The Educational Benefits of Cooking with Kids

Kids love to spend time in the kitchen. For them cooking is as exciting as playing with toys or spending time in the garden.

Cooking with children is a great way of bonding with them. While doing so, you are also teaching them some important skills like counting, understanding time and fractions and understanding hygiene rules. Stirring, mixing, rolling out dough, sprinkling and cracking eggs; are all activities that aid in refining the fine motor skills of a child.
Festivals are occasions for spending special moments with your family so why not try out some Easter cooking with kids and Christmas cooking with kids. Christmas cakes, cookies, jellies, pancakes, pizzas and salads; are wonderful items to be cooked with kids

Here are a few recipes that are great for having fun while cooking with kids.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiled pasta of your choice
• 2 spring onions
• 1 capsicum
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 cup cheese
• 1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1/4 cup boiled peas
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss in the salad and vegetables and the cooked pasta and add lemon juice, sugar, cheese and salt and pepper. Mix well and your tasty macaroni salad is ready which your kid is sure to enjoy.

Pancakes in Maple Sauce

• 125g of plain flour
  big pinch of salt
  2 eggs
  200ml  milk
  90ml water
  60g butter
  maple syrup

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Then make a well in the centre of the flour. Break the eggs into the well. Whisk the eggs and flour together. Next mix together the water and milk in a separate bowl or jug. Add the liquid to the flour, a little at a time, whisking to make a smooth batter. Next in a frying pan, add some butter. Pour two tablespoons of batter on the pan for making 2 pancakes each. Cook the pancake for about one minute and turn it over. Cook the second side also for about thirty seconds. Repeat till you finish the batter.

Serve pancakes with maple syrup. You may also add some fresh fruits and roll the pancakes to eat as wraps.

If your child is a fussy eater, then there is no better way of teaching him or her than getting involved in cooking. Besides, learning to cook would make the child more independent and self reliant. Teach your kids the rules of hygiene, to put back the utensils and ingredients after cooking; educate them about the dangers in the kitchen and they are sure to remember them lifelong.