Kids in the Kitchen Archives - The Nourishing Home

Teaching Kids Where Real Food Comes From {and 20+ Strawberry Recipes}

I’m thrilled to have my dear friend Tiffany from Don’t Waste the Crumbs join us to share her tips and encouragement on how we can teach our kids about where real food really comes from.

By taking a family field trip to a beautiful u-pick farm, Tiffany documents how easy and FUN it is to teach your children about real food!

And she’s also sharing more than 20 delicious and nutritious ways to enjoy fresh, ripe summer strawberries! YUM!

P.S. Incase you missed her inspiring post “A Real Food Journey: Small Steps in the Right Direction,” I highly encourage you to take a minute to read it and learn how small steps forward really do lead to healthy changes that last a lifetime.

Learning Where Real Food Comes From …

by Tiffany, Don’t Waste the Crumbs

As a mother who also happens to be a real food blogger, it should be a given that my kids know what real food is, and where it comes from.

That’s why I feel like cringing when one of my kids pipes up with “we can just get more from the store,” if we happen run out of something. Yikes!

Thankfully, I had a hands-on opportunity last week to teach them where food really comes from – God’s beautiful and bountiful earth.

We traveled to a local u-pick farm where the kids were able to walk through row after row of beautiful strawberry plants – giving us all the opportunity to observe the berries in their various stages of development and better understand the connection between these fields and our kitchen table.

As we journeyed, plants overflowing with strawberries surrounded us on both sides. The kids quickly learned how green and pink berries aren’t yet ready to be picked, but to look for the big, “red red red” strawberries instead. With each step, they excitedly found more and more ripe strawberries and with a little bit of muscle, were able to pick them off of the plants themselves. Their red stained faces were evidence that a few strawberries were “accidentally” eaten, yet their buckets were still nearly full before we even made it to the end of the first row!

Conversations in the field were easy – they already knew that God made the earth and everything in it. But this trip helped them to understand that God causes food to grow from the ground, that people have to use their hands and work to get cultivate and pick it – all so we can eat it and nourish our bodies.

When our buckets were full, we took them to be weighed. Between three adults and two kids, we managed to pick just under 11 pounds of strawberries!

We brought our bounty home and our real food education continued … the kids helped me wash the berries using homemade natural produce wash and we talked about how nutritious strawberries are and what kinds of ways we might enjoy them.

The kids had permission to eat as many as they wanted, yet even with their little hands continuously reaching into the bowl (and mommy continuously refilling it), the flat of berries still looked to be completely untouched!

It was clear that if we were ever going make a dent in the 11 pounds of fresh strawberries we brought home, I would need to get serious about gathering a lot more healthy and delicious strawberry recipes (and I would also need to get serious about Freezing, Blending and Dehydrating them too)!

After talking to a few of my favorite real foodie friends, I’ve put together a plethora of strawberry recipes – more than enough to cover our bountiful pickings AND yours too!

20+ Strawberry Recipes Your Whole Family Will Love!

Delicious real food recipes perfect for using with fresh ripe strawberries:
• Strawberry Shortcakes (GF)
• Strawberry Shortcake Muffins (GF)
• Strawberry Pancakes
• Sourdough Pancakes
• Strawberry Summer Cake
• Strawberry Feta Salad (GF)
• Strawberry Key Lime Cheesecake
• Strawberry Shortcake Pie (GF)
• Very Berry Pie
• Fabulous Fruit Pizza (GF)
• Roasted Strawberry and Goat Cheese Ice Cream (GF)
• Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce (GF)

Wholesome recipes perfect for using overripe strawberries:
• Strawberry Apple Fruit Butter (GF)
• Strawberry Lemonade Slushy (GF)
• Smoothies (GF)
• Strawberry Cacao Milkshake (GF)
• Crock Pot Sugar Free Strawberry Chia Jam (GF)
• Jumbleberry Jam (GF)
• No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam (GF)
• Strawberry Maple Jam (GF)
• Strawberry Cream Pops (GF)
• Wholesome All-Fruit Pops (GF, DF)
• Strawberry Topping (GF) for Cheesecake, Ice Cream, Pancakes & more!

There are so many ways you can teach your children about real food – from something as simple as visiting a local farmers market, to getting hands-on and planting a garden together or visiting a local u-pick farm.

In the mood to pick real food?

Start here to find a u-pick farm in your area. Be sure to call ahead for availability, and don’t be afraid to ask the farms for recommendations of other u-pick sites too, if one close you isn’t listed. Our local farm gave us a huge map of all the u-pick farms in our area – many more than we were able to find online and this enabled us to find a few more farms to visit that are closer to home!

