Do you have a fussy little eater in the house? Or are your kids bored from lack of activity during these trying times? How about letting them “play” with food?
Teaching your kids how to cook is one of the best gifts you can give them. Getting them involved in prepping and cooking their meals is a great way to instill the importance of eating nutritious meals. And as they get older, they can help out with grocery shopping, meal preps and cleaning up. Being skilled in the kitchen is more than just fun; it is a survival skill.
Before you get started with the kids, ask your child what he or she would like to cook. Then try to find some children’s cookbooks that show the food, measurements and steps in illustration. If your child is still quite young, you may want to consider “no-cook” recipes to let them get a feel of cooking before they move on to actual cooking on the stove.
Here are some ideas for your little ones:
Banana pops
Peel a banana, stick it into a popsicle stick, dip it into melted chocolate and some sprinkles. Let it freeze on a cookie sheet before serving.
Fun shape sandwiches
Use cute cookie cutters to cut shapes for your sandwiches. Kids can help you spread their favourite filling to make the sandwiches.
Sliced bread pizzas
Set up a toppings bar and let your child customize their own creations. You can help them by popping their creations into the oven to bake.
For older kids, you can start to teach them how to cut with a knife and learn how to cook on the stove. Here’s some recipes you can let them try:
Salad in a jar
Want your kids to eat more salad? The trick is to get them to prep and build it themselves. Let them see how colourful the salad is as they assemble it in a jar.
Homemade honey bread
All you need for this recipe is flour, milk, butter, honey and dry yeast. Kids get to learn how to measure, mix and knead. And they get to play with dough and then eat it later.
Spaghetti and meatballs with veggie sauce
Teach them how to make the meatballs and have fun rolling them. Kids can cut the veggies and help you stir the sauce for the pasta.