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Cooking with Family

Nutrition::Tips for Healthier Cooking::Cooking with Family

Smart Snacks

Limit the amount of processed ready to-eat-snacks you buy (such as potato chips or cookies). Prepackaged and processed foods are usually higher in calories and fats and often more expensive. For the price of a large bag of chips and box of cookies you can buy the items below:

    * 2 pounds of apples
    * 1 pound of bananas
    * 1 pound of carrots
    * 3 pounds of potatoes
    * 1 pound of peppers

Why cook with the family?

Are you caught between finding time to prepare healthful meals and spending quality time with your family?  Try cooking with them!

Health matters!

Cooking with your kids can help get them interested in healthful foods they might normally avoid.  As you show them how to prepare healthful foods, they will gain an appreciation for healthful eating.  Childhood obesity is becoming a major problem in our nation, and teaching an appreciation for healthful foods can help make sure your kids stay healthy.   You can also use this time to talk about food.  Talk about where foods come from—do your kids know that carrots grow underground, or that milk and yogurt come from a cow?

Learning matters!

Kids can learn many skills while helping you cook:

  • Math skills (counting, measuring, sequencing of events, and an understanding of time)
  • Science skills (chemistry, cause and effect)
  • Culture (cooking dishes from various parts of the world can help teach about other countries)
  • Organization (getting ingredients ready helps teach these skills)
  • Following directions (recipes require that you follow directions in order)

Family matters!

Cooking with FamilyEncouraging your kids to eat more healthful foods isn’t the only benefit of cooking with your kids.  When families cook together, sharing recipes, secrets and experiences, great things happen!  You can help strengthen family relationships, improve your kids’ self-confidence, and build a sense of teamwork and responsibility.  Some studies have suggested that kids who cook with their parents may even be less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.  And they’ll be able to cook for themselves as they grow up—and later, for their own families!

But aren’t my kids too young?

Woman cooking with daughterEven very young children—as young as 2 years old—can help with simple tasks in the kitchen.  Very young kids may not be able to chop vegetables yet, but they can wipe the table, tear lettuce, snap green beans, break larger vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli, bring ingredients from one place to another, and play with utensils.  Even for young children, the sense of accomplishment that comes from “I helped!” will help build self-confidence and a love for healthful foods.  And you’ll get to spend quality time with your kids while making meals!

That sounds great, but what about the mess?

It’s true that cooking with your kids can be messy—you should expect a few spills.  The best solution is to be prepared for this and teach them to clean up after themselves. (It’s a small price to pay for the benefits!)   Just be sure you have plenty of age-appropriate cleaning tools on hand.  Have a sense of humor—spills, lumps, and eggshells in the batter are all a normal part of learning to cook.