Kids in the Kitchen: How to Cook Up Family Fun

One of my earliest memories of “cooking” is when I was very young and my mom allowed me to stir the party mix. Now keep in mind, her party mix is legendary! Though she swears she uses the identical recipe she has given me, hers is always just a bit better. So, it was an honor to have even a small part in the creation of her famous party mix.

As I grew older, I learned and mastered more tasks required in meal preparation. After I mastered stirring cereals, corn chips, pretzels and several secret ingredients in a bowl without sending them flying all over the kitchen, I was allowed to stir a cake batter, etc.

Begin with simple recipes. There are some great cookbooks for kids on the market today that include step-by-step instructions and pictures so kids can see what the food will look like when it’s in finished. To see a list of the top 10 children’s cookbooks, including several with recipes for foods mentioned in some children’s favorite movies, go to http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/themesubjectbooksby/tp/cookbooks.htm.

A fun family activity to introduce basic concepts is to make a fairy tale house (or a "gingerbread" house). Line a 1’ by 1’ piece of thick cardboard with aluminum foil, or use a small cookie sheet. Graham crackers can be used for the outside and stick everything together using frosting. M&M’s, chocolate chips, skittles, bite-sized cookies, etc. can be used to make windows, shutters, etc.

Young children can even help “pour” cake batter into a pan by dipping a measuring cup in the bowl and emptying the cup into the cake pan. Children can prepare lunch treats like ants on a log (celery stick filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins) or spreading peanut butter on crackers (they hold up better than soft bread).

By Middle School children should be able to handle a knife and begin learning to chop vegetables and slice fruits. They probably have mastered an electric can opener and hand mixer by this age and can learn to make dishes like quiche (with a frozen pie shell), salads, gelatin salad with fruit, as well as cookies and cupcakes.