Here’s one for you:
Q: What do you get when you cross a child under 10, a can of bread dough, and a bag of shredded cheese?
A: A children’s cookbook.
Up until a few years ago, it seemed like our culture didn’t put a lot of trust in kids’ tastebuds or cooking abilities. Recipes for kids to cook tended to be mostly what I would call “assembly instructions” like, “Put pizza sauce on an English muffin. Add pepperoni and cheese and ask an adult to microwave it.”
Ack!
Not only is that not very healthy, but it’s also not actually cooking. And I believe we should expect more out of our kids, even though some adults can barely make spaghetti and grilled cheese.
The culture is finally swinging back, and I’m helping to push that swing. I’ll stand on the playground all day if that’s what it takes.
In the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse, not only have we taught over 5,000 families how to use sharp knives safely this month (my oldest reminded me that it was probably more than 5,000 kids since families often have more than one, so let’s estimate it at 5,000 x 2.2 = 11,000 kids!), but we are also ready to teach hundreds more all sort of basic cooking skills.
The eCourse includes over 30 basic skills at 3 different age levels that will serve kids ages 2 to teen. Little ones will learn careful pouring, how to cut with a dull knife, peeling veggies, and flat measuring, and even pre-readers will be able to make a recipe all by themselves with our special system of recipe cards just for them.
Early elementary aged kiddos get an introduction to sharp knives along with a lot of focus on reading and following a recipe well and stovetop safety. They learn to flip pancakes, make homemade tortillas, and brown ground meats.
And our older kids, those 8 and up who already have tackled the Intermediate skills, get to really master a chef’s knife on a variety of foods, get into the oven and gain competence at making entire meals by themselves – real, healthy things like stir fried veggies.
A lot of the healthy kids’ recipes we use in the eCourse are really our family’s favorites anyway. Although the two recipe books in the course are written just for kids to cook in our special kid-friendly format, they’re just good, wholesome, delicious food made with real ingredients. Just like I’m not a fan of most kids’ menus because I think they train us to lower our expectations, I don’t do “kid recipes.”
Here are 20 recipes, from breakfast to dinner, that I know kids can cook or play sous chef on, because we’ve done it in our own kitchen:
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Grain-free Blueberry Pancakes
- Stir Fry
- Homemade Mexican rice
- Homemade Refried Beans
- Homemade Taco Seasoning – That may not be the most beautiful food photography, but honestly, my son was so proud to “make it pretty” and have me take a picture that how could I resist? That’s kid-made taco seasoning on kid-browned ground beef, kid-made refried beans and Mexican rice…amazing! It’s the littlest kids, by the way, who make the taco seasoning.
- Homemade Tortillas
- Homemade Guacamole
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Homemade Italian Dressing
- Potato Salad
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Homemade Rolls
- Gellies
- Egg Fried Rice
- Gluten-free Pumpkin Muffins (or whole wheat)
- Chicken Rice-a-roni
- Simple Chicken Rice Soup – this one take some cutting and is made after the Advanced Level begins sharp knife skills.
- Oven Baked Apple Crisp – gotta do something with those apples on the day our big kids finish up knife training and begin oven safety – what better than to bake the apples?
- Chickpea Wraps
Well that just makes me hungry. 
Too bad our day for the kids to cook each week is Saturday night. I guess tonight, I’ll have to do the cooking.
Get a day from your kids, too, with our incredible eCourse. Since I spend the most time in the kitchen at the cutting board chopping, I know that knife skills are the place to start – and I recently released my knife techniques class for kids at a ridiculously discounted price.
Katie here, just interrupting for a sec if I may with an exciting announcement about something I’m super passionate about… I just love talking about how get kids to eat healthy foods – withOUT the power struggles and dinnertime madness I know happens in a lot of families!!!
Want to learn how I manage to avoid our kids becoming picky around here (or at least STAYING that way)? I’m hosting a one-hour live online event for FREE this month, with 3 dates/times to choose from so it will fit almost any schedule:
Can’t wait to see you there! (and there’s a free gift for everyone who attends, too!)
Hope to see you in class!
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My son was adding ingredients to a pot on the stove at about 20 months, the age my daughter is now. He started using a sharp knife at 3. But he’s been absurdly well-coordinated from birth, AND he showed an early interest in learning to do what adults do–from the time he could sit up, if I was cooking he needed to hold a spatula; if I was cleaning the bathtub he needed to hold a rag, etc. My daughter is more typical in her coordination and more independent. I’ve tried having her help wash dishes (which her brother did from 15 months, standing on his high chair) but she wasn’t all that interested in being involved at all, let alone interested in keeping the water in the sink! So I’m expecting to wait another 6-12 months before I get her involved in cooking.
My son is now 11 and cooks dinner for the family one night a week. This has typically been easy one-pot meals, but we’re nudging him to expand his repertoire.
My 6 year old has always wanted to help, so from the time she was about 2 she’s helped and now can make a few dinners on her own. For her birthday last month, I gave her a recipe book and some cooking accessories. She has asked to help out or make dinner herself several times a week since. I’m glad she feels comfortable and confident. These will be great additions to her recipe book. 🙂
These all look so tasty and fun to make! Since our dishwasher broke, my kids (ages 8,6,4 and 2) have all been helping more in the kitchen with clean up time. They always want to try cooking too, so I’m excited to get them going on these yummy meals. We watched a few of your sample knife training videos that you posted from the mom conference. It really is so fun to help your kids learn for themselves these life skills, but also get some awesome family fun time together making lasting memories! Thanks so much for what you do to support families!!