Getting Kids Involved in the Kitchen
According to a 2019 survey, 28% of American adults do not know how to cook. Teaching kids food safety and kitchen clean-up, as well as how to navigate simple kitchen equipment and read a recipe, are essential for their success as they grow and become adults. It can be an overwhelming task to involve kids in cooking, especially if you are not a confident cook yourself. However, there are many simple and safe ways to involve children while cooking. For instance, kids can:
- Wash fruits and vegetables or rinse canned beans.
- Measure dry pasta, dry ingredients, and gather ingredients from the cupboards.
- Stir ingredients of a cold or slightly warm dish.
- Assemble foods like sandwiches and casseroles.
- Mash beans, potatoes, or hard cooked eggs with a fork or masher.
- Look at a picture on a recipe and talk about what ingredients they see.
As kids grow older and more experienced, they can manage more complicated tasks with less supervision:
- Peel and slice soft fruits and vegetables like bananas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- Clean countertop surfaces and utensils.
- Check the temperature of foods to make sure they are cooked enough.
- Flip pancakes, form meatballs, dice chicken, and cook ground meat.
- Read the ingredients list of the recipes.
- Use a blender to make smoothies, sauces, and batters.
All kids can help with meal planning and grocery shopping! Challenge them to choose one new food for them and their family to try.
Below is a delicious snack recipe that is kid-friendly, healthy, and easy to put together.
Prep time: 40 minutes
Servings: 30
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter or nut butter of your choice
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- ½ cup raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries (or a mixture of all of them)
Directions
- In a large bowl, add the peanut or nut butter, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Kids can help with this part!
- Add remaining ingredients: oats through dried fruits.
- Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When ready, scoop out about a tablespoon size amount and roll into a ball. Kids can help with this part!
Pro tip: You can coat the palms of your hands with cooking spray and squeeze the mixture together before rolling to make this a little easier.
- Place balls in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
- Kids can help clean up the counters, put away the ingredients, and wash any dishes.
Make sure to wash your hands before making the batter and again before rolling the balls!