Pint Sized Chefs

One great way to help kids learn about food is to get them involved in planning a meal, shopping for ingredients, and preparing the meal.  While Big Brother is too small to use a knife or the stove, he can help with meal preparation in other ways.  For example, he puts silverware and napkins on the table and he washes vegetables and fruit.  Washing vegetables and fruit provides a low-pressure way for him to come into contact with food - food that if presented on his plate, he wouldn't be willing to touch.

I recently bought the book, C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street (Sesame Street that is).  Big Brother loves Elmo and Cookie Monster and he is very excited to have his very own cookbook.  I looked through the book prior to giving it to him to get an idea of which dishes he might like.  Then Big Brother and I looked through the book together and he chose several recipes he wanted to make.

Today we made Rosita's Honey Pear Crisp.  (The recipe contains cinnamon, a spice that he really likes, so we thought this would be a good recipe to try.)  Big Brother washed the pears.  He watched while I peeled the pears and we talked about how the outside skin is greenish-yellow and smooth, but the flesh is white and slippery.  He helped make the topping (he loves to stir), "paint" the lemon juice on the pears with a pastry brush, and sprinkle the topping over the cut pears in the baking dish. 

We ate the pear crisp after supper.  He enjoyed eating the crunchy "crisp" part of the dessert and explored the pear by poking it with his finger.  Baby Sister on the other hand, heartily ate the pear (she loves fruit), but left the crisp on her plate.  :)

Kid-Friendly Recipes
The following resources contain good kid-friendly recipes.




























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