Getting Your Kids in the Kitchen

posted by Darlene DeWitt, MS, RD, LD on Tuesday, May 26, 2020

School has officially ended for the summer and many parents are looking for activities to keep their kids occupied.  Getting your kids in the kitchen can not only keep them busy, but help them learn valuable skills.  You will help improve self-esteem, increase creativity and problem solving, and decrease picky eating.  Research shows that kids involved in growing and cooking their own food are less picky eaters. You can use cooking to teach them in other subjects as well. 

Reading:  When they read a recipe, it gives them something different to read, and you can test their reading comprehension by seeing how they are able to follow a recipe.

Math:  Recipes are a great way to learn fractions!  You can also practice cutting in half or doubling a recipe. Counting out and measuring ingredients are also important skills.

Science:  You can do lessons on science related topics like the rising action of yeast, why oil and water don’t mix, acid and base ingredients, biology and gardening.

If you are wondering what things to start your kids out with, it definitely depends on their age.  Development of fine motor skills is important to add in more complicated skills like using a knife.  Supervision is important and cooking together is an easy way to watch and help them learn. Teaching things like knife safety and how to put out kitchen fires is important as they start using more kitchen equipment. 

Ages 3-5:  This is a good age to do things with their hands.  Give them tasks such as washing fruits and vegetables, tearing lettuce, mashing bananas, or kneading dough.  You can talk about shapes, colors, and the names of foods while you cook.

Ages 5-7: hand-eye coordination is more developed.  Let them crack eggs, mash potatoes, or use a butter knife to cut softer things.  You can start introducing recipes for reading, to help learn to follow directions in an order and they can count out items or measure.

Ages 8-12: They are more independent, and can start making simple things by themselves like PB & J or avocado toast.  Some can use the stove to make things like mac and cheese with supervision.  Allow them to peel veggies, toast bread, mix a simple batter, or make their own lunch. Use cooking time to work on fractions and reading more intricate instructions on recipes.

Ages 13 and up: They can start learning about kitchen equipment like the stove.  Try simple scrambled eggs, use sharper knives, they could even make dinner once a week on their own.

These are some internet resources for more information and recipes for kids:

https://www.raddishkids.com is a cooking club delivery box system for kids

https://cookingwithkids.org has free resources combining cooking with lessons in life science, gardening, physical fitness as well as recipes

https://www.chopchopfamily.org has lots of free recipes and a monthly email newsletter and a magazine you can subscribe to for lots of ideas

https://www.parents.com/recipes/cooking/with-kids/  ideas on getting kids cooking

The important thing is to keep it low-key and fun.  If they want to add ketchup to mac and cheese or put chocolate chips in the pancakes, allowing them to experiment will increase their creativity and love of cooking.

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This is a great summertime recipe for knife skills and measuring.  Add some other vegetables or spices to make it your own!

ChopChop Salad

This chopped salad is all about the crunch—and it’s a great way to test your knife skills! Feel free to add shredded cheese, fresh herbs, and any other fresh vegetables you like, such as diced avocado, sliced scallions, and shredded carrots. Kids Advisory Board member Hannah recommends adding sliced almonds and dried cranberries too.

Hands-on time: 45   |    Total time: 45   |    Makes: 4 Servings

KITCHEN GEAR

• Cutting board
• Sharp knife (adult needed)
• Medium-sized bowl
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Tongs or salad servers

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small English cucumber, diced, or 1 regular cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cubed
• 1 cup green beans, stem ends snapped off, cut in half
• 2 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put all the ingredients in the bowl and toss well. Taste the salad. Does it need more vinegar, salt, or black pepper? If so, add it and taste again.
2. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

DID YOU KNOW?

Unseasoned rice vinegar is a seasoning made from— you guessed it!—rice. We love it because it’s actually mild enough to use as a dressing on its own, without any oil added. And if you don’t have any rice vinegar, you can use lime juice instead.

https://www.chopchopfamily.org/recipe/chopchop-salad/

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