Teaching our children to cook and bake will take them a long way in life. So, grab your kids and get in the kitchen for some fun.
Right now we are home to stay safe and healthy from the Covid-19 virus, which is forcing us to create a new way to get through the day. Many are wondering what to do to keep our kids busy, and here is a great answer:
Get in the kitchen with your children!
Whether you already cook and bake or not, this is the perfect time to create a new habit with your family. Cooking and baking bring you together and teach fabulous life skills that your children will use for years to come.
There are so many benefits to get the kids in the kitchen:
- Learning new skills: slicing, dicing, measuring, helping, peeling, smashing, mixing . . .
- Being responsible
- Being able to help others with these new skills
- Understanding what and how you eat to be healthy
- Making their own food often helps kids eat their food (More veggies on their plate!)
- Creating healthier habits
If your children are gluten-free or have other food allergies, this is even more important as they learn what is safe and unsafe for them to eat- and how to prepare delicious and easy meals and snacks that they CAN eat.
Grab your kids and get in the kitchen with these great ideas:
- Teach them how to crack an egg.
- Make scrambled eggs together (You may one day get breakfast in bed!).
- Stove tips: teach about hot burners, turning the stove on and off, and being safe around the stove at all times.
- Allow the kids to fill the pasta pot with water. (Math – how many cups does it take?)
- Peel carrots or veggies for snack or dinner.
- Make ants on a log together with celery and peanut butter, almond butter or sunbutter and dried fruit to top it off for the ants.
- Use the grater to grate cheese or veggies.
- Make nachos with the grated cheese. (Corn-free like us? Use cassava chips.)
- Use the grated veggies, like carrots, to make Carrot Cake Date Balls.
- Make simple muffins together. Try our Pumpkin Muffins – delish!
- Measure the flours together to make muffins or cookies.
- Use math with dry measurements: 1 cup = 2 – ½ cups = 3 -1/3 cups = 4- ¼ cups – measure and add together as you make the muffins or bake together.
- Teach measuring with teaspoons and tablespoons and show the difference when baking. Mix these up and have totally different outcomes in your baked goods!
- Teach how to use a kitchen timer (on the oven) to help with baking and cooking times.
- Use the lemon squeezer. Add lemon or lime to water for a cool and refreshing drink or over the top of your salad.
- Boils eggs, then teach to peel them and use the egg slicer.
- Make egg salad together.
- Use a whisk to mix up the batter. Make some delicious pumpkin pancakes – Measuring, mixing, cooking . . . eating!
- Use a spatula to flip the pancakes – watch the hot pan!
- Use a can opener – handheld or electric. Then open a can of olives and use the egg slicer to slice the olives for a salad.
- Use the apple slicer to slice up an apple. Add sunbutter or peanut butter for a delicious snack.
- Teach how to properly set the table. This is a great chore your child can do every night to help the family.
- Teach how to clean up – clean the dishes, put them away, wash and dry, wipe down all the countertops, and put everything where it belongs. (Not as fun but so needed.)
- Teach how to sweep the floor (Also not as fun but so helpful and a great chore to add to the list.)
- Make tea and have a tea party.
“Change your plate, change your body”
Remember to weave in the topic of healthy eating and how when we make healthier meals, by changing our plate to be healthier, we become healthier overall. When children cook their food, they tend to eat their food. This is a fabulous way to get your children to eat more fruits and veggies.
- Grab a spiralizer and spiralize some veggies to put on your dinner plate tonight. (One more!)
Wow, there are so many ways to be in the kitchen with your children! I can already think of about 10 more – how about you?
What is your favorite thing to do in the kitchen with your children?
I hope this list inspires you to grab your kids and have some fun in the kitchen. Take advantage of being home all together and teach new skills while having fun together.
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