 SOUS CHEF: Little ones can help in the kitchen too. Just assign age-appropriate tasks, experts suggest.
Whether you have toddlers or teens, meal preparation can be a shared enterprise. The upshot: a delicious, nutritious meal and some unforgettable memories.
It might even become a treasured tradition, especially if you choose easy entrées or family favourites passed down from grandparents. You can discuss the recipe’s origin and why you think it’s important to continue the custom.
You might even modify a recipe or two and develop your own 21st century favourite, or collect recipes from friends and relatives and try something tried and true but new to you.
And don’t forget the nutritional value of each dish you prepare. Kids who help prepare meals on a regular basis are more likely to develop healthy eating habits and retain those habits into adulthood.
“We certainly know that the more they can apply what they are learning, the more likely they will have behaviour change,” explains Lucy Valleau, registered dietitian with York Region Community and Health Services. “So if they’re learning about Canada’s Food Guide in the classroom, which more than likely they are, and they can put that education to use and are able to apply practical skills by cooking, the more likely they’ll change their behaviour.”
And as they cook, kids can learn lot — math, science, geography and language.
They’ll read recipes and labels; select nutritious ingredients, read and spell each item’s name and its scientific equivalent; count, sort, measure and work with fractions; and hypothesize and estimate; and discover where specific ethnic dishes originated.
Toddlers and preschoolers can also be included in your kitchen clique. Young children love to help or do things they see their older brothers and sisters doing. Keep the activities age appropriate, and little ones will feel proud of their accomplishments.
“Your 3- or 4-year-old can measure in plastic measuring cups, tear lettuce, arrange a fruit tray, wash the lettuce,” Valleau says. “Six- to 9-year-olds can begin to use the microwave and the toaster, and even cut with a bit of supervision.”
Even your seemingly apathetic teen might enjoy cooking if it’s a family affair.
“The more you can get them involved in cooking, I think that’s really key to them starting to enjoy healthy eating,” Valleau says. “The more they can apply what they are learning, the more likely they’ll end up eating it.”
Preparation can include a variety of activities: developing shopping lists and modifying recipes, searching cookbooks for new dishes, planning balanced meals or setting the table. Ultimately, mealtime stress will be replaced with anticipation and pleasure.
Valleau says York Region has identified four major concerns around children’s eating habits and has introduced cooking classes to help modify those habits.
Those key concerns are: a low intake of fruit, vegetable and milk products; a high intake of unhealthy choices (soft drinks, high fat and high sugar snack foods); too much saturated fat and too little calcium and folate (a B vitamin, more commonly known as folic acid); and skipping breakfast.
“We know that about 62 percent of girls and 68 percent of boys between 9 and 13 years of age do not meet their recommended number of vegetables and fruit, and one-third of Ontario students in grades 4 to 8 drink soft drinks on a daily basis,” she says. “We also know about 27 percent of calories consumed by young people for snacks are high in calories, fat, salt and sugar.”
For more information on nutrition, recipes or cooking with kids, visit <a href="http://www.york.ca/Services" target="_blank">www.york.ca/Services</a> or <a href="http://www.Ontario.ca/EatRight" target="_blank">www.Ontario.ca/EatRight</a>.
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