Looking to raise a junior master chef? Studies show that kids who take an interest in food preparation tend to be less fussy about eating and grow up with healthier eating habits. Make a few small adjustments to incorporate your kids into your kitchen routine—we’ll show you how! Check out these tips for getting your kid interested in food, health, nutrition and cooking:
Raise a Junior Master Chef
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Expand His Palette
Don’t fall into the trap of having your child eat only off the kids menu. Introduce him to your favorite foods and flavors from the start. Offer a variety of foods for your child to avoid falling into a culinary ditch filled with chicken fingers and bright orange mac-n-cheese.
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Take Her Grocery Shopping
Use your trips to the grocery store as an opportunity to talk about the food groups and how to make healthy food choices. Read food labels out loud to your child and have her see you selecting the nutritious options. Remember that healthy habits start with you—if you want to raise a child who makes good choices, you need to make good choices.
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Get Him Involved in Menu Planning
Give him a voice when it comes to choosing what foods you’re going to eat and when. Assign him the task of veggie picker and let him plan which vegetable to serve as a side dish each night of the week.
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Assign Her Kitchen Tasks
Whether it’s setting the table or mixing up dry ingredients, give her age-appropriate tasks to do in the kitchen. Being involved with the meal preparation gives her ownership of it, and she’s more likely to eat what she’s had a hand in preparing.
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Let Him Try New Food Combinations
So what if dipping apple slices in hummus sounds gross? Let him experiment with the little things and he’ll gain confidence to experiment with the big ones. Some of the best culinary creations come from the most unusual flavor combinations.
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Instill a Love of Cooking
If you want your child to love cooking, make it accessible to her. Allow her to play with pots and pans in the kitchen and buy her a set of safe culinary tools and toy food for pretend play.
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Start Your Own Garden
Teach your child how food gets to the table. Clear out a space in your backyard and start growing tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini and other produce. If that’s too big of a task remember it only takes a windowsill, a small pot, some dirt and some seeds or seedlings to grow your own herbs.
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Teach Her the Basics
Help her develop good habits from the get go. Teach her the importance of washing her hands, her surfaces, and her produce. Show her how to slice butter with a dull knife, properly measure liquid ingredients and the difference between sliced and chopped veggies.
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Serve Whole Foods
Instead of grabbing prepackaged and prepared snacks, offer up fresh fruits and veggies. Skip the gallon of orange juice and show him how to squeeze his own. Whole foods are the basis of every great culinary creation.
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Visit the Local Farm Stand
Top chefs swear by local sourced ingredients and it’s never too soon to teach your budding chef their secrets. Visit the local farmer’s markets and farm stands and purchase fresh produce and locally raised organic fish and poultry. Talk to the local farmers and introduce your child to them so your kid knows who is raising and growing his food.
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Expose Him to Other Junior Master Chefs
Watch the upcoming series MasterChef Junior with your kids to get them excited about cooking. In this new show, budding chefs between the ages of 8 and 13 showcase their culinary talents and compete in challenges and cook-offs to become a MasterChef Junior. After watching, your kids will want to take over your kitchen!
