Cooking with kids does not need to be a huge affair. It can be really simple.

It can be as gentle as cutting up cucumbers for the fruit and vegetable platter.

It can be stirring the corn fritter mixture.

It can be adding in the spinach into a smoothie.

Simple. Daily. Rhythms.

Touch points of the day.

We eat three to seventy meals a day. Jokes. Well some toddlers do.

My point being, that food is part of our daily life. We need to eat to live. We need to nourish and fuel ourselves. It is a skill and one even our youngest children should be part of.

Everyone is clumsy at new beginnings. Me included,, writing regular blog posts!

Let’s start with our kids in small, meaningful ways. So they can develop the skills needed to nourish and care for themselves. And in the future, their friends and families.

Apple donuts. You know it.

It’s all about a little prep work in advance. We have found that per child recipes, especially for little ones, work best. For many reasons.

What you need for ingredients:

 – 1/2 apple

 – 2 tbsp of ricotta (or dairy free topping)

 – 1 tbsp of sultanas

 – 1 tbsp pepita seeds

4 raspberries

Really, any toppings that fit with your dietary requirements. Think small, Think plant based. Think nutrient dense. This is a micro exposure to nutrient density and potential prebiotic hit.

What you need for equipment:

 As a group 

 – Chopping board

 – Sharp knife

– Decorer (kitchen shops and big supermarkets have these)

Per child:

A plate and a kid friendly knife or spoon.

You can see in this webinar picture that we have done another apple donut, but using a different “puncher” that was a flower/star shape, around the star of the apple. How beautiful!

I have a huge goal now at LPN, to share the knowledge and experience I have acquired working with food with children and families. I have had that many experiences of literally seeing research in action. The proof in the pudding, literally. Seeing the building blocks of trust acquired over countless interactions. First sniffs, first licks, first bites.

I cannot be there every day with your kids, at home or at school. You are the adults in their lives. The ones they have an intimate relationship with. And it is that trust and connection between you and them, that lends to outcomes. Not me. Or not some other person.

But I’d love to arm you with some different strategies and ideas, each month and season, to support you and your children (family and students) in a nurturing and exploratory way.

Our first webinar is this June. We’d love to see you there. And send you off with some actionable fun ways to explore food, together.