Cooking together is a rewarding family activity that has gone beyond the traditional paradigm of daughters at their mothers’ apron strings, and fortunately, is no longer limited to the females in the family. Some families have developed routines for cooking as a team, whether for daily dinner or for fun and relaxation, often with male partners and sons as equal participants.
Sometimes, the daily necessity of getting a meal on the table can feel like a lonely task when it is the domain of just one cook. When you involve your partner or children in the process of creating meals, you also create a perfect opportunity to pass down food customs and share culinary passions.
How to involve young children in meal prep
When little ones are in the picture, many harried parents feel that they need to somehow keep them busy and out from underfoot while they throw together a quick meal.
One mom I know, on the other hand, had her kids cook with her from the time they were young. When her son was very small, she got him a play stove and allowed him to “cook” using safe utensils. After her daughter came along and the kids got older, she gave them age-appropriate tasks to help prepare the meal.
She admitted that having her children cook with her made the process a little messier and lengthier, but they knew that she was completely present with them and they were fully invested in the meal
Even if you don’t cook meals with your family every day, sharing some cooking activities helps create memorable comfort food rituals. Baking is a perfect kitchen activity to share with kids, since the steps are relatively easy, and the results are delectable. This skill can be passed along to your children from a very early age and developed into a shared pastime.
Cooking with the participation of children is an instant spirit-lifter for all. It’s particularly successful with children between the ages of 4 and 8, when hand-eye coordination is excellent, and interest in cooking—and indeed doing projects with parents or caretakers—runs high. But cooking together with kids can start even earlier:
- Around the age of 3, children can pour measured ingredients into bowls, peel bananas, tear lettuce, open packages, sort ingredients, and place toppings on food.
- From ages 4 and up they can help grease pans, knead and shape dough, slice or soft foods like bananas, mash potatoes, attempt to measure accurately, wash fresh produce, and spread jam and peanut butter.
- At 5 and up, they show interest in grating and peeling. They’re good at flipping pancakes and mixing batter.
Cooking teaches children the spirit of cooperation, a little bit of math, and a smidgen of chemistry. Best of all is that it teaches them to appreciate the effort and artistry that goes into the preparation of food. It’s the creative aspect of cooking—the scents, the tactile sensations, the observation of change, the freedom to play with the food—that appeals to children. They don’t fret about the outcome; they truly enjoy the journey.
Here are some kid-friendly plant-based recipes that might appeal to young cooks.
Baking together
For Peggy, baking with her daughters, Katherine and Annie, has long been a shared passion that continues as the girls have become young women. At twenty, Katherine, her younger daughter, can hardly remember a time when she didn’t bake with her mother and older sister. All of seven years old when she attempted her first solo baking venture, the jelly roll cake she made for family breakfast was a complete success.
After Annie left for college, school breaks meant coming home and spending time in the kitchen with her mother and sister, especially for holiday and special occasion meals. Now, post-college and living on her own, many Saturdays still find Annie visiting home, continuing the tradition of baking and cooking as a trio.
Mornings are for baking something sweet yet healthful together, like banana bread or carrot cake. After the baking is done, the three decide what they want to make for dinner. Sometimes they pore over cookbooks, make lists, and shop for ingredients; other times, they shop first and improvise later. Either way, the entire process is pleasurable and relaxing.
Here’s a dairy-free, egg-free bread recipe that kids of all ages can enjoy making.
Passing along values from the kitchen to the table
To hear Amber tell it, the common bond of cooking something delicious and innovative that is suitable for the meatless diet enjoyed by her mother and sisters is surpassed only by how happy they are to be in the kitchen together.
The delectable dishes they make are shared with their father and their teenage brother, who, though not as completely in tune with the healthy food philosophy of the women in the family, are beginning to come around.
Whether making meals together, or cooking recreationally, lessons learned around the kitchen counter last a lifetime. And that includes passing along the values of compassionate meatless meals.
The Vegetarian Family Cookbook is a great resource for families that want to share meals. Most of the recipes include vegan options, making it a perfect way to explore going plant-based.
More resources for cooking together
A Bite Off Mama’s Plate: Mothers’ and Daughters’ Connections Through Food by Miriam Meyers portrays the kitchen as a feminine world of activity and communication.
Cooking Time Is Family Time: Cooking Together, Eating Together, and Spending Time Together by Lynn Fredericks is all about the art of cooking and eating together as a family.
Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Kids Ages 8 and Up by Mollie Katzen. Here’s one of the best books around for budding chefs who want to cook independently for their families.
The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David. This film producer’s mission is to help America’s overwhelmed families sit down to family dinner, and she provides all the reasons, recipes, and fun tools to help achieve that goal.
Dinner, a Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. A combination memoir, practical how-to guide, and cookbook, this book had many tips for strengthening family bonds by making the most of dinnertime.
Leave a Reply