With kids developing fast, they start exhibiting substantial changes. At some point, they all start showing their interests, mostly depending on the gender. If, for instance, your girl keeps finding her way into your kitchen offering to help you, you are both starting a helpful journey for her. If they want to assist in the kitchen or you want to keep them indoors when the weather is foul, you can explore countless recipes to keep them engaged and learning how to do things by themselves. Here are ten best cooking ideas you can explore with your kids.
Fruit Salad
This is the easiest idea you can engage your kids in. They get to enjoy and feel they participated fully as it is an easy task. You can challenge them to make you and your hubby something to eat for supper on a Sunday with this simple recipe. It will also be a perfect way of teaching them how to use a knife.
They can start by stirring the ingredients, peeling fruits, and coring carrots. Make sure to supervise them as they use the hob, peeler, and corer. Also, they can cut the soft fruits with either a regular or butter knife under the supervision and wash the fruits too.
Chicken Delight Sandwich
Challenge them to make you lunch after you leave the playground on Sunday. As they make the meal from scratch, they will feel the sense of independence and responsibility. You can assign them tasks like grating carrots, buttering bread, assembling the sandwich, and chopping lettuce, and spring onions.
Animal Face Fairy Cakes
If your children have friends in the neighbourhood, they can help each other if you are planning to make animal face fairy cakes. Call them on a Friday evening after school and challenge them to bake together to form the cakes. It will derive much fun for them as they bake and decorate them together. Let them mix the ingredients and spoon the mixture into fairy cake cases. They can also make the icing and decorate the cakes themselves.
Butterfly Buns
Butterfly buns give you a great way of making impressing cupcakes without all the fiddly piping bag fuss. With a spoonful of jam and splodge buttercream, you can give your kids a day out in the kitchen. They can help with mixing the ingredients, spooning the mixture, and making the buttercream. They can also spoon out the centre of the cake and finish with jam and buttercream.
Banana Bread
Your children will be chuffed about making banana bread. It only takes a simple recipe and your little supervision, and they get the results. Make them love sampling the recipe by lining the tin with greaseproof paper, mix the ingredients, and mash the bananas. You can also let them spoon the mixture into the tin and slice the bread with a bread knife under your supervision.
Hummus
How about allowing them to make hummus? It is much easier to make, and they will love the experience. It will also be a great way of teaching them how to use the food processor, the tin opener, and making something extra delicious in the process.
Their tasks will be to open and drain the tin of chickpeas and mixing the ingredients. They can also start using the food processor with your supervision. Let them spoon the humus into a bowl and serve too. Also, they can toast some pitta bread to go with it.
Ratatouille Omelette
This is one of the best starter recipes. It involves cracking of eggs and frying vegetables in a pan. It will give your children some confidence and grow they want to make you lunch all the time. You can allow them to fry the veggies under your supervision, crack the eggs, and whisk them with the milk. They can also grill the omelette as you watch and prepare the salad.
Hummingbird Gingerbread Men
Your kids will love decorating the gingerbread men. It is fun and engaging as they whip up the week. Allow them to do the sifting of the ingredients, make the dough, and knead and roll it. They can also cut the shapes into the men, make the royal icing, and decorate the gingerbread men.
Salmon Fishcakes
Depending on the age, you can challenge the kids to start making their dinner. You can try by letting them make salmon fishcakes. They begin by making the crispy coating, making the fish mix, and coating the pieces in egg wash. Then, they can top them, fry the fishcakes with your supervision, and decorate them with egg and peas.
Dotty Shortbread Hearts
These shortbread hearts are easy to make. The kids can also have a field day as they mould them into their desired shapes. They also offer an excellent chance for the kids to practice and nurture their decorating skills. You can give them tasks of mixing the ingredients, rolling the dough, and cutting the heart shapes. They can also put the shortbreads into the oven under supervision, make the royal icing, and pipe the dots.
Summary
Giving your kids a chance to work in your kitchen serves as the best challenge. As you allow them to take charge of some of the tasks, it will give them a sense of independence, make them feel they can do even more by themselves, and create some sense of responsibility. Always remember to be around them whatever the idea they are working on.
