Tips & Tricks
For Cooking with Kids
To be able to grow some of that food in our own backyard is a long-held goal. I see pictures of people in their gardens, and I think: Yes, I want that to be us. ... I didn't have an abundance of free time to build the full garden (oh, and to LEARN HOW TO GARDEN), but I did want to try something. So, my son and I planted (OK, fine, transplanted) three herbs in containers plus one jalapeño plant.
I'm told my son eats corn when it's on the menu at his daycare. But I'm admittedly a little bit of a vegetable snob. So, I figured if he likes canned corn, wouldn't he love fresh corn on the cob ... grilled? I mean, does it get any better?
Then, I figured he should help.
Watching a toddler try to shuck corn is pretty awesome.
"Helping" with corn ... until they're old enough to help with corn.
As kiddos get older, they'll be more helpful. But until they're helpful, they can be distracted and occupied while you make the rest of the meal. We call this a win-win.
If you were hoping that this would be about tips to get kiddos to eat salad, you are mistaken. And I'm sorry about that.
But even if they might not eat salad, they can still help make it. And, well, that's a start.
Tonight, I made a quinoa salad, and as I chopped the veggies, I put them in a small bowl and invited my almost-21-month-old to dump them into the salad bowl. He found this quite entertaining.
It was also an opportunity for him to taste the veggies as they went in. (He likes capers, we learned!)
If you are looking for other ways to involve kiddos in a salad, here are a few ideas:
Chopping. As kiddos get older, they can use safety knives to cut veggies. Or you can put veggies into a small food processor and let them push the "chop" button.
Choosing. Salads come in all shapes and sizes. Invite your kiddo to pick the veggies (if you don't have our allergy concerns, cheese and nuts!).
Go bar. Kids love salad bars because it represents choice. As they get older, there's no reason they can't have a choice in building their own salad.
Cookies! What kid doesn't love cookies? And they just don't get better than homemade. (Sorry, Girl Scouts.) Last weekend, I came across some canned pumpkin leftover from the fall, so I decided to whip up some pumpkin oatmeal cookies, which my boy loves. A couple of simple substitutes makes them compatible with his allergies and doesn't affect the taste (check out the recipe).
There are a few easy ways to involve kiddos in the process:
Measuring and counting. When I've baked with my nieces and nephew at the holidays, I've taken the opportunity to work on math skills. Measuring, counting, cutting recipes in half (or — who are we kidding? — doubling recipes) is great when kids get older.
Turning on the mixer. When she was about 3 or 4, my oldest niece always loved flipping the switch on my standing mixer.
Dropping the cookies. As they get older, kiddos can help roll dough into balls, they'll love decorating cookies. For simple drop cookies, older kids (with stronger hands) could do this too. (I like using a small cookie scoop to make it easy.) But my little toddler struggled with dropping the cookies entirely on his own, so helped in two ways: Spooning the dough onto the cookie sheet from a spoon I held:
Hold the dough on one spoon, and let your kiddo spoon it onto the baking sheet.
And telling me where the next cookie should go:
Toddlers like to be in charge. They can help by directing where you drop the next cookie.
As the weather warms, I start craving lighter foods — simple salads and side dishes, for example. And there's just nothing better to brighten up those flavors than fresh herbs. One of my favorites is basil.
The other night, I did a simple tomato salad — sliced tomatoes with basil on, then sprinkled with some kosher salt, ground black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The kiddo was not impressed with this dish. BUT he did love helping. First, he loved smelling the basil (I bought a plant rather than pre-cut). And he loved ripping the leaves off the plant. I ask you: Could there be any more perfect task for a toddler?
The basil never stood a chance.
And a couple days later, we had some gardening fun and planted the basil in a small pot in the back yard — another great project to involve the kiddos in.
If you saw my meals, you'd know immediately that I'm no professional chef. I break rules because I don't they are rules. But some rules I break because I just don't care.
For example, I know that you're not supposed to break pasta before you put it in the water. Still, I don't want to get out my giant stock pot for a simple weeknight linguine. So, yeah, I'm going to break the pasta in half. Better yet? Get the kiddo to do it!
I love fresh citrus juice — lime and lemon in particular — in various recipes. They add fresh flavor to marinades, dressings and sauces.
Now, I have a new reason to love citrus: Juicing the citrus is a fabulous way to involve the kiddo in cooking. Mine is still too young to have the strength (or accuracy) to be left to his own devices to juice a lemon. But with some mama supervision, he has a fantastic time. I presume as he gets older, he'll be able to be progressively more helpful.
You've probably seen this tip before, and I'm here to tell you a couple things about letting kids pick the veggie:
Even at 20 months of age, it gives them a sense of empowerment — and sends a message that their opinion matters. (My son's verbal abilities are developing, but one thing I believe I can still communicate is respect for each family member's opinions.)
It doesn't guarantee that they'll try the darn thing. And even though this is sooo frustrating, it's still OK.
In this particular showdown, my kiddo picked mushrooms. Anything not-green always wins, by the way.
Ugh, dealing with raw meat in the kitchen is so challenging. There's some fun to be had for sure, but at the same time, how do you prevent cross-contamination? (#nobodylikessalmonella)
Here's one easy way I've let my kiddo get involved with preparing chicken: Bust out the tenderizer. Full disclosure: This requires some supervision because mine is seriously heavy-duty. But he's engaged.
Here are a couple ideas for making it easier/safer:
Use a Ziploc bag. Usually you'd put the meat between two pieces of plastic wrap, but with a child, there's a good chance those pieces of meat are going to fly right out of there. A bag is less frustrating for all involved.
Place something under the meat. I use a metal baking sheet. This way, if he slips, he's not banging my counter with a heavy-duty meat tenderizer.
