Giving Your Kids Independence In The Kitchen

Give your kids a taste and appreciation of eating healthy by letting them cook you dinner.

Children crave independence but it’s difficult to allow them true independence while also keeping them safe. To that end, there’s no better place to start than the kitchen.

Still skeptical? We have fantastic, kid-friendly meal ideas to get kids cooking. However, if your child is a truly picky eater, ask your Doctor about the right multivitamin for them in order to ensure their proper nutrition. In addition, many adults have aversions to healthy food. If you feel that your nutrition is lacking, consider natural supplements. For reviews on supplements from the health experts at Analyze That, click here.

You Are What You Eat

Now, more than ever, it’s important to teach children how to eat healthily. As more and more children are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it comes clearer that in order to break this epidemic, eating habits need to change.

Getting children to eat nutritious and balanced meals is not easy. Even a meal that a child ate last week may have already fallen out of favor. Besides being a waste of food, it’s discouraging to spend time cooking food no one will eat.

Get Them Motivated

Let your kids choose a recipe. Even if they can’t read, children can look through cookbooks or pictures of meals online. There are lots of websites that have fun vegetable recipes a child will love so suggest some of these to your children and see what they think. With minimal cooking skills, they will be able to assist you or even make an entire meal themselves.

After smelling, chopping and mixing their dinner, kids are more invested in their food. It’s much easier for them to turn their noses up at a plate of food someone else has prepared than to reject their own hard work. Yes, it may mean a disaster for your kitchen, but the benefits are worth it.

Kid-Friendly Meal Ideas

Here are some fun ideas to get kids helping out in the kitchen:

Chop vegetables for soup – Have them use a dull knife and give them soft vegetables to cut, like zucchini. Choose a blended soup recipe where the size of the vegetable chunks don’t have to be perfect looking.
Make granola – Have kids measure and mix ingredients for a healthy granola recipe. Precise measurements aren’t crucial so you don’t have to worry about all the ingredients making it into the bowl.
Tuna wraps – Children as young as 2 years old can mash tuna, while older ones can cut vegetables to put into wraps. Feel free to add in beans or cheese depending on your family’s preferences.
Create melon shapes – Encourage children to use different utensils to make creative shapes out of melon. Introduce them to a melon baller and have them cut out the letters of their names with cookies cutters.
Use your blender – From soups to smoothies, use your blender to create healthy meals. Children will love to throw ingredients into the machine and watch them get pulverized.
Guacamole with veggies – Mash up an avocado and slice up vegetables for a healthier way to dip.
Sushi – Find ingredients your child likes and personalize your sushi rolls. They do not have to be authentic Japanese ingredients, any combination of protein and vegetables will work.