Our seven year old daughter is metamorphosing into a regular ole”foodie.”
I’ve walked into our room three different times this week and she has been engrossed in the Food Network. I guess if your child sneaks TV without permission, at least it’s done with a great choice.
She’s been hooked on this new show called, The Worst Cook in America, and is determined she will out cook all of the contestants.
Giving your child free reign in the kitchen has immeasurable benefits that will come to fruition over and over again throughout the years. Yet, by giving your children the freedom to really learn to cook, prepare yourself for added patience. Cooking with kids will go hand in hand with a few pitfalls.
Yesterday, we met one of those patience builder moments. Mess!
You wouldn’t believe how far finely chopped carrots can fly when flipped at full force. That’s when I take a deep breath, realize it’s all part of the beautiful, messy, love being in the kitchen with my kids process, and enjoy every minute of her foodie excitement while it lasts.
Remind me of that the next time the onions, potatoes or carrots fly, ok? 🙂
So what delicious things are you cooking up today for Tasty Tuesday?
Simple Rules for Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods – If you’re joining in with a recipe link, two simple requests. As always, please link directly to your recipe post and not your blog URL, so that everyone can find the recipe months from now.
Also, please link back to my site so that everyone can join in the fun. I don’t ask much in order to participate, but many of you are not linking back, and it’s just common courtesy of blog carnivals.
I can SO relate!!! My 10-year-old daughter has become quite the foodie as well…she’s always loved to be in the kitchen, but just this week has decided she’ll be doing more of the cooking – which of course, means more messes. I just try to take a deep breath and laugh, reminding myself that everytime she makes a mistake or mess, she is learning a valuable skill that she’ll use for the rest of her life.
As a bonus, since she’s been “cooking” more, she’s realized how it feels to work hard at cooking something only to have the pickiest eater in our house (my hubby) not “care for it.” And, since she now knows the work that’s involved in preparing a meal, she’s now a little more open to trying different things I make. And, that makes it all worth it! 🙂
Messes are part of cooking with kids, but we still need to do it. Thank you for the reminder! Our most recent kids in the kitchen mess involved melted chocolate.
My six year old likes to watch the Sunday PBS food shows. Our kitchen is destined for messes.
Oh and I’m not blogging a recipe but I am onto these Black Bean Burgers…
2 cups black beans, mashed
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 c. onions and 1 clove garlic, diced and sauteed in olive oil
2 T. Flour (or breadcrumbs)
Salt to taste
Mix together, form into patties, and sear in olive oil sprayed pan, 4 min. each side.
Serve with diced avocado and salsa. Yum!
That is an adorable picture!
My girls are taking over the kitchen for a month while I am on crutches so I am sure it will be an interesting ride. They are 14 and 12 and have had experience in the kitchen but this will be different. A learning experience for us all!
Your post made me smile and really brought back memories. My son and I had so much fun cooking when he was little. He is 18 now and we still cook together from time to time. He also loves to cook on his own and develops some great recipes but I must admit that when he does, it is still me who does most of the cleaning up!
I too have a foodie in my household – I can relate:)
I need to remember to bring my 5 year old into the kitchen with me. Too often I am in too much of a hurry to get dinner on the table and I’m missing out on those teaching moments.
thanks for the link-up.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of time spent “experimenting”in the kitchen with my mom. Despite the messes it is time well spent! Thanks for hosting, hope you have a beautiful week!
We love Worst Cooks in America as well! Just watching those adults who don’t have a clue how to get food on a plate is sad. Where were their mothers? Each of my kids – even my boys – is responsible for an evening meal once a week. They need to know enough to survive on their own. I have one daughter who loves it and has plans for culinary school in a year. I have another daughter who tolerates it and leaves the kitchen looking like a bomb exploded. sigh. Yes – it would be easier and cleaner to just do the cooking myself – but it wouldn’t be better.
I love that picture and I SO relate!
My dogs love carrots. I think I’d let them clean up the mess then mop the floor to get up the dog slobber. 🙂 I’m linking up nutty apricot balls which are a simple and tasty treat.
Oh! Your poor little sweetie with her little “sorry” sign! Was she sad about it?? 🙂
The worst cook is definitely one who doesn’t let her children cook. There is no better way to learn than by just doing it. Mess is normal and cleaning it is a good lesson. I’m a professional chef and it would be really easy to prepare everything at home, but I want my kids to grow up eating well and enjoying food preparation, so they are always encouraged in my kitchen. I may have never learned to cook if I had never been allowed to make lots of culinary mistakes and triumphs.
I am glad to hear that you give your daughter the freedom to experiment on her own. But I wanted to encourage you to continue with ‘together’ times. Working side by side, accomplishing together, is where the most wondrous of memories as well as the better skills come from. Sometimes, she will be your assistant chef. But other times, you should be hers. And don’t be too quick to correct her when she’s the head chef. She’ll be more willing to ask for in-put that way ;-).
Jen, you’re a great mom! Your 7-year-old would get along famously with my 8-year-old daughter. Please bring her over to play sometime. Seriously. 🙂
I try not to be in the kitchen when my daughter cooks. I think it is best not to know what is going on in there. 🙂
My 4 year old is a “foodie”. She will wake up and first thing she asks is if she can watch the Food Network! She started being interested in cooking several months ago. So for Christmas I got her a lot of her very own cooking utensils. She opened a box and saw a whisk and she yells “A whisker! I have my very own whisker!” She even talks about having her very own cooking show when she grows up! Kids are adorable!
Hi Jen, I am giggling at your daughter! I have one who is a “foodie” and the other who is a “cookie” the foodie likes to eat and the cookie likes to cook so together, they balance each other out. Cookie just made foodie some fried eggs! It does get better as they get older because they start to clean up after themselves! This week I am linking a lovely pork tenderloin recipe that my sister eavesdropped from her butcher! All the best! Alex
Your poor daughter! Look how finely she had chopped the carrots. And then suddenly all her beautiful work was on the floor.
I try to cook with my 3-year-old, and absolutely the hardest part for me is to be patient with the mess and waste inherent with sharing the space with a little learner. Sooo worth it, though, when I chill out and enjoy. Hope you have many more fun adventures with your adorable cook!
Look at it this way; She is not sneaking TV, she is self educating and you can count it as home-ec!