10 Tips for Cooking with Kids

by Jennifer Leckey

Motherhood

Not only does cooking with our kids give us the chance to connect with them in the kitchen and have lots of fun creating beautiful memories together, we believe it is a great learning experience and can also jump-start a fondness for healthy eating. Here are out top ten tips to get you started.

 

Relax and enjoy

Make it fun, fun, fun! Cooking can be such a fabulous learning experience and a beautiful opportunity to connect with your children. So many cherished memories from our childhood involve food, eating, and cooking so it’s important to relax and have fun with them in the kitchen. If you feel a little anxious about it, start off simply with basic recipes. Resist the temptation to step in – it doesn’t matter if the dough’s not rolled perfectly flat or the chunks of vegetables are a little too chunky. What our little chefs may lack in precision we promise they will make up for in creativity and enjoyment.

 

Tools we love

Be prepared with the right equipment. Scales, measuring cups and spoons, graters with handles, chopping boards, wooden spoons, peelers, whisks, rolling pins, different-sized bowls, baking trays, muffin tins, a blender, a food processor, baking paper, and a stepping stool for little legs are a few of our favourites and worth their weight in gold when it comes to embarking on a kitchen adventure with kiddiewinks.

 

Hitting the markets

Shopping for food together is a great way for our little ones to discover new foods, and to learn about eating seasonally. Have fun writing a list of ingredients (or drawing pictures for younger children) which they can help you find at the market or in the shop. While you’re there, encourage them to pick out a new fruit or veggie to taste too.

 

Mix it up a bit

Baking is always a big hit and we get that – it usually involves cake! – but there’s plenty of fun to be had making pizza dough or rolling bliss balls, making zoodles or juicing citrus, pounding chicken cutlets or stirring pesto through pasta. Give your mini chefs the skills to make little meals as well as snacks and to learn about a wider range of ingredients.

 

Timing isn’t everything!

In an ideal world, you would choose a perfect-for-little-helpers recipe to follow at a time when you’re not juggling three different tasks at once and but in reality, kids want to help no matter what you’re cooking and when you’re cooking it. And we say hurrah to that! There’s always something that could take a little extra mixing or chopping and maybe your measurements need to be rechecked! Try to embrace their enthusiasm for helping and look forward to the day when you can sit back with a cuppa while they cook for you!

 

If you do have the luxury of planning ahead for your cooking activity, select a recipe that will keep your stress levels down and allow them to feel really involved. My daughter tells me that after licking the bowl, her favourite parts of cooking are cracking eggs, mixing, and more mixing!

 

Take your time

Mentally prepare yourself for the fact that everything will take a whole lot longer than it would flying solo so set aside extra time. Remember, for younger children in particular, the journey is as much fun as (if not more than) the destination!

 

Getting hands on

Kids are often very tactile and want to know what their food feels like. Seeing and feeling food in its raw state provides the perfect opportunity to teach them about where their food comes from (and get a whole lot messier and stickier which is sure to bring smiles to those little faces). If you can, use ingredients which you have growing in your garden (fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables) and which your children have helped to nurture. They are much more likely to try a new food when they've invested in its preparation.

 

Playing it safe

When it comes to knife skills, start small to keep little fingers safe. Start building their skills by getting them to slice mushrooms or bananas with a butter knife. Leave filleting fish for a bit later on!

 

Encourage and embrace messiness

Ok, so this is probably up there in the top ten reasons why people avoid cooking with their kids. Yep, cooking is a messy business and when kids are involved it gets a whole lot messier. Fight the urge to follow them around with a cloth! It is possible to exercise a bit of damage control (a tray underneath where they are working, for example) but it will be a lot less stressful and a lot more fun if you allow the mess and accidents to happen and agree to tackle it together afterwards.

 

‘Quality control’

Let’s face it, you’re unlikely to get to the end of the cooking process without a sneaky finger lick or spoonful disappearing here and there!  And why not?! This is all part of the fun. My daughters insist they are just helping with quality control! Use this as a way to encourage more adventurous eating in your little ones and to teach them about which foods are safe to eat raw. Instil good food hygiene habits such as handwashing, using a clean spoon, rather than fingers to taste, and saving the joy of licking the stirring spoon until the end.