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Kid-Friendly Dishes That'll Help Your Charge Discover the Kitchen

Kid-Friendly Dishes That'll Help Your Charge Discover the Kitchen

Helping a child become an adventurous eater doesn’t only depend on how much you coax them to eat their food. Spending time in the kitchen and learning how to prepare food helps children appreciate and connect to different types of food, including fruits and vegetables.  

As a nanny, it is vital to provide your charge with rich sensory experience. Allowing them to touch, taste, feel, and smell the ingredients helps them learn valuable cooking skills that they can use as they grow up. 

 

What are the benefits of teaching your charges about how to prepare meals? 

Cooking allows kids to develop many essential skills such as reading, following directions and measuring. It also helps develop fine motor skills and introduce math and science. Here are four benefits of letting your charge discover the kitchen.  

  • Positive association with food. Hesitant eaters tend to shy away from unfamiliar food that may seem intimidating. Allowing your charges to explore food using other senses besides taste can help build a positive association with food. Kneading dough or carving a squash creates an exciting learning experience that could lessen their fear in trying out new dishes.
  • Introducing Math and Science. Cooking offers nannies a dozen ways to teach their charges new lessons. Having young kids navigate recipes introduces them to concepts such as measurements and fractions. Explaining how different temperatures affect food and its cooking process provide science lessons.  
  • Celebrating culture and traditions. Preparing meals is an opportunity for caregivers to teach their charges to celebrate their cultural heritage and traditions. Reading and following recipes can also help children buy into leading a healthy lifestyle. 
  • Keeping it safe. Preparing meals teaches kids the importance of staying safe in the kitchen. Nannies and governesses are encouraged to show charges the proper way of holding kitchen tools and equipment. 

 

What are kid-friendly dishes that young charges can cook?

Selecting dishes that children can cook should depend on a number of factors, including the meal’s health benefits and the charge’s age. We selected five easy recipes that kids of all ages will love to prepare and eat. 

 

Doughnut Apples

This low-calorie snack doesn’t taste like a doughnut, but offers a lot of health benefits for young charges. Adults are advised to core, peel, and slice the apples. Children can put cream cheese spread on top and cover the healthy doughnuts with sprinkles and other toppings. 

This recipe requires cream cheese, honey, and melted chocolate. However, nannies can also use peanut butter or caramel as other options for natural sweeteners. 

 

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies are almost impossible to mess up. They are also gluten-free and irresistible. Your charges can add a variety of ingredients such as chocolate chips, nuts, and marshmallows to this snack. 

While it may be easy to dump the oats right away, it is recommended to add them one cup at a time. This ensures the cookies aren’t too soft or too hard. 

 

French Bread Pizza

Layering sauce, cheese, and toppings are the best bits about making pizza! This recipe only requires nannies to supervise or take over slicing the bread. 

Creating pizza using french bread not only gives caregivers fewer things to clean, but it also provides the perfect opportunity to introduce a wide variety of ingredients, such as cherry tomatoes, shredded chicken, different cheeses, and pesto sauce.

 

Homemade Bread

Nothing smells better than freshly baked bread, and both younger and older children find kneading and preparing the dough fun. Making bread gives nannies the chance to teach their charges the importance of measuring their ingredients accurately and the best ways to do it. 

Allowing the children to take turns kneading the dough can work out both their bodies and their patience as they wait for their turn to roll the dough.

 

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Looking for recipes for picky eaters? Click here to see our list kid-friendly nutritious dishes!

 

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