Children Who Cook, Eat Healthier
Why Teaching Your Kids To Cook Is Important
What better way to get your kids interested in healthy foods then to let them cook? Whether it is letting your toddler practice spreading peanut butter on crackers or encouraging a teen to plan, cook, and serve a full course dinner. Cooking is not only fun for kids but encourages healthy eating as well.
Here are some cooking tips for children of all ages.
- Toddlers can start learning food preparation by learning the basics and assisting an adult or older child. First, teach them to wash their hands properly before beginning. Since they love 'playing' in water and squirting the pump soap anyway, they should enjoy this first step. Let them do the most basic of food preparation tasks like helping to make a fruit salad. They could be in charge of pulling the grapes off the stock and adding them to the bowl. Even the youngest toddlers enjoy watching adults prepare food even if they are too young to help. Watching someone crack an egg or peel a potato is fascinating to a toddler.- Preschoolers can start by learning to make some of their own snacks. Kids enjoy peeling bananas. Let them have fun first peeling and then slicing a banana. They can safely slice by using a disposable plastic knife. A plastic knife is also perfect for spreading peanut butter or butter. They can also prepare a simple dip for vegetables or squeeze their own orange juice.- School age children can do some real cooking! There are many good cookbooks made especially for children but they also enjoy looking through any cookbooks with a lot of pictures. Older children need to learn kitchen safety first such as how to handle knives safely and how to handle themselves around a stove. Making soup is a good food to learn to make for this age group because they can practice chopping skills and how to use spices. There is also minimal time at the stove. Plus, soup is hard to make wrong. Even if you make soup 'wrong' it usually comes out tasting just fine!- Teens can cook anything depending on how much experience they have had. If they are just starting out, they could begin with something healthy and versatile like eggs and learn all the different ways to cook them. They can also easily learn how to make simple entrees such as spaghetti and meatballs and pair it with a salad and garlic bread. A crock pot would be an easy way to teach them how to make a beef or pork roast or an easy to assemble beef stew. Teens can also shop for the food and learn to make simple family menus. They may even have an opportunity to enroll in a home economics class at their high school.Nothing is as important for kids health as eating good wholesome food. When they can participate in the process, they are more likely to make better food choices.Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's health. We care.
