Cooking With Kids

Many kids love to cook. Having your kids help prepare and cook healthy meals on a regular basis can not only be fun for them but it can teach them how to cook healthy food products. This also encourages them to eat healthier.

There are all kinds of healthy recipes any child can help make. Below are a couple of healthy, fun and easy recipe ideas.

This strawberry smoothie recipe can be a wonderful choice, especially for kids who are lactose intolerant. Ingredients include: 1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt, 1/2 cup strawberries, 2 ice cubes and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. All the child needs to do is measure out the ingredients and then put in a blender for mixing until smoothed. Of course make sure to monitor and supervise them.
(Etinger, Mark. “Cooking With Children: Healthy Ideas.” Ezinearticles. 21 November 2010. Web 3 March 2012.)

Another yummy and healthy recipe is chicken wraps. Ingredients include: 4 tbsp of olive oil, one garlic clove, chicken breasts, carrots, cucumber, romaine lettuce and spinach-enriched tortilla wrap. For this recipe some adult help with be needed. Begin by cooking the chicken in a pan with 4 tbsp of olive oil and chopped garlic until the chicken becomes golden brown. Next, let the chicken cool. While the chicken is being cooled carrots will must to be shredded, cucumbers should be minced and lettuce needs to be torn apart. The child can help at this time by tearing apart the romaine lettuce while you prepare the rest. Note: if the child is old enough they should be able to help prepare the other vegetables as well. Once the chicken has cooled it should be cut or shredded into pieces that are small enough for the child to eat without choking. The child can then mix the chicken with the shredded carrots, cucumbers and romaine lettuce. Finally, wrap the mixture in a spinach-enriched tortilla wrap. (Ince, Sarah. “Healthy Kids Cooking Ideas.” eHow. Web 2 March 2012.)

For more recipe ideas click here.

However, having the perfect easy recipe doesn't always mean it will be unstressful. There will be times that cooking with kids will seem unproductive and in a busy world that can be frustrating. Remembering to keep an open and positive mind along with some humor can help ease these frustrating situations and create a very fun learning environment. Here are some other things to do to help provide a fun experience.

• Allow them to see what's going on at all times.
• Give them an apron.
• Assign a task to each child. For smaller children you can have them wash vegetables.
• Provide the child with their own measuring cups and utensils to use.
  

(Zedman, Stella. “Cooking with Kids: Tips on Stirring Up Some Cooking Fun.” Kaboose. Web 2 March 2012.)

References/Sources

Etinger, Mark. “Cooking With Children: Healthy Ideas.” Ezinearticles. 21 November 2010. Web 3 March 2012. <http://ezinearticles.com/?Cooking-With-Children:-Healthy-Ideas&id=5420994>

Ince, Sarah. “Healthy Kids Cooking Ideas.” eHow. Web 2 March 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/info_7912205_healthy-kids-cooking-ideas.html>

Zedman, Stella. “Cooking with Kids: Tips on Stirring Up Some Cooking Fun.” Kaboose. Web 2 March 2012. <http://recipes.kaboose.com/cook.html>