Posted on July 07, 2010 by Kate Lepage

I was a professional chef for many years & I love to cook even more now that I’m a SAHM.   I spend a lot of time in the kitchen so my daughters do as well.  They do a lot of pretend cooking, but they really love it when they can help me cook.  I find that they will eat just about anything if they helped to make it.  There are so many easy dishes that they can have a part in.  I give them veggie scraps to cut with their plastic knives.   Rolling out pizza or pie dough is a favourite as well.  Stirring can get a bit messy, but basically if they have some ownership of a dish they are proud to eat it & share it with their family.  Something that is a huge help for them in the kitchen is called the learning tower.  Standing on chairs can be very dangerous so we found this somewhat large, but very safe step stool.   The height is adjustable & they are covered on all four sides.  This brings them right up to the counter with you.  Some of the foods we like to make together are pizza loaded with veggies, spinach and mushroom quiche and carrot zucchini muffins.  Kids in the kitchen is a great way to teach your children to eat nutritious foods and it’s nice to spend some quality time together!