Cooking With Kids

With unprecedented daycare and school closings and adjustment to online learning, many parents may be looking for some fun and healthy activities to keep the kids busy. Two things that can be difficult with young children are getting them to help out and getting them to eat healthily. But what if you could get your children to help you with both by cooking with them?

Have your kids choose a nutritious recipe and take them shopping to select the ingredients. Get them involved in the various steps, depending on their age and level Cooking healthy meals with your children can be a great way to get them involved in good nutrition while also having fun. Here are three ways you can make cooking healthy meals with your kids an exciting activity for everyone.

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jacoblund/ThinkStock
jacoblund/ThinkStock
1
Make it Fun
If your child shows no interest in helping and learning how to cook start out simple. Make your recipes fun and exciting for them. Instead of just making plain, boring oatmeal with your kids, use different kinds of fruits and have everyone make silly little faces in their oatmeal. Use apples for smiles and berries for eyes. Adding faces in their food will make it fun for the kids while also giving them a great source of vitamins and minerals with the fruit.
Beata Becla/Getty-Stock/ThinkStock
Beata Becla/Getty-Stock/ThinkStock
2
Use Fun Colors
Eating the rainbow is a great way to get different types of nutrients into their diets while also getting your kids excited for meals. Every kid loves pasta, it’s a staple meal. So, when making pasta use veggie pasta! It comes in lots of colors all in the same box. It's a great way to get your children excited about vegetables. You can also add some broccoli and other fresh vegetables into the meal for added flavor and even more vegetables.
FamVeld/ThinkStock
FamVeld/ThinkStock
3
Make it a Competition
If you have more than one kid, you can make a fun competition out of cooking. See who can mix their ingredients faster, or who can grab all of the ingredients needed faster. This can make for a fun game instead of boring cooking. Children love to win and making cooking a competition makes it a win-win, the kids have fun and mom finally gets the help she's been looking for.