Cooking at home with our children is one of the many joys in life. It doesn't always go according to plan but it is always fun, so pull up a chair grab your brew and let us show you what we have been getting up to.
With a slight change in format, Erin and Bradley dropped by to give us a lesson in how to make tuna pasta.
Literally the only thing they can all agree they like
Today in our kitchen we are trialing chocolate pots and toppings, Aubrey kindly offered to taste test after a hard day at baby ballet.
I'm not sure we ever found out which one was her favourite.
Today we are making, COOKIES!!!!
Aubrey's favourite treat! We had to double the batch to make sure we had some to show at the end.
Aubrey and her dad recreating their favourite takeaway meal, pizza!
Llama had to take the day off after getting absolutely llama-nated last night, he's sat in his llamaghini listening to llama-Del Ray.
Another episode from our youngest chef, Aubrey.
Aubrey and Llama making banana sushi another great way of getting fruit into our kids.
This latest episode comes from our youngest chef, Aubrey.
Aubrey making apple pie a great way of getting fruit into our kids.
Llama is back and is doing his happy dance!
This latest episode comes from our youngest chef, Aubrey.
Aubrey helping to bake the latest batch of our famous sticky toffee pudding.
Watch out for the first appearance of Llama!
Our next episode comes from Aubrey cooking with her dad.
Aubrey helping to cook up a storm with a vegetarian sunday roast.
A firm family family favourite!
Our next episode comes from Paul, Osian and Nia in the Terzo household.
Making chocolate brownies for a friend recovering from a major surgery.
They look Amazing!!
Our first episode comes from Jay and his daughter Aubrey. Around the time we first went in to lockdown.
Jay filming himself and Aubrey making the cake for her second birthday is the inspiration for this page.
A perfect introduction to what this page is about!
In todays world ‘cooking dinner’ often means throwing a pizza into the oven, or popping a ready-made curry in the microwave. Whilst involving kids in the cooking of every meal is great in theory, it just simply isn’t practical.
It can be very difficult to find the time to prepare a full meal at the best of times with work, school, and after-school activities making it almost impossible to do every night. But we set a side 3-4 times a month where we make the time and get our kids involved with preparing something for us all to share.
The notion that ‘cooking from scratch’ requires the use of solely fresh ingredients 100% of the time is equally ridiculous. We have a saying in our kitchen “work smart, not hard”. We use fresh ingredients where possible and convenience food to save time.
When preparing meals with children and adults; How to cook is equally as important as what to cook. For instance if we are making a puff pastry pie, we would make the filling but buy the pastry, because seriously who has time to make puff pastry? Is it really going to be that much better than shop bought? I would beg to differ!
It is our responsibility to our children to prepare them for their future. Fewer and fewer schools are offering life skills and home economics classes. Many of the kitchen skills that were taught at school are assumed to be taught at home.
Nutrition is something that many schools don’t teach until children are in primary or secondary school. Cooking with your children helps teach them how to eat healthly and make informed choices about the food that they eat.
Teaching them about the food they are eating and where it comes from is vital for their understanding of how our world works and their social responsibilities, such as animal welfare, seasonal local produce and the economy, also ethical and sustainably-sourced ingredients.
Very young children won’t be able to cut and cook ingredients, but they can help select food from supermarket shelves, set the table, measure out ingredients, tear up lettuce for salads, and be taste testers too! By involving your children in an important part of the day, you help build confidence and self-worth. Forming and reinforcing family bonds and providing a connection with them that will last forever.
Cooking with younger family members provides far more valuable lessons than merely the practical side of how or what to eat. It teaches higher functions like problem solving; including converting recipes, making substitutes if you’re missing ingredients, and flexibility. Depending on your child’s age, they might even be able to apply the maths or science lessons learned at school.
Involving them in the planning of the their meals also allows them to develop planning and organisation skills, as this encourages them to think ahead and be prepared by setting out a weekly menu and grocery lists.
Teaching cleanliness and appreciation, children learn that the meal that they sit down to doesn’t appear out of mid-air. Their food comes from somewhere, and involving them from shopping to the finished product will help demonstrate that hard work goes into every meal they enjoy.
Click here for Hayley's short guide to cooking with children
Click here for Hayley's short guide to cooking with children
Obviously having children in the kitchen can be hazardous and there are risks and dangers with cooking at home so use the button below for some food hygiene guidance and some handy health and safety tips!