P.S. Visiting a u-pick farm is not only a great way to teach your kids about where real food comes from, but it’s also a great way to save money too. This field trip taught us that by doing the work ourselves and eliminating the cost of packaging, handling and shipping we were able to enjoy far more fresh produce for far less. At left are the same strawberries, picked by the local farm, for sale in their local shop. As you can see, by picking the berries ourselves and bypassing the packaging, we saved over $17. The cost of the kids learning where our food comes from? Priceless.

Meet Tiffany!
Tiffany is a newbie real foodie who is trying to master real foods and incorporate them into her kitchen without breaking the bank. She documents her baby-sized strides at Don’t Waste the Crumbs and Google.

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Kids Belong in the Kitchen {Free Cooking w/Kids-of-All-Ages Printable}

By Kelly · 5 Comments

No matter the age or skill level of your child, there’s always a task that any child can do. For details, be sure to download my FREE “Cooking with Kids of All Ages” printable. This helpful chart outlines age-appropriate cooking activities, as well as provides a few creative ideas for making mealtimes fun.

What thoughts come to mind when you think of kids in the kitchen? Inconvenient. Unsafe. Messy! Did I mention messy?

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s definitely easier to cook without children in tow, but is that a good enough reason to keep the kitchen off-limits? I don’t think so.

I passionately believe kids belong in the kitchen, and for more reasons than just to learn the important lifelong skill of cooking. For us busy moms with overflowing calendars, I know time is limited. Yet, let me encourage you that time in the kitchen with your kids is time well spent!

Here are just a few of the many reasons why kids belong in the kitchen:

• The Kitchen as a Classroom
Think of your kitchen as a fun-filled classroom. Kids can learn so many important skills in the kitchen, such as reading and vocabulary by reading the instructions in a recipe and learning the names of all the various tools and ingredients involved. Cooking also helps to build math skills through measuring and learning fractions. And of course there’s always a science lesson to be found in the kitchen, such as how eggs help to bind recipe ingredients together, and how baking soda helps baked goods to rise.

• Helps to Builds Important Life Skills
It’s important for both boys and girls to learn how a meal is created from start to finish, so they can do it themselves as they get older and eventually leave home. It will be an invaluable skill you are teaching them – one that they will use the rest of their lives. Yet, there’s even more important life skills a child learns by spending time in the kitchen with you. Cooking together affords a wonderful opportunity to teach your kids other important life skills, such as time-management, organizational skills, responsibility and confidence. As you can see, the lessons to be learned in the kitchen are endless and are of great value!

• Fosters Teamwork, Strong Bonds & Memories to Last a Lifetime
Preparing a meal with your children is one of the best ways to foster focused, intentional quality time together. Planning and preparing meals with your kids gives you a wonderful opportunity to talk, laugh and accomplish something together as a team – it’s good quality bonding time and it’s a wonderful opportunity to build memories that last a lifetime!

• Provides an Opportunity to Nourish a Healthy Lifestyle
In the kitchen, in the garden and even at the market, we have the opportunity to make food come alive for our kids and encourage within them a love for real food, as well as help them to develop an understanding of how real food truly nourishes the body. By spending time in the kitchen with our kids, we’re passing the baton of healthy eating on to them with the hope that one day they’ll pass it on to their own children as well.

Ready to Get Started?
My hope in sharing this is to encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities that come from spending time in the kitchen with your kiddos. And, to help you get started, I’m excited to provide a free copy of my FREE “Cooking with Kids of All Ages” printable. This helpful chart outlines age-appropriate cooking activities, as well as provides a few creative ideas for making mealtimes fun.

I also encourage you to take a moment to check out How to Cultivate Little Sous Chefs before you get started for some practical, helpful tips and strategies to make it a smoother process for you both.

And if you’re looking for some easy and delicious kid-friendly recipes, I invite you to pop over and explore the “Kids in the Kitchen” section of this site. There you’ll find many of my boys favorite recipes, as well as more helpful tips and strategies for cooking with your kids!

Remember, your time in the kitchen with your precious little ones is so much more than just teaching them valuable cooking and healthy eating skills, it’s about sharing and enjoying time together – building strong bonds and happy memories!

So I encourage you to welcome your kiddos into the kitchen with open arms and an open heart! Be assured that your patience and joy in having them in the kitchen with you will most certainly be blessed!

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Tips for Cultivating Little Sous Chefs

Teaching Kids Where Real Food Comes From {and 20+ Strawberry Recipes}

Tips for Cultivating Little Sous Chefs

By Kelly · 4 Comments

One of my favorite things to do is cook with my boys! I can’t tell you the number of times they’ve come up with some pretty brilliant ideas for new recipes, or ways to enhance an existing recipe. Cooking together gives us time to talk, laugh and accomplish something together as a team – it’s good quality bonding time and it’s educational too!

