Tips + Ideas for Helping Kids Learn How to Cook

it's one of the most important lifelong skills they can have (plus it's fun)

Happy Juneteenth!

This month we’ve talking about health (in all aspects of life) and a big part of that is our relationship with food. Many of us have a lot of baggage when it comes to food and cooking, so it’s very worthwhile to help our kids with their food mindset since they will, after all, be going into the world as future eaters 😅 I will never stop complaining about how schools in America don’t make food education a priority, because cooking is one of the most practical and relevant life skills a person could have, regardless of career path. Here are some food-mindset things to remember:

• It’s a co-learning experience. You don’t have to know how to cook well; you’ll probably be a better teacher if you have to slow down and learn right alongside your kids! Even if you’re already confident in the kitchen, there’s always more to learn—that’s what I love about watching chef Andy Hearnden (Andy Cooks); he’s a professional but he’s still honest as he tries to figure out new dishes and techniques. Remember that glorious word “with”; you are learning with your kids.

• Don’t forget your goals (and adjust your expectations accordingly.) If the goal is to give your kid a bit of confidence in a very useful life skill, that’s great! But it might not look pretty, taste good, or be ready in a timely manner. (You might be pleasantly surprised, though.) How will they really grow without experience, though?

• Remember the benefits of cooking and let it alleviate guilt about other “shoulds.” If you and your kids cook together this summer, that is very educational. If you feel like you should be doing creative activities or you should be spending more time together, don’t forget that you achieve all those things with cooking…and your family needed to eat lunch, anyway.

• Mise en place is a valuable skill for all of life. All chefs learn mise en place right away when training: you prepare your work station and ingredients before you begin actually cooking, and clean up as you go. In the book Work Clean, Dan Charnas applies these concepts to other parts of life that benefit from organization and preparation. (Disclosure: I write this as a hypocrite because I still majorly need to learn this in the kitchen and everywhere else 🤪!)

• Keep an aloe plant in the kitchen. Your preferences might vary for when you think your kid is old enough to help with the stove or griddle, but having aloe on hand for burns is a plus no matter how old you are! Boo-boos happen—even to grownups—but they almost always get better; you don’t need to be afraid of inviting your kids to help in the kitchen and learn under supervision!

• Cooking is fun with friends! If your kids have buddies over and you need something to keep them entertained, you can make popsicles, assemble lasagna, etc. It’s also fun to flip through cookbooks together. It’s very productive bonding for friends to do together and, obviously, so cute 🥰

• Take a picture when they’re done and celebrate it as a true achievement. They just learned a skill they’ll be using for the rest of their lives! When someone makes.a meal, they’ve brought something into existence that wasn’t there before, nourished the family, filled the home with sensory delights, and made art! Huge wins all around, even if it didn’t come out perfectly.

• Make the kids clean up, but show them it can be fun! If you’re not stuck with all the dishes, you won’t feel quite as much dread about letting the kids help in the kitchen, and they will also appreciate this aspect of labor that is often invisible. Fairies don’t make our meals, and fairies also don’t clean up from them, so we want to be respectful about the messes we make.

And here are some foods that aren’t too hard to make together!

• Sun Tea: Invite your kids to make tea by putting tea bags in lidded cups or jars then placing them in direct sunlight for 3 or 4 hours. Consider adding fresh herbs too! Stir in some sweetener at the end and enjoy! (You can add some extra tea bags to make the flavor stronger if needed; some people want their tea to taste more like juice 😉)

  

• Guacamole: Peel avocados and remove the pits. Place them in a bowl that’s good for mashing things. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the bowl and squeeze some lime juice. Then invite your chef to mash up the guacamole with a fork (or whatever mashing tools you have on hand.)

• Cheese Boards: Supply your kids with a couple kinds of cheese, some grapes, crackers, and a couple sprigs of rosemary, and invite them to make a fancy-looking snack platter! (Other foods that work great: nuts, jam, etc.) If you have kids who don’t feel confident in their ability to make things beautiful, cheese boards are a great low-stakes way to invite them. Plus, you only have to clean up one dish!

• Sheet Pan Vegetables: Help your kids wash vegetables and cut them into bite-size pieces, toss them with olive oil and seasonings, and bake at around 400 F for 30 minutes or so. If you cook them with a meat that will render some fat, you might not even need to add oil. You’ll need to take out the pan, stir, and put back in, but your kids can get the roasting started and still take all the credit 😉 Some favorite combinations: chicken and peppers/onions with fajita seasonings, smoked kielbasa with broccoli and cauliflower, and sweet potatoes with paprika and garlic with a little bit of bacon for the fat. Don’t forget generous amounts of salt and pepper!

• Spaetzle: European egg noodles are much easier and quicker to make than homemade pasta, but they’re still from scratch and delicious. You probably need a $13 spaetzle maker though. Mix together 4 cups flour, 2 tsp salt, 8 large eggs, 3/4 c milk. Feel free to halve the recipe. In a boiling pot of water, place your spaetzle maker on top, plop some batter in there, and scrape the maker back and forth as it squeezes little dumplings into the water. They cook almost instantly so act quickly. Once you’ve used all your batter, give your spaetzle a stir to see if it’s cooked, then drain and serve with butter. It’s a delicious side and goes super well with sheet pan vegetables (see above!)

  

• Bean salad. Drain and rinse a can each of chickpeas and black beans and pour into a medium-sized bowl. Chop up tomatoes, parsley, mint, and red onion, and add to the bowl. Stir in some olive oil, salt and pepper, and squeeze some lemon juice in there. Taste it and see if you need to adjust any seasonings. Keep refrigerated and enjoy!

  

• Bonus: fancy drinks! Give your kids access to a few basics—sparkling water, fruit, garnishes, and maybe bitters or grenadine. Kids love making mocktails, and carefully crafting a beautiful beverage is a way to show love. My 9-year-old made a flight for her toddler brother and it was so adorable 😅

From last year’s archives, I encourage you to read my personal experience with picky eating and the letter “To the Unmotivated Home Chef.”)

Personal Greetings

Last night I just got home from a two-week trip visiting family and friends in Florida. It was a very sweet trip, but I missed connecting with you all last week, so I owe you an extra-special post with some travel printables soon and I think it could be really helpful for you! 😎
Summer officially starts on Wednesday and I hope you’ve been loving this season so far. I feel like June is full of lots of recalibrating…recalibrating schedules, expectations, and tan lines! 😅 I’d love to hear what kind of rhythms you’re finding yourself in so far and what your hopes are for the next couple months.

Warmly,

Hope from Family Scripts