Last week, I invited y’all into my home as I shared a very special cooking session with my favourite little 6-year old. Reid and I made a flavourful Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole that the whole family loved! And, the most important thing is that we made it together – from reading the recipe to preparing the ingredients, Reid was a fixture in the kitchen.
Teaching children to cook is an essential life skill, and if you’re looking for inspiration, Ben’s Beginners activities and recipes are a great place to get started. You’ll find interactive activities that teach basic cooking skills like peeling and stirring, as well as easy and delicious recipes for kids and parents to cook together.
This past weekend, look what we made! Turkey Meatballs & Rice!
While Reid is an enthusiastic sous chef, his older brother, Ryder, is more reluctant to help out. He’s at that “awesome” age where things just aren’t cool enough for him. Plus, he has very specific, healthy preferences that aren’t a bad thing – not by any means – but we normally have to alter recipes to suit his tastes. Thankfully, the Ben’s Beginners recipes allow for simple customization, and in our case, we used ground turkey in place of ground beef, and opted for Uncle Ben’s 100% Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice. …
However, I know that this isn’t the norm; many parents aren’t teaching cooking skills because they lack the confidence to do so. In fact, less than half of Canadian parents feel highly skilled at creating a balanced meal, and even have trouble with the most common kitchen tasks, like seasoning, chopping and pan frying. At the same time, 98% of Canadian parents think it is important to cook with their children.