Cooking with Kids

This year I made a conscience decision to let my kids help out in the kitchen. Make them an active part of our cooking experience. They are always there in the kitchen anyways, hanging around the fringes, pestering me with a million questions and other chatter. And always wanting to help. So finally, I said sure let's have you help on a regular basis. And you know what? IT. IS. FREAKING. HARD. But also incredibly rewarding.

Here's how we started this whole kids cooking situation.

I wanted to keep things all Even Steven because if there's one thing that my kids will recognize immediately is an unfair playing field. I wanted to make things as fair as possible to quiet any potential bickering by establishing some guidelines.

1. Each child will get one night every week to prepare a meal with mom.

2. Every week mom will choose a meal theme (ie. pancakes, pizza, tacos, soup).

3. Each child will choose their own recipe that fits the selected theme.

4. Mom chooses the night that each child's meal will be prepared (I base the night off of our schedules, for example usually Tuesday nights Moira has choir, so that's not a night we can spend very much time in the kitchen)

5. Each child will help to prepare their dish on their night and at no other time unless invited to help out (That way they can't steam roll their way into cooking on the other one's cooking night, but often they end up inviting the other to come cook with us)

How do we choose the meal theme?

I try to be kind of general in the theme and I make sure it's something we haven't eaten recently. For example I don't necessarily want to choose pancakes for one week and waffles the next week.

How are the recipes selected?

Pinterest. I have thousands of recipes saved on Pinterest and it's possible that I have taken it to a crazy level by having my saved recipes organized by different types of recipes. So, when I give the girls the weekly theme, they are allowed to look at my Pinterest with me on the specific board that fits the theme and they can choose whatever recipe they want. And I have been surprised by some of the recipes that they have chosen because I would have never guessed that they would've be interested in some of the dishes we've made.

What kinds of things do the kids do in the kitchen?

Well, Keira is only 4, so she is limited on the things that she does. And she doesn't love to get her hands dirty, but she is getting better with that. Keira usually gets ingredients out of the refrigerator and pantry and she also puts them away. Sometimes she'll get cooking equipment out. She loves to stir and season (away from a heat source). Crushing, mashing, pouring, sprinkling, even cutting biscuits. Also she can use a butter knife to cut up various ingredients, like olives. Keira has tried grating cheese, but she doesn't have the upper arm strength or coordination to push down on the cheese while pushing it side to side, making it a difficult task for her.

Since Moira is 8, she has similar tasks, but is also allowed to do more complicated tasks like measure ingredients, and use the stove while closely monitored. Moira has scooped fried chicken out of the oil onto paper towels, poached eggs, flipped pancakes, and rolled enchiladas.

Do they use any special tools?

No. I have considered getting different 'kid-friendly' tools they can use, but have decided against it. If there's a task that requires a tool that I'm not comfortable letting them use or that they're not comfortable using, then I do that task. Eventually they'll learn to be comfortable with the tools we have available. When we started doing this back in January, Moira wasn't comfortable using the cheese grater. By March she had decided that she wanted to try using it. I gave her careful instructions and let her grate some cheese, with the knowledge that if she decided it wasn't something she felt she could do, I would take over. She's now comfortable using the grater and it's one more task she can do while we're cooking.

What have been the benefits?

For our family there are SO MANY THINGS, but there are a few that stand out: The girls and I get to spend some quality time with each other (even if it is a little chaotic). Their pride of ownership over cooking the entire family a meal from start to finish and the boost to their confidence that it brings. And the biggest one is that they are trying lots of new foods and are liking them! Moira has always been a GREAT eater. There were very few things that she didn't like to eat (mushrooms and zucchini being the top two). Keira has ALWAYS been a picky eater. It seemed like she was just programmed that way. Even as a baby eating solid foods. No bananas. No avocado. No rice cereal. Yogurt or sweet potatoes were what she liked, even though we made her eat other things. And eventually she started to feed herself and I'll admit, to a point I gave in a bit to her picky eating. I would reserved some plain rice for her if I was making a seasoned rice dish. If I was preparing a salad, I would set aside some toppings before dressing the salad. But she always had to eat what was on her plate. But since we have started cooking together (in JANUARY!) she eats pretty much EVERYTHING and it is glorious. Cooking with her has opened her eyes to the world of food. There are still things that she will say that she doesn't like, but I can tell her that she doesn't have much of it on her plate and that she needs to finish it. Usually I get an "OK" from her and her dinnertime tantrums are decreasing. But since January I have heard her say "Mmmm this is really good!" so many times. Such a relief to this foodie mama.

Lastly, how do you get kids involved in the kitchen without losing your mind?

Simple, you can't. It takes an incredible amount of patience and I mean an incredible amount. I love my kids, but I also love being in control. And when we're cooking together neither one of those things exists for me, but luckily the skills they learn while fixing a meal together is priceless. But also I only do it twice a week to preserve any sanity I have left. And in the end I still love my kids, but I doubt I am ever was in control.

Do you have any questions about cooking with kids? Or maybe helpful tips? How you involve the kids in your life in the kitchen?