Teamwork + Creative Ingredients = Fun in the Kitchen!

Our Creative & Fun Kitchen

Monday, spaghetti. Tuesday, chicken. Wednesday, Mac & cheese. Thursday, pork chops. Friday, eggs. Saturday, casserole. Sunday, leftovers. And repeat. Not in my house. I may not be a master chef, and as a mom of 4 kids under the age of 8, I'm pretty busy. I pride myself on feeding my kids healthy meals and having fun while doing so. Here's how we do it. If we're making tuna casserole that night, I announce to the kids "We're going under the sea tonight for dinner!" We all run into our rooms and pull on our bathing suits. I'll play Hawaiian music and put The Little Mermaid on in the background. My oldest will mix up the tuna, my two middle children will lay out the noodles and my youngest will dance around the kitchen to the music. It's easy and fun for all of us! We do zany adventures for any night - during pasta nights, my kitchen is transformed into a tiny Italian restaurant where my oldest chops up the veggies, my youngest throws the noodles against the wall to see if they're done. Your time in the kitchen doesn't have to feel like an inescapable prison sentence. Instead, it's whatever you make it out to be. Dress your kids in costumes, play some music and give them each a duty to fulfill. Before you know it, you've got a delicious dinner and a team that works great together. Now eat up - it's dinner time!

The Bean Cake

"Mom-MAY!" I looked at her post nap groggy eyes and halfheartedly agreed. "Okay honey let's go." I whisked her two year old frame down the stairs and plopped her in her "cooking chair." It was here she had cooked thousands of meals right alongside me for a very hungry daddy. I always let her pour this or stir that monitoring her so what we created would still be edible. Today was different. Today I had promised she could make her daddy a birthday cake. And so I rummaged through the cupboards and scanned my brain to find proper ingredients: flour water oatmeal chocolate chips and dry black beans. The latter was mixed in without my knowledge as I was making beans and rice for supper. She mixed poured stirred and yes made a mess. But most importantly I heard exclamations of "Look!" and "There perfect!" along with her humming while she worked. When Daddy came home and saw what she had made he took a bite. While it probably didn't taste as delicious as a chocolate cake the cook was beaming with pride. As were her proud parents. Without giving her the space to create she would have never felt the autonomy of success. Her own success. A successful confident child is exactly the kind of child I want to brighten the future.

Please note: The above entries were not chosen as winners for the Creative Kids in the Kitchen Contest.