For busy moms, I know time is limited, but here are just a few of the many reasons why spending the extra time to get your kids in the kitchen with you is so valuable. I encourage you to read my post on Why Kids Belong in the Kitchen for more important facts about why cooking with your children is so valuable.

Got a picky eater? Kids are more likely to eat what they make, so getting them involved in making a healthy meal, will give you a better shot at them actually eating it. You can also use this time together to lay a solid foundation by talking about healthy food basics – but don’t just lecture, seek their thoughts and opinions and help steer them toward understanding the “whys and hows” of making nutritious choices.
Kids are naturally creative and like to be helpful (especially when they’re little). Once they begin experiencing the accomplishment of making a meal that everyone enjoys, they will begin to take pride in their effort. And eventually, they may actually discover they have a passion for cooking.
Kids need to learn how to prepare healthy homecooked food. It’s important for both girls and boys to learn how a meal is created from start to finish, so they can do it themselves as they get older and eventually leave home. It will be an invaluable skill you are teaching them – one that they will use the rest of their lives.
The kitchen is a wonderful classroom! Kids learn so many important skills in the kitchen – including math skills, following directions, time-management and organization – the lessons are endless and are of great value!

How to get started …
If you want to get your kids in the kitchen with you, here are a few helpful tips and strategies to make it a smoother process for you both:

Be realistic! It’s important to be realistic in your expectations of this time together. Plan the cooking session with your child in mind – what his/her interests are, attention-span, skill level, etc. By taking time to think this through and plan an age-appropriate cooking session, you’ll have much more success at making it fun and interesting for your child. And the more fun it is, the more you both will enjoy this time to together! Curious about which kitchen activities are age-approriate? Be sure to download my FREE “Cooking with Kids of All Ages” printable. It not only contains lots of ideas for developmentally appropriate kitchen activities, but also contains some great ideas for making mealtimes fun!
Be sure to schedule it on your meal plan! Plan time for cooking with your kiddos on a day when you’ll have extra time to spare – being in a rush and cooking with kids is a recipe for disaster (pun intended).
Start off with an easy recipe – have them watch you do one of the tasks first, then help them do it once, then let them do it by themselves. When getting started, focus on age-appropriate fun tasks – anything that needs to be shaken, stirred, mashed – kids love that!
Keep the time short and sweet (especially for little ones). Be sensitive to your child’s age- and personality-related attention span. For little ones, it’s important to have all of the ingredients ready ahead of time, so they don’t have to sit and watch you get everything prepared, but can instead immediately jump in and participate. After they’ve accomplished the age-appropriate tasks you planned out (or if you notice boredom setting in) thank them for helping you, and let them run off to play while you finish the meal. You can slowly build from there – increasing the time spent and the skills they learn – to the point where they’re eventually helping you execute an entire meal from start to finish. And of course, my dream is when they can completely take on a meal without my help at all – definitely something to look forward to! Even the most passionate chef enjoys handing over the apron every now and then!

The Kids in my Kitchen
I started my boys in the kitchen as toddlers with very simple tasks that they loved to do, like stirring and mashing – especially the mashing part – they are boys after all!

From there, we slowly progressed based on their age and abilities to include more and bigger tasks – adding ingredients, measuring out ingredients, reading and following a recipe, and right now, they are learning how to properly use a knife and how to safely cook on the stovetop, always under very careful supervision, of course. As they get older, my goal is to have them begin cooking some of their own favorite lunches and then as noted above, taking on dinner for the entire family by themselves – that will be awesome!

One of our favorite resources for tips, recipes and overall step-by-step instructions for age-appropriate cooking, is a wonderful eBook by my friend Wardee called “Real Food Kids in the Kitchen.” I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a comprehensive and FUN guide to getting their kids into cooking and eating real food.

A little extra time and mess are worth it!
One more thing, if you decide to do this, be prepared for extra time and extra mess – but think big picture and don’t get discouraged! Remember, this is so much more than just teaching them valuable cooking and healthy eating skills, it’s about sharing and enjoying time together! Your patience and joy in having them in the kitchen will be blessed!

Disclosure: I make a small commission if you opt to purchase the “Real Food Kids in the Kitchen” eBook using the links above. All commissions help to support the many free resources available here at The Nourishing Home!

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Kids Belong in the Kitchen {Free Cooking w/Kids-of-All-Ages Printable}

Teaching Kids Where Real Food Comes From {and 20+ Strawberry Recipes}