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Helping Your Child Be Healthy and Fit - Cooking for children
Follow the Recipe!
One way to get children to eat healthful food, especially vegetables, is to involve them in the selection
and preparation of a recipe.What you'll need
A simple recipe
Paper and pencil to write a list
Tray
Utensils and other equipment with which to cook
What to do
- Choose a simple recipe to prepare.
- Write a shopping list from the recipe. Check the nutritional value of the ingredients by reading the nutrition label aloud with your child.
- Take the children to the market. The supermarket is the perfect place to introduce the older ones to label reading. For children over age 6, see who can find the products with the most sugars, fats, and salt. Explain that the first ingredient listed is what the food has the most of.
Then, hunt for alternative, healthier foods.
- Allow children to feel the weight and texture of vegetables. Handling hits and vegetables will help them learn how to distinguish between ripe, unripe, or spoiled produce.
- Have children help you put away groceries. Preschoolers enjoy washing fruits and vegetables, and you can explain the proper way to wash them to remove dirt and insecticides. Have them store fresh vegetables in the refrigerator, explaining this will help retain vitamins and help the
vegetables stay fresh longer. Have them store root vegetables (potatoes and onions) in a cool, dry place away from light.
- Place all the ingredients you will need for the recipe on a tray to make cooking more efficient.
- Keep tasks simple and within the child's abilities. Toddlers can stir an egg, mix ingredients, spread jams or peanut butter, or carry pots and pans. Older children love to measure dry ingredients and enjoy the challenge of pouring liquids without spilling.
Pediatricians recommend that parents should get more involved with their children. What better way than by making a game out of cooking, a necessary task but one in which everyone can be involved. Having your children participate in food selection can help you manage food choices for toddlers,
preschoolers, and elementary school children.
Oven-Fried Potatoes
NOTE: This activity requires parental supervision.
Here is a healthful recipe that you might want to try.
What you'll need
3 medium potatoes, peeled or unpeeled
2 tablespoons low calorie margarine, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Paprika
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
What to do
- Cut potatoes lengthwise into strips about 4" x 1/2" x 1/4"
- Arrange in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet.
- Pour margarine and oil over potatoes and toss to coat well.
- Sprinkle with paprika (young children enjoy doing this).
- Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Put on serving platter; sprinkle with cheese if desired.
Makes 6 servingsSafety tips in the kitchen
Children should not be left unsupervised when electrical appliances, flame, or heat are involved.Be extra careful with moving equipment, such as rotary blades of a mixer, food processor, blender, or hand mixer. Knives, scissors, and the like are best for older children. Remind children that handles of utensils on a stove top should be turned inward. Stirring spoons (especially metal ones) should have long handles and be kept away from the heat. Keep an eye on children near stoves, no matter what age and keep small children away from heat of any kind.
Sticks & Stones Snack
Here is a snack that your children will have fun making and enjoy eating while getting needed nutrients.
What you'll need
4 cups of cereal (Kix or some type of low sugar cereal)
2 cups of pretzel sticks
2 cups of raisins
Mixing bowl
What to do
- Mix the cereal, pretzel sticks, and raisins in a mixing bowl.
- Eat as a "between meal" snack. Makes about 8 cups.
This recipe was adapted from Kid's Recipe Magic, 1990, General Mills, Minneapolis, Minnesota, p. 15.
The food guide pyramid shows that children need about 9 servings a day from the bread and cereal
group and 3 servings of fruits. This snack can help meet these nutritional requirements.
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