Cooking with kids can be: chaotic, stressful, and fun! Check out these tips for working with your child (either toddler or older), guiding them gain skills in the kitchen, and recipes you can supervise for Thanksgiving meal planning! SRMC Thanksgiving with Kids Recipes.pdf
TIPS
Choose small, bite-sized tasks
Helping out during meal prep is a great opportunity to practice things that they love to do: scooping, counting, mixing, getting a little messy, being silly, and cutting into the tiniest little pieces. Don't sweat the small stuff, it will get messy, it will be chaotic, but it will be done together!
Use age-appropriate tools
We use child-sized wooden knives and cutting boards, especially when they were little (toddler, preschooler), and now graduating to less-sharp real knives with focused supervision by an adult for older ages (kindergartener and up). My kids love cutting up different fruits, vegetables and cheeses (remember: the tiniest little pieces!). Toddler-appropriate plastic knives also work, and some examples of wooden knives for toddlers and up on Etsy here here and here.
Make it a dance party!
Put on a fun play list, maybe even themed, and have some fun! It might be 10 minutes or an hour (which we sometimes, mostly, don't have) - these dance parties are the pictures that I look back on and smile! Build your own, or find on a streaming service. I use these playlists through a kids cooking subscription box (the playlists are free on Spotify), but who's to say I don't put on some Whitney Houston, The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper (oops, am I aging myself?) to shake it up!
Find recipes that work for you, modify so kids can cook too
Check out the recipes below that are modified so kids can help in some or all of the process - modify for your needs and tastebuds!
RECIPES
A collection of recipes just in time for Thanksgiving meal planning: a Turkey Cheeseball (made out of cream cheese, veggies, and crackers or nuts), Jam-Filled Hand Pies (store-bought or homemade options, can pivot to savory too), and Mashed Butternut Squash (fun to mash! either plain or turn into a caramelized casserole). See the printable recipes (pdf), below.
SRMC Thanksgiving with Kids Recipes.pdf
Notes for kid involvement:
For the cheeseballs, kids can take turns mixing up the ingredients, smashing the crackers, older kids can cut up the veggies, and all of them can roll the balls around. Give each kid a ball and see what creations they make!
For the hand pies, use store-bought ingredients or make your own (pie crust, jams or fillings). Even younger kids can roll out pie dough (with a little added effort on your end), and they love using a pizza rolling cutter to cut into the necessary strips. Be sure to crimp the sides closed all around and add in those air vents, either way, they'll be delicious!
For the mashed butternut squash, adults please cut the squash, but kids can scoop and mash and add ingredients to mix around. Add or change seasonings to your taste, and the optional step to melt some cheese or caramelize gives it just a little bit more...more!
Enjoy, have fun...and be sure to always supervise!
