It took a few years, but my kids have finally discovered that the more they help me out in the kitchen, the faster dinner gets on the table! Preparing and eating meals together provides me with the opportunity to teach them about healthy eating habits, the importance of food safety, and best of all, we’re spending quality time together as a family!
Everyone can help with dinner prep!
- Go shopping together. Maura likes to pick out a new fruit or veggie every week. Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes it’s not, but either way, I love that she’s so open to trying new things.
- Put groceries away. This boring task becomes bearable (and so much faster) when we do it as a family!
- Retrieve ingredients from the fridge and pantry. Maura loves doing this – it’s like a scavenger hunt!
- Wash fruits and veggies. Have kids use the salad spinner! Clean beans and lentils. Scrub potatoes! I bought this adorable scrub brush and now my kids actually request to scrub the veggies!
- Prepare vegetables. Kids can shuck corn, tear greens, break cauliflower and broccoli into pieces, de-seed bell peppers and squash, peel potatoes, and cut veggies with a plastic knife.
- Cut herbs from the garden. A little basil, rosemary, and parsley add so much flavor to a meal and are fun to pick!
- Open cans with the electric can opener. This took some practice, but Maya has got it down!
- Juice lemons and limes. While the girls don’t have the arm strength to squeeze them, they’re great at using the electric juicer!
- Grease baking dishes. I give Maura a little pastry brush and she ‘paints’ dishes with oil.
- Peel hard-boiled eggs. I honestly loathe peeling hard-boiled eggs, but my kids love it! It’s a time-consuming task that they’re happy to help out with.
- Set the table. This is a given! Kids as young as 2 years old can help set the table with napkins, spoons and forks, and unbreakable dishes.
Time to cook! This is when the magic happens! My kids have learned so much about math, science, and reading by joining me in continue reading
