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Cooking with kids is a fantastic time to spend time together, and if you are lucky, you will accomplish something productive at the same time!  Because cooking with kids has been my business for the past 5 years, I have some favorite cooking tools that I like to use with children.  But I realized that my experiences are only the tip of the iceberg and wanted to see what tools other people enjoy using with kids in the kitchen.   Thanks to all of my Twitter friends who responded to my request, as well as all of the fantastic replies from HARO.

• Colleen loves to use a sushi mat with her son – they create healthy and delicious sushi as a team
• Jessica measures ingredients in measuring spoons & cups and then lets her toddler add them to the recipe.
• Chris Perrin has a 3-year old chef in training that can already peel potatoes with a vegetable peeler! He says, “He gainsa deep sense of accomplishment…and we have a lot of fun.”
• Jill Nussinow, MS, RD: loves to use pumpkin carving knives with children they can cut hard foods without cutting kids’ skin. She also loves to use the Garlic Twist, which she sells on her website because it’s a lot of fun for kids to use. You simply drop in the garlic and twist the plastic and you end up with minced garlic.
• Chef Jill Houk: is a mom and professional chef who teaches healthy cooking classes to families. She loves to use the blender-under close supervision, of course.
• Krista sells a nylon lettuce/vegetable knife on her website that works great for kids. It’s sharp enough to cut breads and most veggies, but does not have a metal blade so it’s a much safer, but still useful, tool.  I can speak to this product personally – because it is the same size as a “real” knife, kids can learn how to handle it safely and properly.  We love it
• Elizabeth Yarnell, author of cookbook Glorious One-Pot Meals loves to use her juicer with her children.  They take turns feeding fruit and veggies into the spout and pushing with the stopper. The best part about juicing with them, she says, is that she can usually be guaranteed they will drink the output!
• Chris kids cooking classes and carries the entire line of Sassafras kids cooking tools in their.  He says his favorite is  Little Cook’s Kitchen Tool Kit, which includes a wooden rolling pin, rubber spatula, dry measuring cups, measuring spoons, whisk, wooden spoon … all geared for kid-sized hands.
• Amber says her favorite tool to use with her 2 ½ year old daughter is the KitchenAid Mixer.  Her daughter can help with the attachments, close the lid and lock it and see everything mixing together.
• Leisa Naples, star, host and producer of over 100 short episodes of Living Well with Leisa^TM and inESPN’s Flex Appeal, loves to use Princess spatulas with her 4 daughters. She says it fits well in their little hands and is great for mixing, frosting and scraping. Any little girl will feel like a true princess with this fancy cooking tool. She also loves the kitchen timer because teaches them that timing is everything in the kitchen!

Since so many people suggested products from The Pampered Chef, I thought I’d assemble them into their own list.  You can find a complete list of great PC tools to use with kids and college bound students here.  If you don’t feel like looking at the whole list, here is a “best of list” of people’s favorite Pampered Chef tools to use with kids:

• Personally, I use the Food Chopper and Deluxe Cheese Grater in almost all of my cooking classes for children.  They are are fun but are also safe for kids of all ages to use.
• Ashley Harris, a pediatric and adolescent dietitian in Washington believes that fun kitchen tools attract children to healthy foods in the kitchen. She recommends the Apple/Peeler/Corer/Slicer. “In the end”, she says, “you get a naked, spiral-peeled apple with a little pile of “apple skin spaghetti” asher daughter liked to call it. You can also find apple corer peelers at Bed Bath and Beyond, or Linens n’ Things or any other kitchen store for$15-20.
• Denise Willms loves the Measure All® Cup from The Pampered Chef. It’s designed so kids can eject soft, messy food like mayonnaise, molasses, and peanut butter from the measuring cup, instead of having to scrape it into the bowl. Her daughter loves cooking with peanut butter, and she says that this tool makes it easy to measure, and very easy to clean up after.
• Caryn Small Bamboo Spoon set because they fit so well in little hands

Favorite Cook Books to use in the Kitchen With Kids

• Veggie Teens was developed by Elyse May, a 14-year old veggie-teen for other teenage vegetarians, along with her mother, a physician, and her father, a professional chef. It contains teen-friendly recipes with photos, basic culinary tips for new cooks, nutrition notes and teen tips. Her favorite tool is the melon baller.
• A great book of activities to get Dads in the kitchen with their kids: Dads, Teach Your Kids 2 – 6 About Baking
• One of my personal favorites: The Toddler Café
• And another great one that I helped to edit: Picture Yourself Cooking With Kids, by Beth