DooF » cooking with kids

Recipe for Cooking with Toddlers

Michelle Stern — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:32:15 +0000

I love when people ask me for tips about cooking with their kids. Sometimes I feel really qualified to answer. Other times, not so much. But I got excited when someone on Twitter asked me for tips on how to make cooking with her 2 year old less frustrating…

Ingredients:

1 gallon Patience
1 pinch Expectations
Several squirts of Hand Soap
2 dozen kitchen towels or rags?(and maybe a mop)
1 set measuring cups
1 set measuring spoons
1 wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Some inexpensive ingredients, such as water, dry rice, beans or oatmeal?(Or try something that is safe for your dog to lick from the floor)
1 large mixing bowl with a non-skid bottom*

A Few Suggestions:

If you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, maybe you should reconsider this activity. Have a glass of wine and a good night’s sleep – and try again tomorrow.
If you are new to cooking with your toddler, I would recommend that you start by practicing a few techniques before actually trying to prepare some real food.
Set up all of your tools and ingredients in advance, so that your young chef doesn’t have to use up her entire attention span waiting for you to get ready.

Continue reading at the What’s Cooking Blog: http://whatscookingblog.com/2010/02/05/recipe-for-cooking-with-toddlers/

Michelle Stern, DooF’s Community Outreach Director, owns What’s Cooking, a certified green company that offers cooking classes for children in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she isn’t in the kitchen or at the computer, she’s the head chauffeur for her two children, dog walker to her two mutts, and chicken feeder for her backyard flock.

Cooking With Kids for Community Service

Michelle Stern — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:05:49 +0000

On the surface, cooking with kids and community service might seem like they have nothing in common. But if you just take a moment to consider it, they share several characteristics. Both require a serving of cooperation, a dash of patience and a pinch of creativity. Think it might not be worth the effort? Close your eyes and recall the expression on your child’s face when you praised her cooking or his participation in the kitchen. Now, imagine her sharing the fruits of her labor with a hungry child, or selling his treats at a bake sale…and then donating the proceeds to a cause he cares about.

Continue reading to learn about some of my favorite organizations that encourage children to use cooking as a vehicle to help the needy.

Michelle Stern, DooF’s Community Outreach Director, owns What’s Cooking, a certified green company that offers cooking classes for children in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she isn’t in the kitchen or at the computer, she’s the head chauffeur for her two children, dog walker to her two mutts, and chicken feeder for her backyard flock.

Animal Themed Recipes

Michelle Stern — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:04:13 +0000

I’m usually not one to make cutesy recipes. I’m just not that creative. Plus I am optimistic (dumb?) enough to expect that kids might eat food that simply tastes good. Yes, I have heard that people eat with their eyes first. That doesn’t mean that I make ugly food (at least not on purpose). I just don’t usually put in an extra effort to make it adorable.

Making Cat Treats

That said, kids do appreciate a little extra effort in the food department. Whether I give it a cool name or tell a story about where it comes from, kids seem to be more interested in giving it a try.

In my cooking classes for kids, I have fun themes for our classes. We have eaten our way around the world, have cooked recipes from our favorite books and movies, and this fall we have a zoo in the kitchen…in name only, of course. My kids, in particular, love animals. Instead of taking ordinary foods and making them into animal shapes, I decided to give slight changes to the names of food, so that they have animal-themed names instead.

Continue reading for some ideas of how to re-name the foods that you are already making, so that your kids get excited to consume them!