Tips & Tricks
For Cooking with Kids
Christmas baking and kids might sound like an easy combination — I mean, c'mon, it's Christmas! And who likes cookies more than kids, right?!
But it's also sugar and flour and frosting EVERYWHERE, and you can kiss those perfectly iced sugar cookies goodbye (at least for a while). It's time to say hello to blue pine trees and red snowmen, people.
Recently, I discovered a great banana bread mix — no eggs, no dairy. All I needed to add were the overripe bananas, oil and water. For a toddler with a short attention span, this was a great cooking project. And he was excited to help.
Here are a few ideas for letting kiddos help with banana bread (whether you're cheating with a mix like us or baking from scratch).
The weekends — in theory, anyway — allow for a bit more relaxed meal prep. Not to mention you might be making breakfasts or lunches in addition to dinners. As you think about your weekend meals, give some thought to a few ways you could involve your kiddos and let them be a part of the process. (And guess what: It can be easy! It really doesn't take much for them to feel like they helped.)
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.
