I’m sure that a lot of people might think that I’m crazy, but cooking with toddlers is a lot of fun! I started cooking with my daughter when she was about 18 months old. Sometimes it can be a lot of work and messes are generally bigger when she is involved, but cooking has become one of our favorite activities. There are several things to consider when you are cooking with small children:
Safety! I have to keep a very close eye on my daughter when I’m cooking. She knows to be careful around hot things, but isn’t as careful around sharp objects. I just try to remind her often to be careful and if she isn’t listening, I don’t let her help.
Boredom is the enemy! Sometimes when I’m cooking, I don’t have anything for her to do. That is when she starts making bigger messes, getting into things, and trying to grab sharp objects. I’ve gotten very good at inventing jobs. Constant stirring for instance is a very important job. If stirring isn’t necessary, I have her transfer ingredients from one bowl to another. I end up with more dirty dishes, but it is worth it.
A mess is not the end of the world. Sometimes it can be really frustrating when cooking with little ones. They stir too fast, sending ingredients flying through the air or dump the measuring cup outside the bowl instead of inside the bowl. When this happens, I just remind myself that a mess is not the end of the world.
Cooking with kids is slower. Just remember when cooking with kids, that you need to allow yourself some extra preparation time.
Here are some of the many benefits of cooking with your kids:
Quality time. I remember helping my mom cook when I was little and now, some of my favorite times with my daughter are when we are cooking. Even though she’s not quite three, I explain to her what all the ingredients are, what they’re for and give her definitions of cooking terms. I’m mostly joking, but she’s surprised me with the cooking terms that she knows. For instance last week she pulled something out of the bottom drawer and said, “Look Mom, a spatula!” How many kids her age know what a spatula is?
See things through their eyes. I don’t remember the first time I saw what was inside an egg or the first time I held a mushroom, but I will remember the first time that Melina did. She’s so excited about the vegetables that I’m cutting up and wants to try all of them. Last night, I was cutting mushroom and she picked it up saying, “What’s this?” I told her what it was and she exclaimed, “Oh, I LOVE it!”
Get them to eat more fruits and veggies. I read somewhere that when kids help prepare a meal, they are more likely to eat it and I’ve definitely noticed a difference with my daughter. For awhile, she wouldn’t eat any food that was green unless it was a pickle. Now that I have her helping me make dinner more often, I let her try food as I’m preparing it. She’s tried fresh mushrooms, onions, zucchini, broccoli, and it’s very rare for her to say that she doesn’t like it. When I set food on the table, she almost always eats it too!
An early introduction to math and science. A cooking lesson is really a math and science lesson in disguise. Teach your kids about weights and measures, changes of state, the effect of temperature, etc.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
To be Picky, or not to be Picky
Since my daughter turned two, she has been experimenting with pickiness. That doesn’t make me too happy considering how much I like to experiment with “weird” food. I’ve discovered several tactics that seem to work.
1. This comes from my experience working with autistic children. You get a preferred food item and for every bite of the non preferred food, they get a small bite of the food they really like. When they start eating the non preferred food pretty well, you increase the number of bites they must take to get the treat. I usually say something like, “If you want this, take a bite of that,” and hold up both food items. I don’t force her to eat the food she thinks she doesn’t likes, but I don’t let her have the treat unless she does.
2. Rename food items. This will probably only work with toddlers, but I’ve discovered that green beans are much more appetizing when they are called “peanuts,” mashed potatoes are “ice cream,” broccoli are “trees,” etc. A rose by any other name apparently tastes sweeter!
3. I’ve also found that if I let my daughter down from the table when she is reluctant to eat something that she will often want to eat it about an hour later. She is much less likely to be picky on an empty stomach.
If you have any other methods to ease kids through the pickiness stage, please let me know!
1. This comes from my experience working with autistic children. You get a preferred food item and for every bite of the non preferred food, they get a small bite of the food they really like. When they start eating the non preferred food pretty well, you increase the number of bites they must take to get the treat. I usually say something like, “If you want this, take a bite of that,” and hold up both food items. I don’t force her to eat the food she thinks she doesn’t likes, but I don’t let her have the treat unless she does.
2. Rename food items. This will probably only work with toddlers, but I’ve discovered that green beans are much more appetizing when they are called “peanuts,” mashed potatoes are “ice cream,” broccoli are “trees,” etc. A rose by any other name apparently tastes sweeter!
3. I’ve also found that if I let my daughter down from the table when she is reluctant to eat something that she will often want to eat it about an hour later. She is much less likely to be picky on an empty stomach.
If you have any other methods to ease kids through the pickiness stage, please let me know!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Parmesan Chicken
I remember wondering how people made up recipes when I was little and now I've discovered what they do. They take something they already make, and add a twist. This recipe is my own creation but the idea came from my mom's macaroni and cheese recipe. I basically just changed the cheese and added chicken. It is REALLY good, even if I do say so myself.
Parmesan Chicken
1 lb penne
2-3 T olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 T flour
1 ½ c milk
5 oz parmesan, shredded
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. Cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until fully cooked and slightly brown. Reduce heat to medium low, add garlic and flour, and stir to coat. Add the milk and stir until thickened. Add the parmesan and black pepper, and then pour over pasta. Enjoy with a glass of pinot gris.
