Kids in the Kitchen
One of the best ways to develop a love of veg in kids is to get them involved in the prep. Not only is cooking an essential life skill for kids to learn, but it’s a great, fun way to get them engaging with healthy foods!
Let’s cook
Getting kids to love veg through cooking
The more children engage with veg, the more likely they are to eat it. One great way to nurture this is through getting kids in the kitchen involved with the prep and cooking of the veg.
If cooking with your kids scares you, don’t worry, you are not alone! Many of us worry about the mess, safety and time it may take. But cooking with kids doesn’t have to be difficult – we’ve enlisted some experts to walk you through cooking with kids, the simple way. We also created a Kitchen Ninja challenge your kids will love. Here’s our tips…
Start Small
Remember, starting small is important, particularly with younger children! Don’t expect them to be involved in the whole cooking experience (both for your sanity and theirs!), just start them with a small task to do such as whisking, weighing or grating and that’s it – a little can be enough to give them a sense of involvement and before you know it, they will be asking to do more. The Kitchen Ninja list is meant to be ticked off over time, not all at once. Just make sure to let the family know they were involved in making dinner – they will love the credit and feel more relaxed about giving it a go!
Dress up!
If you have access to a chef’s hat or apron that’s perfect, if not then pick an old top as their “chef’s top” to help them get into the role.
Dressing up is how the play starts…
Play, play, play!
Children want adults to play, so play! An easy way is with a few words that brings you into the story – for example you can call your child “chef” or “master chef” and even ask them to make up their own chef’s name or think of a name for the dish you are preparing. Shouting “Chef, yes, chef!” across the kitchen can easily help a child enjoy their involvement in the cooking “game”.
Use your senses
Food is all about stimulating the senses. Ask children how something smells, how it looks, how it feels, sounds and tastes, the more imagination the better! Let an upside-down pepper become a tiny umbrella, a spoonful of peas become priceless “green pearls”, or a carrot become a rocket with full countdown and blast off sequences.
Want to know more engaging children through their senses?
Praise Praise Praise
There are two important points of praise:
Whenever the child helps or tries, praise them (and don’t forget to tick the skill off on your Kitchen Ninja wallchart!)
When you serve the food (let them help you with plating up the food – have fun by making it look pretty, silly or tasty), make sure to mention to everyone that the child made this dish.
Cook safely
Does worry about safety in the kitchen keep you from including your kids in food prep? Some simple rules and tips can set you up for safety success – see our simple guide to find them
Let's get started
We’ve suggested some family favourite meals below that are great for trying out the skills on the list – each of them have “Kids in the Kitchen” tips on how to get children involved!
DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
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