This is a guest blog post by Alysa Bajenaru RD for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.
Do you cook with your kids? If not, you should give it a try! Not only is it a fun family activity, but research shows that cooking and eating as a family provides multiple health and educational benefits. Kids learn math skills, teamwork and communication skills while playing the part of soux chef. Children are also less likely to be obese and more likely to get better grades in school when they have regular family dinners.
Before you get started, here are a few tips:
Get them involved from an early age. Kids can start participating in the kitchen as soon as they start eating! If you have an infant, bring the highchair into the kitchen and interact with the baby while you prepare meals. Take advantage of the curiosity of toddlers by letting them smell and taste the ingredients as you add them to a dish. Let them play with safe kitchen utensils as they hang out with you in the kitchen. And if you have older children, it is never too late to start!
Let kids be involved in the grocery shopping. Kids are more likely to try something new if they are part of the process. Take the kids to the store with you and let them pick out different fruits and vegetables to try. Make it an adventure! If they pick out something that you have never tried before, come home and research recipes and cooking/storing tips together. Make it a fun learning experience for everyone.
Kids like to use their hands. Choose recipes where they get to touch and feel the ingredients. Make homemade pizza and let them punch the dough. Chop veggies up into small pieces and let the kids add their own toppings. I have learned from experience that my kids will add WAY more vegetables to their pizza or tostada if I chop them up into fun little colorful pieces.
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Alysa Bajenaru, Registered Dietitian