Tiny Tot Tuesdays: Cooking With Kids!
Put those tots to work in the kitchen!
Cooking with kids…When my kids were toddlers it seemed like they would wait for me to get busy cooking and decide to get into e-ver-y-thing they could think of! Those classic moments of the little ones writing on the walls and covering themselves in Vaseline would happen in my home while I was in the kitchen.
Cooking was stressful with 2 toddlers because it was impossible for me to attend to preparing meals while watching their every move. Yeah I thought about strapping them in the high chairs until I was done (not that I didn’t do this some days) but they needed to move and explore. Plus, I needed them to move around because this momma needed them to be tired enough for naps and bed at night!
On the days I was too tired to break up their snatching sessions and wrestling matches while trying to cook, they sat and watched. One day I decided to include them. I figured at least they would be engaged and the meals would be done on time. From this, their love of cooking grew.
I started off with simple things like having them add ingredients to make smoothies and we worked our way up to making pizzas.
Fruit-water and smoothies!
I let them choose fruit at the grocery store for our delicious concoctions!
Sometimes one would have to take an important call during breakfast.
Cookies!
Baking cookies are a must! 
Fun Sandwiches!
It’s all about fun engagement. Sometimes their involvement is as simple as cutting their sandwiches into dinosaurs and other creatures.
Pizza time!
Mini pizzas are still their favorite!
Yes, there were times when food turned into play dough and the broom and mop were used too many times. After all, they are tots. They get better over time and now not only are making meals easier, you will have REAL help in the kitchen!
What started off as a desperate attempt to get some food on the table without the house burning down turned into irreplaceable quality time and the beginning of adopting healthy eating habits. Hopefully you can adapt one or more of these into your family time.❤️
