In my 6 years of teaching children to cook, I have encountered countless parents who wistfully express their desire that their children would eat more vegetables.  After a few classes, those same parents enthusiastically report that their kids are eating better and are more open to tasting new foods.  What’s the secret?  Nothing surprising – just the simple fact that kids who cook become better eaters.

You may be thinking, “Wait a second. Not all kids are ready to use “real” cooking tools. What if my child doesn’t have the motor skills that she would need to handle a knife?”  Don’t worry – there are lots of options in the cutting department.  Some cutting tools are uber-safe, not even letting your kid’s fingers near anything sharp. With the variety of cutting tools out there, you are certain to find one that works for your child’s developmental stage.

Here are some of my favorite cutting tools to use with children, along with some recipes and tips for how they can be used safely.

First, as the parent, you need to be calm.  If you are freaked out that your kid is about to hack of his finger, you are unlikely to make your son feel ready for a new culinary challenge.  Here are a few tips that should help you feel better:

• Clear off your work surface.  It should be empty of everything except for a large cutting board, your cutting tools and the ingredients you are working with.
• Make sure that everyone has had a snack before starting your cooking project. If you are starving, you are likely to rush your child, and that won’t help her feel relaxed about the task at hand.
• Be sure you are doing a cooking project with your kids that is within your comfort zone.  There is no shame in starting small and then working your way up.

In my cooking classes for kids, I am very fond of using the blender.  Kids love the sound of the machine as it whirrs and mashes our ingredients into oblivion.  We use the blender for lots of kid-friendly recipes, such as hummus, smoothies and pesto.  When you make pesto with your kids, they can tear the basil leaves from their stems.  Tell them to put the leaves into the blender, but not to put their fingers inside the jar.  If they are good at following directions with the blender, then maybe you are ready to move on to other cutting tools.

The food chopper is another one of my favorite cutting tools to use with children.  It works magic on ingredients and is fun to use.  It makes lots of noise as your young chef pounds on the plunger and the blade hits the cutting board (which is probably one reason that they will beg you to let them cook with you more often.)  Simply put pieces of food onto your cutting board and place the cup of the food chopper over the ingredients – and pound away!  The beauty of this tool is that when it is on the cutting board, there is no way that your child can come in contact with the blade.  In my classes, I ask mystudents to use teamwork when they use the chopper – one child holds the chopper on the cutting board while the other one presses the plunger.  Here, you can see some children using the food chopper to cut carrots for our home-made dog treats. Keep reading →

I am proud to introduce Kayla – my guest blogger this week.  Parents, this post is for you.  Kayla has some words of wisdom about how parents can encourage their kids in the kitchen.

Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself! My name is Kayla, I’m 12 years old (yes, I know, shocker!), and I am the author of the blog http://soyouthinkyoucancook.wordpress.com . On my website I blog about all of my cooking adventures and all things related to food. Cooking is my passion, and if my mom didn’t let me get adventurous in the kitchen, I probably wouldn’t be able to be such a great cook.

It is very important that parents allow their children to cook in the kitchen! Kids of different age levels can do different things in the kitchen.  If you have a child between the ages of 6 and 10,  you may want to cook with them, doing thinks like putting things in the oven and chopping up ingredients. However your children of that age group can do things such as measure ingredients and pouring olive oil into pans.  Children generally enjoy it when they are part of the proccess.

Older children can take on more important tasks in the kitchen. If you trust your child (after a couple one on one cooking lessons with them), you can leave them to prepare their own meals (yes, without your help, although you can check on them every now and then). When children prepare their meals without your help, they feel a sense of accomplishment (I know I do!). Even though you may be scared, let your children cook in the kitchen, you can check on them!

Before you allow your child to make their own dishes in the kitchen, spend a day with them teaching them different techniques, such as sauteing, putting the oven on, seasoning, peeling, washing, chopping an onion, and other cooking techniques. If you know that your child knows how to do all these cooking techniques on their own, let them be alone in the kitchen (of course you can check on them) making their own meals!

I hope all of you parents understand how important it is that your children know how to cook, and don’t always rely on someone to make their meals for them! Cooking can be fun, and it can also be a time to bond with your children. Cooking can also be something to do instead of staying on the computer or playing video games.

Bon appetit!

Does your child have a story they’d like to share about an experience with food or in the kitchen?  How about you?  My readers love to see how parents interact with their children in the kitchen.  The more stories we can share about cooking with kids, the more likely it is that other people will try it, too.  I post these stories every Monday and would love to share yours!

Sometimes it seems as if the most popular areas of the farmer’s market at the bouncy house and the puppet show.  But armed with a few ideas, families with children can have an educational adventure as they explore the farmer’s market aisles.

The most popular day of our cooking camp is always our walking field trip to the farmer’s market.  We eat our way through the crowd, juice dripping from our chins, and talk to farmers.  We always learn about sustainability, good farming practices, hard work, and of course, flavor.

