From homemade cookies to personal pizzas, cooking with kids can be a lot of fun—despite the mess and concerns about small hands near hot stoves. Cooking with your children also offers a major benefit: It’s a great first step to getting them to try new healthy foods.
Chef Tess Collins
Research shows that children tend to eat more of a food they’ve made themselves. In one recent study, five- to seven-year-old kids prepared either a salad or dessert. Then, when given the choice to try the food they made themselves, or a nearly identical food made by someone else, more children chose the food they made. Another study showed preschoolers involved with cooking were more likely to try veggies at mealtime.
“Cooking is essential,” says Arizona-based executive chef Tess Collins. “It’s a great way to teach kids about science, art and math, to help them understand the importance of what we’re putting into our bodies every day, and cooking is a great skill for kids to have for the rest of their lives.”
In this installment of our “What’s a Parent to Do” blog series about healthy kids in the kitchen, Chef Tess helps us understand why cooking with kids is so important, how to get started, and she offers tips on helping kids to become lifelong cooks.
Q: Why is it so important to get kids cooking?
Cooking not only expands kids palates and encourages them to become well-rounded eaters, but it can also teach new skills and lessons and reinforce ones learned in school in a fun, new context, says Chef Tess.
For example, kids might hone their math skills when working with fractions or measuring smoothie ingredients, or they could unleash their artistic side when icing a birthday cake. Reading cookbooks and recipes exposes kids to new cultures and helps with reading comprehension.
Cooking can also teach kids valuable skills they’ll use throughout their life like critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration. Kids who cook frequently are often confident, independent, and they have good self-esteem.
Q: How can “hands-on” kitchen engagement get kids more excited about healthy foods?
Many children learn best when all five of their senses are engaged in the activity, Chef Tess says. In the kitchen, this means seeing, touching, smelling and tasting new fruits and vegetables and other ingredients. Sound can play into it too—the hiss of food hitting hot oil in a pan or the squish of mashing ingredients.
These interactions–plus the knowledge kids gain of the many ways ingredients can be combined into yummy dishes–can, and often do, build excitement about healthy foods, she adds.
Parents can weave in lessons on why they might prefer to bake a food most of the time rather than fry it, or why they like olive or avocado oil when cooking instead of butter.
Q: How early can I start cooking with my kids?
You can, and should, start as soon as your child can safely hold a kitchen utensil, says Chef Tess. Even kids as young as two years old may be able to do some simple tasks in the kitchen, such as stir a cookie batter with assistance or pour ingredients that have been measured by mom or dad.
For preschoolers and older, tasks like measuring, pouring, and mixing can be great introductions to cooking.
Q: But we’re so busy. How do we make time for cooking with kids?
Commit to fitting it in (pencil it in on your calendar) so you look forward to the interactive bonding time. You’re already dedicating some time to cooking.
One recent survey showed people in the U.S. spent almost an hour a day preparing food and drinks. It’s true cooking with kids can take a little longer. But you can always carve time out from other activities. Or, plan cooking time for the weekend when you’re not quite as busy.
Remember, though, you don’t want cooking to seem like a chore, Chef Tess says. If your child is tired or cranky, don’t force the issue. Move cooking to another day.
Q: How do we get started?
There’s no right or wrong way, says Chef Tess. Maybe you choose a recipe both you and your child are excited about, something you found online or heard about from a friend. Or, start with an outing to the grocery store, pick a few fun ingredients, then brainstorm what to make, she says.
Maybe you have a special occasion coming up like a family birthday or graduation. Creating a dish for your family to enjoy together, marking the occasion, can be a special way to get started, too.
Set aside specific tasks for your child to take ownership of, like gathering or washing ingredients. Teach them good kitchen practices as you go.
Start by hand-washing, cleaning counter spaces, and gathering any tools you’ll use. If you’re using a knife, your child can start with a plastic safety knife and soft food. Then progress to a real knife as they get older and their technique and confidence in chopping grows.
Q: What are age-appropriate activities for kids in the kitchen?
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has specific suggestions on kitchen activities by age group. For example, your three- to five-year-old could wash produce or cut cookies with cookie cutters. Your six- to seven-year old might use a peeler to peel fruit, crack eggs into a bowl, or shuck corn.
Your eight- to nine-year-old could beat eggs and juice a lemon or orange. Kids older than 10 are able to do more advanced tasks like boiling pasta on their own or chopping vegetables.
Q: What are some tricks to set kids up for success, then get them involved?
In the beginning, err on the side of choosing an easier recipe, one with five to six ingredients. Have your child be a part of the process from start to finish, from choosing ingredients to cleaning up.
