The SmartSitting Guide to Cooking With Kids!
At our recent Spring meet-up, we made homemade edible cookie dough (inspired by our team’s recent trip to Cookie Do in the West Village!). But our babysitters and nannies love to cook nutritious snacks, too - especially with kids as their sous chefs!
Whether it's quick homemade snacks or sneaking veggies into delicious home-cooked meals, our SmartSitters have all kinds of culinary tricks up their sleeves. If your SmartSitter will be cooking or preparing meals or snacks for your little ones, be sure to include any specific needs your family may have. Our sitters can accommodate everything from dietary restrictions to healthy organic meals, and they are always glad to have kids as their assistants.
Check out our quick tips for cooking with kids!
It’s always helpful to lay some ground rules before starting a cooking project with kids. Make sure they know not to touch any hot surfaces or electric appliances, and to always wash their hands before touching food (or after sneaking tastes!).
Plan ahead a little when deciding what you'll prepare together. For younger kids, consider starting with simple dishes with fewer than five ingredients. That way your child won't have to wait while you tackle a complicated step.
Do some prep work in advance, such as rinsing the berries for muffins or measuring some ingredients in small bowls ahead of time, will make the process move more swiftly if you don’t have much time.
Start by clarifying which tasks are for grown-ups and which are for kids. Give your little sous chef the easy, safe, and fun jobs, while you take care of chopping, blending, and any complicated mixing and measuring.
A tossed salad or easy muffin recipe can be good starter projects. You also might set up a pizza-making assembly line where kids can choose their own mini-crusts, sauces, cheeses, and toppings.
If there's a lull in the action, you might consider giving your child a well-deserved break. Have a dance party to some of these food themed songs for kids and then wind down with some books while you wait for something to cook or cool.
Allow for some extra mess! We all know everything is messier with kids around, so building in some extra cleanup time will help minimize stress after the fun part is over.
If your kids are feeling creative, have them act out their own cooking show! Let them create their own chef personas and guide an imaginary audience through the recipes. If you happen to have some chef hats or aprons lying around, even better!
Last, but not least, be sure to compliment your assistant chefs on a job well done. Offer them first taste of whatever you cooked together — and ask what you should make together next time. Bon appetit!