Andrew, co-owner of Full Belly Farm, gave my students a job today.  Come close – he wanted it to be a secret:

Want some more learnin’? How about doing a scavenger hunt?  Go on a quest for:

Find a yellow fruit. What is it?
Find a yellow vegetable.  What is it?
Find a purple food with an interesting shape.  What is it?
Find a red food that is bigger than your fist.  What is it?
Find a green food that you have not tasted before.  What is it?
Taste an organic strawberry and one that conventionally grown (not organic).  Compare the flavor.  Which one tastes better?
Find something that grows on a vine/underground/on a tree:
Ask 3 people if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable (it’s a fruit!).
What are two examples of a “stone fruit?” Taste them and say which one you liked better.
Ask 4 farmers what time they woke up this morning.  How far did they have to drive to get to the market?
Find two stands that sell peaches.  How do their prices compare?   Why might one be more expensive than the other?

A favorite from last year was our visit to the Scream Sorbet booth. We learned about how they use produce from the farmer’s market and then sell it back at the same market – talk about coming full circle!

What was your most interesting discovery at the farmer’s market?  I’d love for you to share!

London and Paris: Countries of Wonderful Tastes
By Archie O’Dell

Enjoying the food abroad

This summer, I traveled to London and Paris. I experienced several wonderful new and exciting dishes. In London, meat is one of the prized foods. It was served in all the restaurants I went to, whether it was ½ lb. filet or a cheeseburger. One of the best dishes I had was the steak and mushroom pie. Underneath its crunchy, delicious crust was a swamp of steak and mushroom. The two flavors blended together perfectly, and I loved it. A dessert dish I especially enjoyed was the summer pudding. It was like a cake, but inside of it there was various fruits and a raspberry sauce. It was healthy and delectable.

The food I had in Paris was just as good as in London. The first dish I had was noodles and chicken. Both were coated in melted butter, giving the two foods a sweeter taste. The dessert I had was three scoops of assorted sorbet: raspberry, pineapple, and strawberry. They all tasted amazing. Another dish I had was a panini with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Its warmth relaxed my body.

My journey to Europe led me to new discoveries in food, whether it was fishing steak and mushroom out of a pie or gobbling down dessert. To conclude, although London and Paris have sights to see, the food is also one of the main attractions.

We love to hear from our readers!

• Maybe your kids would like to share a story about a new food that they tried.  Or perhaps they want to tell us about a recipe that they made for the first time.  If your family took a trip recently, your child probably has some opinions of the food on the journey…
• Do you have a story about cooking with your kids that you would like to share? It can be a success story, or it can be about a recipe that flopped or left a mess on the floor.  Our readers love hearing about kids in the kitchen, and these stories inspire them to cook with their kids. Thank you!

There is nothing quite like leading a group of bright-eyed, curious children through the farmer’s market.  I introduced them to some of my favorite growers so that they could learn where our food comes from.  Here, we meet somebody from Prather Ranch, and he explains why the meat from his company is sustainable and how the animals are treated humanely.  It’s good food for thought…

Boy, it’s been a fun couple of weeks.  I am doing my second year of cooking camp at our local Jewish Community Center – and we have been busy!  This year, our theme is Recipes from Books and Movies – and every day we focus on a different story.  Obviously it’s loads of fun teaching the classes (and eating our delicious food) but sometimes I have lots of fun behind the scenes, too.  Say, for example, when I come up with a silly name for a recipe.  For Star Wars day, we made Dill Vader Refrigerator Pickles – see, I crack myself up!

Since so many of you (snickered) commented at these clever themes, I thought I’d put together an e-book filled with recipes and photos from camp.  In it, you’ll find lots of delicious themed recipes for kids and hopefully some inspiration to play in the kitchen with your children.

C’mon. Check it out. It’s a bargain!  Plus, it’s a good warm-up for my REAL book, The Whole Family Cookbook, which comes out in May!

P.S.  The themed recipes from this book would make a perfect activity for a kid’s birthday party!

I love it when kids are honest.  Sometimes they aren’t diplomatic and sometimes their timing is off.  But it warms my heart when I ask a real question and get an honest answer.  Thanks, Dixie, for telling me what you think about trying new foods.

Dixie and Friends

I don’t like to try new food because it might taste bad. Especially at restaurants you don’t know what’s inside the food – they just give it to you. But when I cook, I know every ingredient because I made it. I never had an omelet before I cooked it with help from my mom. I tried and I liked it. Now I make cheese omelets all the time all by myself- it’s my favorite food. ~Dixie S.

Does your child have a story they’d like to share about an experience with food or in the kitchen?  How about you?  My readers love to see how parents interact with their children in the kitchen.  The more stories we can share about cooking with kids, the more likely it is that other people will try it, too.  I post these stories every Monday and would love to share yours!