Where to start? Make a homemade version of something the children already love. For example is homemade pizza crust. "Kids love to work with dough," says Margy O'Herron of Hide the Cheese in a March 5 interview. "We then cut up a bunch of toppings and they can make their own pizzas."
Another fun way to surprise kids in the kitchen is to make something they would typically find on a shelf in the grocery store. For example is homemade ketchup. O' Herron's recipe is a simple one-pot slow-cook process that ends in the blender and forgoes all the sugar and additives.
Focus on Flavor
Many children's cookbooks can be "too sweet or cute and don't really focus on flavor," says O'Herron. Don't be afraid to move beyond traditional kiddie cookbooks. For example, experiment with curries. "Kids can't take much heat, but they definitely love the curries," she says of her three children, ages 4 to 10.
One example on Hide the Cheese is the Trinidadian chickpea potato curry, which O' Herron typically serves with homemade roti. "Kids love any excuse to use their hands to eat!"
Catherine McCord of Weelicious encourages fostering affection for natural flavors, but knows enhancing such flavors is a key element when cooking with children. Giving children control over this process helps them get excited about different foods. One way to do this is allow them to season their own meals, she says in a March 31 interview. For a healthier option, stick with a no-salt enhancer like Spike.
Jennifer Carden, author of the Toddler Cafe [Chronicle Books, 2008], suggests having different sauces and spices at the table during mealtime. Be sure to explain what tastes like what to avoid surprises.
Finally, try a new flavor with each meal. Create a guessing game out of the different spices in your kitchen cabinet, Carden says in a March 7 interview. "Let them get to know how food feels, smells and tastes."
Play with Color
The new game to play in the world of cooking is to sneak in vegetables, hiding them in things like pancakes, desserts, sweets, etc. However, this doesn't foster a love for or relationship with vegetables. Parents can use vegetables' bright colors to their advantage when meal planning.
Visit a grocery store produce section and go on a color hunt, suggests Carden. Ask the children to find two items of a specific color, such as orange. It will make them 'hunt' for things like carrots and oranges or orange bell peppers and butternut squash. "It opens their eyes to see what produce is around them," she says.
Start by adding vegetable accents to a well-liked, familiar dish. For example, bits of purple cauliflower can enhance traditional macaroni-and-cheese, says McCord.
Parents may be surprised by the significant role color plays in what their children will eat. "We made a red lentil, acorn squash, and carrot dish the other night that I wasn't sure the kids would like, but they really enjoyed it," O'Herron says. "I think part of it was that the lentils and the squash were a beautiful yellow and the carrots popped out as bright orange dots on that yellow background."
Get Out the Blender
Juices and smoothies are another way to involve kids in kitchen activities while simultaneously giving them a healthy snack. Children can peel bananas and stuff them it into the blender. They can pour chopped or frozen fruits. Parents can get more nutritional mileage out of a smoothie as well by adding flax seed oil.
For the summer months, homemade popsicles -- a variation on the smoothie -- makes a yummy treat. McCord has a recipe that simply calls for coconut milk, pineapples, and a banana. "The ones at the grocery store are filled with sugar and artificial color so this is an easy, good alternative," she says.
Get Kids Involved
Different parents have different comfort levels when it comes to kitchen messes. Know what is likely to bring the stress level up and work from there.
In every recipe, there are non-messy steps. From pulling basil leaves off to pressing buttons on a food processor, children can get involved without destroying the kitchen. And, if there are no non-messy steps? Create one. Pour an inch of water in a bowl and ask Junior to whisk. Buy a wooden knife and have Little Sally pretend to cut vegetables. There are always ways to engage children, McCord says.
At the end of the day, it's important for parents to remember that to get kids to eat well is to think of food as a colorful, flavorful, fun activity. "It's about the dipping, seasoning, stirring, coating," says McCord. "Kids love to get involved."
Rosana Vollmerhausen - Rosana Vollmerhausen's decade-long writing career is comprised of reporting, writing and editing for daily newspapers, weekly industry ...
