Getting kids into the kitchen…

I firmly believe there’s no better way to get your kids to eat well than to get them into the kitchen with you and make it fun- and it may not be hard to get your kids to eat but it can be hard to get them to eat healthy, so you need to make food fun!!

It’s all too easy to fall into complacency and convenience and open a frozen pizza for dinner when we’re rushing around after a busy work day and trying to get dinner together for the family, but what kind of example are we setting for our kids? When it comes right down to it, you can make pizza dough in the same time it takes to call in a delivery order. (we timed it- 3 minutes if everything’s laid out ready to go 😉 ).

We’ve made a pretty conscious effort around our house to make sure the kids get hands on with whole, real food, and try to keep the processed stuff to a bare minimum- partly so they learn to cook for themselves and primarily so they get accustomed to working with beautiful local fruits and vegetables from season to season- that’s the foundation we’re looking for, going back to whole foods; taking them to the farmers markets is a great way to get them used to understanding where their food comes from, and to learn to cook with whats available, when it’s available…

we do our breakfast smoothies with Village Farm’s Luscious Seedless Long English Cucumbers –

as grownups we know them to be a great hydrator for the kids, packed with vitamin B’s, anti-inflammatories and fiber, but they just think it tastes great, and looks cool getting smashed up in a blender…

who’d have imagined vegetables that are good for you would taste so good?

Long English Cuke Smoothie – recipe link

my son Tristan came up with this one, his take on “ants on a log” became “fish in a boat” lol

just a light tuna salad, on cucumber, topped with edamame beans

the Scrumptious Mini Cucumber makes for a nice substitute for the bread in the old tuna sandwich, and once again, if you let them make them themselves…

it makes for a great quick and easy lunchbox option, and gluten-free to boot…

Tuna Stuffed Mini Cucumber – recipe link

ultimately, I really think there’s no better way to get the kids interested in their food than to get them in there and get them hands-on;  they always love the food they create…

there tends to be a pretty competitive atmosphere in our kitchen –

that means there’s a lot of spur of the moment “Chopped” events in our house, but it always means everything gets eaten! It also means the kids are getting used to eating simple unprocessed foods from basic ingredients, which is a great thing to get accustomed to.

they’re usually just as interested in tasting each other’s stuff as their own, which is a win-win…

and tomato – mozzarella still holds out as a family favorite everytime… we make our own pizza sauce with the Heavenly Villagio Marzanos – it’s pretty awesome if I do say so myself… once again, the key is that it’s all made at home, no preservatives, added sugars, or unexpected ingredients.

recipe link for Pizzas & Sauce

if we’re teaching our kids how to male their own food from wholesome ingredients that they can cook with themselves, we’re not only encouraging their creativity and promoting their independence, but we’re also leading them down a path to cleaner diets and healthier lives…

buon appetito !!