Parmesan Chicken
1 lb penne
2-3 T olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 T flour
1 ½ c milk
5 oz parmesan, shredded
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. Cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until fully cooked and slightly brown. Reduce heat to medium low, add garlic and flour, and stir to coat. Add the milk and stir until thickened. Add the parmesan and black pepper, and then pour over pasta. Enjoy with a glass of pinot gris.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese is a favorite “kid” food. My mom and grandma always made it from scratch and I think I was 6 years old before I knew you could make it from a box. When I finally did try boxed mac-n-cheese, I was not impressed! You can use any cheese in this recipe, but make sure it is a high quality cheese. My mom always spoiled us with Tillamook and it is definitely worth the few extra dollars.
This recipe starts with what my mom and grandma called a "white sauce." I discovered recently that it is actually called béchamel sauce and is the base of many French sauces. When béchamel is mixed with cheese, it is called Mornay sauce. This just goes to show that everything sounds fancier in French!
1 lb macaroni
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 ½ C milk
Fresh ground black pepper to taste.
1 ½ C cheddar cheese
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Once you've started boiling the pasta, brown the butter and flour over med low heat for about three minutes. Stir in the milk and pepper and cook over low heat until thickened. Do not boil. Add cheese and stir until melted, then pour over pasta and serve.
This recipe starts with what my mom and grandma called a "white sauce." I discovered recently that it is actually called béchamel sauce and is the base of many French sauces. When béchamel is mixed with cheese, it is called Mornay sauce. This just goes to show that everything sounds fancier in French!
1 lb macaroni
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 ½ C milk
Fresh ground black pepper to taste.
1 ½ C cheddar cheese
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Once you've started boiling the pasta, brown the butter and flour over med low heat for about three minutes. Stir in the milk and pepper and cook over low heat until thickened. Do not boil. Add cheese and stir until melted, then pour over pasta and serve.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Meals-in-a-Box
I love food and I love to cook. Before my daughter was born, it was a fairly common for me to spend 2 hours making dinner or 3 hours baking homemade bread. Now that I have two children, I rarely find time to prepare such elaborate meals. And as all working moms know, sometimes it is nice to make dinner, not from scratch, but from a box. (This may seem like no big deal, but before my kids came along, I would have been horrified by the thought!) I've discovered that even if you make dinner from a box, you don't have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition when making a quick meal. I've discovered quite a few meals-in-a-box that are pretty good.
Here is my list of gourmet meals-in-a-box:
Wanchai Ferry Dinner Kits: You can find these in the Asian food isle. They have cashew chicken, kung pao chicken, spicy garlic chicken, and sweet and sour chicken (this last one was not my favorite). They come with rice and seasoning, and you just have to add chicken. I usually add in half a bag of stirfry veggies to make a healthier meal. They also have meals in the freezer section. They are a little pricey, but easy to prepare. I also typically add a little more rice to increase the amount of food and because there isn't much included in the bag.
A Taste of Thai: Also in the Asian food isle, A Taste of Thai has lots of food kits. My favorite is peanut chicken. Brown a lb of chicken, cut up, until done. Add 1 package of TOT peanut sauce mix and 1 can of light coconut milk. Cook until hot and serve over rice noodles. I also like to add in a cup of grated carrots.
Boboli Pizza: Nothing is easier than buying Boboli pizza crust, sauce, and topping them with whatever sounds good. Their new whole wheat crust is really good if you're looking for more nutrition.
Amy's Kitchen: This brand can be found in the organic food section. Their TV dinners are little pricey, but their enchiladas and Indian cuisine are SO good!
Foster Farm's: Their chicken nuggets, hot wings, hot dogs, corn dogs, are all good.
Marie Callender: Awesome tv dinners (watch the calorie count and sodium content). We also just tried their slow cooker meals, which were just okay.
Wind's Pasties: These are only available in the northwest, but they are extremely good. If you don't know what a pasty is, it is the British version of a pot pie. http://www.windspasties.com/Index.html
If anyone has other good meals-in-a-box, let me know!!
Here is my list of gourmet meals-in-a-box:
Wanchai Ferry Dinner Kits: You can find these in the Asian food isle. They have cashew chicken, kung pao chicken, spicy garlic chicken, and sweet and sour chicken (this last one was not my favorite). They come with rice and seasoning, and you just have to add chicken. I usually add in half a bag of stirfry veggies to make a healthier meal. They also have meals in the freezer section. They are a little pricey, but easy to prepare. I also typically add a little more rice to increase the amount of food and because there isn't much included in the bag.
A Taste of Thai: Also in the Asian food isle, A Taste of Thai has lots of food kits. My favorite is peanut chicken. Brown a lb of chicken, cut up, until done. Add 1 package of TOT peanut sauce mix and 1 can of light coconut milk. Cook until hot and serve over rice noodles. I also like to add in a cup of grated carrots.
Boboli Pizza: Nothing is easier than buying Boboli pizza crust, sauce, and topping them with whatever sounds good. Their new whole wheat crust is really good if you're looking for more nutrition.
Amy's Kitchen: This brand can be found in the organic food section. Their TV dinners are little pricey, but their enchiladas and Indian cuisine are SO good!
Foster Farm's: Their chicken nuggets, hot wings, hot dogs, corn dogs, are all good.
Marie Callender: Awesome tv dinners (watch the calorie count and sodium content). We also just tried their slow cooker meals, which were just okay.
Wind's Pasties: These are only available in the northwest, but they are extremely good. If you don't know what a pasty is, it is the British version of a pot pie. http://www.windspasties.com/Index.html
If anyone has other good meals-in-a-box, let me know!!
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