Getting kids involved in the kitchen

There are lots of benefits to getting children involved with food preparation.

Children who are a part of cooking enjoy food more, tend to eat a more varied diet, become adults who prepare their own food from scratch and, of course, it is a great bonding activity and learning opportunity with their parents.

So what can parents do to involve children with making food? There are a few great ways to get children excited about meal times:

Give children options – Should you have carrots or broccoli today? Would they like a banana or some grapes for a snack? Letting children choose parts of their meal will engage them and make them more likely to eat what they’re given because they were given a choice. It’s also a great way to avoid tantrums!

Let children prepare food – Obviously there are a LOT of things children shouldn’t be allowed to do in the kitchen, but cutting up fruit for a snack, putting vegetables in a pan before it’s put on the hob and spreading butter on their sandwich are all great ways of giving children skills to prepare food, and getting them learning about the food preparation process.

Learn a new recipe – Just as we as adults get bored of the same food, the same goes for children too! Trying new recipes and variations of tried and tested dishes can keep meal times interesting for children. This can also be a great way of avoiding morning sickness while pregnant, as one of the signs of pregnancy can be queasiness over certain foods. A great way to avoid meat, if that’s what’s making you ill one month, is to try some new vegetables with your kids and check out vegetarian alternatives. It will most likely make your child a more adventurous eater too.

A great way to get your child cooking in the kitchen is to make fresh smoothies! You can adapt it to suit whatever you have in your fridge or fruit bowl. No milk? Try natural yoghurt or fresh fruit juice. These are also a great way to use up some soft fruit that may be past its best.

Fruit Smoothie

(makes 2 glasses)

One banana

A handful of strawberries

Half a glass of milk

Two scoops of natural yoghurt

A handful of grapes

Let your child wash and cut up the strawberries, peel the banana and break into the blender (turned off for safety!), and pop the grapes in. Blitz with the other ingredients and pour into glasses. Using a straw will make them seem like even more of a treat!

If you’re curious about how great you’ll be feeling about cooking in the kitchen, and are pregnant, you can check out your pregnancy week by week thanks to Bounty. 

Enjoy, and get your child involved.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.