthy eating habits.

The flipside is it can be pretty messy and potentially dangerous if you are not prepared. When cooking with just one kid, it is pretty straight forward. I started cooking with the boy around 16 months old, so now he has the routine down. With two toddlers it gets a little more interesting. Here are a few tips for cooking with toddlers.

 

 

1.      Start them young. I remember the first time I bellied my 18-month old son up to the bar in front of my mother in law she nearly fainted. But she tends to be more coddling than me anyway. But little kids know what to do; it’s basically making a controlled mess, which is what they love to do best. Now my 3 year old can make pancakes like a champ.

2.      When they are little, start with really basic things like scrambled eggs and pancake mix. Basically anything to get them stirring. Don’t have to get fancy here.

3.      Pick recipes that are basically dumping and stirring. One of our favorite things to make is Black Berry Cobbler. This recipe is basically a cup of milk, a cup of sugar, a cup of self-rising flour (you can make your own self-rising flour if you don’t have any), a stick of butter, and then 2 pints of black-berries. Super easy, and really good.

4.      When you have two kids that are helping at once, you add an extra layer of unpredictability. So go through the recipe before you start, and make sure each kid knows what they are going to get to do:

Kid 1, you get to measure the cheese.

Kid 2, you get to dump in the milk.

Mommy will crack the egg.

Kid 1 will stir for 10 beats, and then Kid 2 gets to stir for 10 beats.

5.      Explain measuring things out to them. My kids love dumping things in the bowl.  They would put 10 cups of flour in if I let them. This loaf of bread could very easily become a flour sandbox. I show them all 4 of the measuring cups and explain that the recipe tells you how much to put in or it will taste bad if you put too much in.

6.      When cooking with multiple kids, it’s best to have a spotter. Toddlers are unpredictable, and if dad is one step away, it is easier when someone drops something while you have stuff on the stove.

 

7.   Prep things that require knives ahead of time. This is pretty self explanatory. Toddlers plus knives are bad. I do think when they are older I will invest in a set of kid knives, because chopping skills are important, but that is for down the road.

8.      The stove is obviously off limits for them to touch, but I do let them watch. I think sometimes parents treat it like the hot hands of the devil, and keep their kids 10 feet away at all times. And yes, obviously the stove is no place for kids (unless you are Handsel and Gretel). But I do think they should understand what it does; in fact I think it helps keep my kids from touching it. So I get one kid on either side to watch what happens when you cook the food. Just make sure to go over the rules ahead of time:

1.      Hands at your sides at all times.

2.      No jumping around the stove.

3.      Mommy is busy at the stove, so she can’t help you get things.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes for cooking with kids:

Guacamole (they love the mashing)

Ramen Noodle Slaw

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

 

One last idea, is an easy meal that is also a way to get them eating more. Make “colorful sandwiches” (this idea is stolen from Creative Galaxy). Basically cut up different color veggies, cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow peppers, carrots, as well as cheese, salami, whatever you have. Then give each kid a slice of bread, and let them go to town. I swear, my kids will eat 10 times more when they do this than any other meal.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, there is no reason to exclude kids from clean up. They made the mess, they can clean it up.

 

Bon Appetit!