Major Fun! Resources for Cooking with Children

Cooking with kids is a wonderful way to spend time with children, and help them learn at the same time.There are many recipes, easy or complex, that are fun to make with children.To keep cooking with kids fun, there’s a few things to keep in mind. Children are always looking for something interesting to do and with cooking it teaches children how to read recipes/instructions, the preparation involved, possibly shopping for groceries/ingredients and more. Using a well-planned recipe, a day of cooking with kids is a great way to entertain your kids while teaching them how to cook!

Cooking/Kitchen Safety

Safety is important when cooking anyway, but when you have children involved it’s even more critical.Children may not know when things are hot, or forget that they are.They also may not realize when they are close to an oven, or in danger of something hot spilling on them.Similarly children may not be aware of where sharp objects are.Adults need to both clarify to children when dangers are present, and also preempt situations that could be dangerous to children. Avoiding incidents, and always keeping safety in mind ensures that a day in the kitchen with children is fun, and safe.

• Kitchen Safety for Kids – A Teachers Guide to Cooking with Children
• Kitchen Safety for Young Cooks – A Guide to Teaching Children to Cook
• Snack Attack! – Kitchen Safety, and Planning Tips for Cooking with Kids
• Family Keys – Cooking & Food Safety for Children
• Kids Can Cook! – Learning is the Secret Ingredient when Cooking with Kids!
• Kids in the Kitchen – The benefits of teaching kids to cook!
• Gluten Free Cooking – How to prepare a gluten-free diet for children.
• Fruit & Veggies – A guide for teachers & parents.
• Kid’s Cookbook – A variety of recipes for healthy kids cooking.

Fun Recipes!

There are many recipes that are fun for adults, which might not be so fun for children.Fun recipes don’t have to be short but they should be paced well so there is always something being done, and not so much time just waiting for something to cook as children will become restless and uninterested. Since some recipes do require time in the oven, or boiling on the stove, it’s often useful to plan some other fun activities, maybe coloring, or playing a game, while the recipe is cooking.Another consideration to keeping recipes fun is the ingredients.Children’s recipes don’t have to be all sugar, but kids might not find recipes involving tofu, and sprouts quite so fun.It’s good also to choose ingredients that are colorful, or ones that can be made into fun shapes!

• Fun & Healthy Family Snacks – Healthy Family Recipes
• Get Cooking – Fast & Fun Recipes
• Healthy Menus – Healthy & Fun Recipes for Kids

Snacks

• Lunchbox Ideas – Healthy Snack Recipes
• Snack Recipes – A Guide to Healthy Snacks from the USDA
• 101 Snacks – A huge directory of children’s snack recipes and ideas.

Drinks

• Food & Fun After School – Includes beverage recipes for kids!
• Yogurt Recipes – A variety of ways to make eating healthy yogurt interesting to children!
• Summer Smoothies – Healthy smoothies recipes for kids.
• Family Food Center – A resource for parents and kids from the National Dairy Council

Meals

• Children’s Meal Recipes – Recipes & Planning tips for cooking with children.
• Kids a Cookin – Fun children’s meal recipes, and how-tos.
• Lunch & Dinner Recipes – Recipes for children of all ages, and at all mealtimes.
• Kids Recipes – A variety of recipes for kids involving history and famous people.
• Food Recipes from Around the World– Kid safe recipes.Teach kids cooking and culture at the same time!

Desserts

• Chef La La – Fun children’s recipes, and dessert tips
• Campfire Recipes – Fun snacks & desserts for kids while camping!
• Pancake Fun – Recipes and activities for children using a variety of pancake types!

Other

• Thanksgiving & The Pilgrims – Fun activities and recipes for children, around the Thanksgiving holiday!
• Thanksgiving Cooking – Getting kids involved in cooking Thanksgiving Dinner.
• Healthy Weight – Recipe and health tips for creating healthy children’s meals.
• Fun Kids Recipes – International recipes, and activities for holidays around the world.
• Food & Fun – Recipes and tips from WIC.

Planning, Cleanup, and Other Tips!

It is important to plan ahead when cooking with children.Knowing children’s allergies for instance.It’s also best to try to get a feel for what sorts of ingredients children won’t eat ahead of time so that no one feels left out, or bored.Make sure the kitchen is equipped with all the cookware, and ingredients, and as childproof as possible before the children come into the kitchen.If there will be games, or activities in slow parts, make sure they’re ready, and make sure there’s a separate safe space for them to take place.Make sure the children are prepared to clean up, and try to make cleanup as much fun as cooking!

• Cooking with Children – A guide to getting started cooking with kids.
• Tips for Involving Children in Cooking – USDA’s Guide to cooking with Children
• Cooking Methods & Recipes – How to plan for Cooking with Kids
• Focus: Kids in The Kitchen – How to prepare children for cooking recipes.
• Healthy Eating & Nutrition – Tips for Teachers cooking with the classroom.
• Fairfax Kids Cooking – A guide of what to do, and what not to, when cooking with children.
• Solar Cooking – How to create and cook with a solar-powered hotdog cooker.

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