Cooking and Kids
There’s no doubt about it – kids can be picky eaters. How do you connect kids with what’s on their plate? Here are a few tips from our kitchen to yours.
Make food preparation a family affair
Getting your kids involved in cooking from a young age will help teach your kids about where food comes from, how it is grown, and how to prepare it. It will also help them build healthy eating habits as they grow older. Getting your kids into the kitchen is not only fun but will guarantee you some happy, helping hands.
Make your own baby food
Making your own baby food at home can help develop healthy eating habits and a wide-ranging palette for your child from a very young age. Assuming that everything on your table is wholesome, unprocessed, single ingredient foods, you ideally want your baby to be eating a mashed up version of what the rest the family is eating by the age of one year. Investing in a baby food mill makes turning the family meal into a baby food version fast and simple.
Go on a safari in the grocery store or visit a farm
Your local grocery store or farmer’s market is a great place to introduce your kids to all kinds of new ingredients. Point out different items as you walk through the store, talk about where they come from, and what they taste like. Ask them to pick out a food of their choice to bring home and try, and encourage them to be adventurous! If you can, visit a local farm and see how things are grown.
Read, read, read
There are all kinds of wonderful picture books about where food comes from, from Eric Carle’s The Tiny Seed to Lars Klinting’s Beaver the Gardner. There’s also Eating the Alphabet, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and for your picky eater I Will Never, Not Ever, Eat a Tomato. Serve them up with a fun snack and make story time a picnic!
Grow it yourself
In the early spring, you can start a container garden and try growing some simple veggies like peas, bush beans, radishes, and green onions, or even strawberries. Kids will love watching them grow, picking, and later eating them. A garden is a great way to foster a hands-on attitude when it comes to food.
We’ve hand-picked some of our most kid-friendly recipes that the whole family can prepare together and enjoy.
