Tips from Barbara Beery

How to Have the Little Cooks in the Kitchen in Time for Turkey Day

• If you want to get your kids hands on in the meal you are making, the first thing to do is get organized. Get the kids to help clean up the work area, get out all the pots, bowls, and utensils you’ll need to make the recipe and even measure out things that you’ll need. 1 cup of flour? Here it is and set it aside. That way to can stay focused on the task at hand and you’re teaching your kids how to get started off on the right foot.

• Another way to get kids excited is by dividing up the tasks involved in making a recipe. As much as you can, get everyone involved. Have the little ones set the table, or help stir contents in a bowl. Have some kid safe knives or spoons around so it’s easier for little hands. You don’t have to have these things but they make things easier and more fun.

• Or you can even have them play with some pretend food like these items that come with one of the play kitchens – they’ll make kids feel like they are helping right along.

• And be patient; remember it’s the journey not the destination. Dumplings are a great Thanksgiving treat that are a really easy and fun food for kids to make too—they are magic-like in the way they cook in the chicken stock as they turn from mush into a fluffy delicious bite of heaven!!

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!