Do your kids know how to cook? It can be fun and educational for kids to help make delicious and nutritious food. Doing a little prep beforehand (or while the little ones are washing up) can make things run a lot smoother. Using pre-chopped veggies and baking mixes make it easy to have meals you can make with your kids without getting bogged down with knife skills or too much measuring. What should you make? Here are a few Simple & Quick suggestions!
Simple & Quick Breakfast
You might already make breakfast with your little ones on the weekends. But, wouldn't it be nice if the kids could actually make breakfast a little bit easier for you? Microwaved mug meals are the answer!
Make your own instant oatmeal mix (or buy them from the store) and it will be easy for kids to add water and mix-ins and microwave themselves. Berries, chocolate chips, and freeze dried fruit are all excellent additions.
You can even make a savory oatmeal using leftover veggies from dinner last night. Using unshelled egg mix and pre-chopped ingredients can make mug omelets easy for kids to put together. You can also make an easy French toast in a mug by tearing up a slice of bread, adding syrup, eggs, and milk, (you may want to mix up the custard beforehand) and microwaving until set.
Kid-Friendly Lunch
For lunch bento boxes can be really fun! Use cookie cutters to make fun shaped cheese and meat, and eat with crackers. Baby carrots and other fresh veggies are fun for kids to dip in ranch, hummus, or salsa. Watermelon is also great for cutting with cookie cutters, add some blueberries or grapes for variety.
You can even find egg molds and flags to make bento boxes extra special. These boxes can seem fussy for an adult to put together every night, but having your kids put it together turns making lunch into a game.
Dinners For Days
Who doesn't love pizza? You can make easy pizzas by using flour tortillas, pitas, naan, bagels, French bread, or even sandwich bread, bell peppers, or eggplant slices as the crust. Simply top with sauce, cheese, toppings and bake on at a high temperature. You will have customized personal pizzas in no time.
Encourage your kids to use as many colors as possible to ensure they eat a variety of veggies. Use the toppings take faces, rainbows, houses, or whatever your imagination wants to see on a pizza.
Snack Time!
Getting bored with the same old snacks? Mix things up with donut apples! Just core and slice apple into donut rounds. Add peanut butter, cookie butter, nutella, frosting, or yogurt and top with sprinkles, granola, or whatever your kids like. It will feel like a treat, but it will be full of fiber and vitamins.
Desserts are always fun to make with kids! Jazz up your cereal treats by topping them with sprinkles, chocolate chips, M&Ms, freeze dried fruit, nuts, or another favorite cereal.
There are many different types of meals you can make with your kids, and it’s fun to get the whole family involved in the process! Better yet, you can make it a weekly event - family cook dinner night. We guarantee your kids will better appreciate the effort that goes into preparing food and they’ll learn to cook while they’re at it!