Grocery shopping can happen a day or more in advance as a way to build excitement. A great way to teach kids about where their food comes from and how it grows is to visit local farms for produce, Chef Tess says. If that’s an option, it can help kids feel connected to their food, she says.
Go strawberry or blueberry picking together and make a simple cobbler. Always ask questions as you go. For example, what do these ingredients feel like? What does this fruit smell like? What do you think of the taste? Where do you think this recipe came from or what is its history?
Know that you don’t have to make every dish from scratch. Using a brownie mix where you add eggs and oil to a pre-made mix, or putting chopped cheddar or jalapenos into a cornbread mix still counts as cooking when kids are concerned.
Q: Are there specific projects or fun recipes that are especially good for kids?
Making pizza together from scratch is always a big hit. Chef Tess likes to make a rainbow veggie pizza with kids, preparing the dough from scratch with self-rising flour. Make the sauce with fresh tomatoes and herbs from your garden if you have one. If you don’t have space for a garden, basil and other herbs easily grow in a pot on a windowsill. It’s exciting to have fresh ingredients as part of your meal, says Chef Tess.
Other great recipes include:
- Homemade pickles. Use fresh dill you’ve grown to add flavor
- Strawberry shortcake. Great for summer! Kids can make fresh whipped cream from heavy whipping cream.
- Fresh lemonade. Kids can roll, cut, and squeeze lemons and measure the water and sugar.
- Banana bread. Mashing the bananas is an easy task, and slices, or even whole loaves, make great gifts for friends or family.
- Homemade hummus or pesto. These are easy to make in a high-powered blender or food processor.
- Homemade ice cream–a fun treat made with shaken cream in a container.
Q: What are some important safety tips to keep in mind when cooking with kids?
Kids and knives can make any parent anxious. Luckily, there are safety knives that offer a great introduction to cutting food. These knives function like knife training wheels, and many have a real metal blade with a flat blunt edge so they’re good to learn with.
When your child has mastered cutting with a safety knife, move on to assisted cutting with a real knife, says Chef Tess. She uses a hand-over-hand process with her daughter, placing her own hand on top and guiding the movements.
Other great items for kids are longer tongs to pull items off a grill, and tight-fitting, long-sleeved clothing to protect them from hot oil popping out of a pan.
Companies make cute chefs’ coats for kids that offer good protection, as well.
If your child has long hair, fasten it back before cooking. Also, be aware of spills and wipe them up right away to avoid slips and falls.
Q: How can I get them comfortable if I’m not that good at cooking myself?
Plan to learn together, Chef Tess says. Watch cooking shows together on TV or YouTube. You can follow along with videos, making a recipe as you watch, and pausing as needed as you go.
Maybe take an outing to your local library and stock up on interesting cookbooks.
If you’re able to take a cooking class yourself, there are often plenty of options, whether it’s at a local community college or with a for-profit cooking organization.
Q: What about when recipes go wrong? How do I help my child work through the disappointment so they want to keep cooking?
Recipe failures can be just as important as successes! They can help kids become more resilient. Often, you have happy accidents, too. For instance, if you over-whip heavy cream, say, “This is great. You’ve made butter!” says Chef Tess.
Then, if you have leftover heavy cream, try to make the whipped cream again. Let your kids know that, much like anything in life, they will make mistakes when cooking, and that’s okay. It’s all a part of growth, and we learn from it, Chef Tess says.
Q: What else should I keep in mind? Are there any other chef tips for inspiring healthy kids involvement in the kitchen?
Keep these additional tips in mind as you embark on cooking projects with your kids.
You don’t need heat. To cook, you don’t have to use the oven or stove. Think about no-cook recipes you can make, especially if you have younger kids. For example, you can slice apples, then have your preschooler help spread sunflower butter on.
Focus on fun. You don’t want cooking to become monotonous or a chore. Put on some music as you cook and set up a festive table to deliver the food to.
Get grandparents involved. Parents don’t have to be the only ones cooking with kids in the kitchen. It’s a great activity for grandparents or other relatives who enjoy cooking to share, too.
Discover family recipes. Maybe your family has an old notebook of favorite family recipes or recipes written on crumbling index cards. Making family favorites, or replicating them, can be a special way to teach your kids about their ancestors, too.
Tessa Collins is an Executive Chef and part of the Aramark Student Nutrition team. She works with a network of talented and committed Aramark chefs and dietitians that closely collaborate to support the health and wellbeing of students, parents, and caregivers in school districts across the country.
Note: Since everyone’s health history and nutritional needs are so different, please make sure that you talk with your doctor and a registered dietitian to get advice about the diet and exercise plan that‘s right for you.