Cooking with kids is more than merely making cookies or brownies together for some special occasion. Cooking Together: Making Memories and Meals is packed with useful information, historic tidbits, and culinary advice-all of which provides an opportunity to teach kids healthy habits while having fun. From super-hero muffins to roasted vegetable wraps with herb spread, this cookbook features over one hundred mouth-watering recipes, lots of useful information, and valuable insight into how to improve your family’s diet. They’ll learn how to make delicious meals that the entire family will enjoy-meals that are healthy, easy-to-prepare, and tasty.

Establishing a bond over preparing the family meal provides children with a sense of stability that will carry them into adulthood. This volume offers more than recipes. It’s about teaching your family healthy eating habits by exploring new foods and augmenting recipes in a manner that will ingratiate children to positive dietary habits. Cooking Together includes important information about food throughout the book. Making a meal is a terrific way for Moms and Dads to interact with their kids, building memories and sharing the dinner chores.

By uusing Michelle Day’s commonsense approach to family cooking, children can learn healthy eating habits and enjoy family together times.

Cooking Together

Making Memories and MealsBy Michelle Day Eric Bleimeister

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Michelle Day and Eric Bleimeister
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-1440-8

Contents

CHAPTER 1 THE BENEFITS OF COOKING WITH YOUR KIDS.................................1CHAPTER 2 GUIDE TO COOKWARE......................................................9CHAPTER 3 GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL SPICES AND SEASONINGS...............................19CHAPTER 4 HEALTHY HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSINGS.......................................35CHAPTER 5 SOME VERY SPECIAL FOODS (KIDS DON'T EAT ENOUGH OF).....................41CHAPTER 6 BREAKFAST..............................................................51CHAPTER 7 LUNCH..................................................................75CHAPTER 8 DINNER.................................................................105CHAPTER 9 SALADS.................................................................145CHAPTER 10 SIDE DISHES...........................................................161CHAPTER 11 SOUPS.................................................................181CHAPTER 12 SNACKS................................................................201CHAPTER 13 SWEET TREATS..........................................................221

Chapter One

The Benefits of Cooking With Your Kids

Integrate Healthy and Natural Foods

Real, earth grown, natural foods reduce the amount of additives and chemicals in our diet.

They are not harder to prepare and do not necessarily cost more. Eat what's in season. You'll become less bored with your diet that way too.

Get Your Kids To Eat The Color Wheel!

If you think of the primary colors, or those in a rainbow, you will find that these foods have the most nutrients. Look for food as they appear in nature, not from a processed box. This is a fun exercise and reinforces learning from pre and grade schools. Try getting your kids to pick out fruits and vegetables from the grocery store and make a color wheel.

Try to increase your intake of whole grains. Substitute brown rice, bulgur wheat or quinoa for white rice. With a little seasoning your kids may never know the difference and they won't miss the white rice once they are used to the other stuff. These whole grains are mild and can accompany any main course. They are higher in protein, fiber and nutrients than processed foods and white rice.

Use more beans and lentils too. Legumes are a wonderful source of fiber, vitamins, iron and proteins and can even be added to your favorite pasta and Italian meals. Cannellini beans have a wonderful taste and are great in soups or with sausage. Black beans are bold, spicy and hearty. Red kidney beans (both shades- dark and light) pair up well with vegetables and meats and in Southwestern, Spanish and Italian inspired foods. They all take to spices and sauces exceptionally well too.

The foods mentioned above require no more effort to make than boiling white rice.

Root vegetables like any of the squash varieties or turnips make a wonderful substitute for potatoes. They have a lower Glycemic index and higher nutrient content. Root vegetables can be less expensive too.

Offer some sort of dark leafy green with meals because foods that can be eaten raw should be included as much as possible. A good rule of thumb is to use food that looks the same when it's grown as it does when you begin to prepare it. That way you minimize over processed or altered foods. For canned or frozen fruits and vegetables the ingredient list should only read what the fruit or vegetable is. And water, maybe.

Pastries and processed baked goods present a difficult challenge to parents. Many of these processed desserts are loaded with too many calories and "engineered" ingredients that just may not be healthful and often are so concentrated that they outweigh the entire daily recommendation allowance. Which is why obesity and other childhood (and adult -for that matter) illnesses have become much too prevalent. With a little knowledge it's easy to make many of your baked goods at home from scratch using better ingredients. And the taste is better, more natural and not hinted with chemicals. Your kids will like them. Our 'Superhero Muffins' are aptly named for many reasons. I use 100% whole wheat flour whenever I can, not the enriched variety. In the milling process about 60% of the nutrients are stripped from the wheat kernel. Since 1941, the USDA has required wheat flour to be 'enriched' by adding back vitamins such as B1, B2, B3 and Iron. With 100% the bran and germ remain so you get all the natural nutrients inherent in the wheat. Whole Wheat has been shown to help maintain a healthy body weight in women and reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, reduce chronic inflammation and even Gallstones. Adding Flax Seed Meal to your flour does little toward the taste but sure does improve the nutritional benefit. Use the Meal, not the seeds since kids might not like the texture of the seeds. (Seeds are very good in salads or added to homemade breads, however). Flax Seed is nature's richest source of Omega-3 Fatty Acid which is vital to the health of all body systems and brain concentration. It is loaded with B and E Vitamins, high in soluble and insoluble fiber, and Mucilage, which stabilizes blood sugar. Every 100Gms of Flax Seed contains between 25 — 30 Grams of protein. It is a natural laxative, and is excellent to help burn fat and build muscle and reduce water bloating. It's also been suggested that it might help fight acne.

Food Can Bring Families Together

In past generations the entire family was responsible for putting a meal together whether it was an agrarian society or an extended family living in the city or suburb. The work was delegated to the entire clan. As generations progressed we've moved away from this, but many people still have fond memories of 'family meals' or their grandmother's recipes. This heritage you can pass on to your children.

Kids have an inherent love for cooking — why has the 'Easy Bake oven' been popular for so long and why do kids still make mud pies generation after generation?

The Family Meal

Currently, it seems as if the family meal is dying. If this is so, with it an entire way of life will pass. If the family meal is not dying it has definitely hit a crisis point. The family meal is one of the only sources of regular interaction parents have with their kids and kids have with their siblings. It's a way to find out what the other family members did during the day, what is coming up in the near future. The family meal, as we know it, has been the core of society for centuries. It has been so in many cultures and regions since before the written word and probably since man first gathered around a fire in a cave somewhere. It formed the first attempt at community. It is where we share our lives. It is also eroding due to our modern society and its modern pressures.

The family meal comprises the good and bad components of family life, of having to deal with siblings, scheduling, squabbles and ultimately provides that bond that establishes a family. Kids will grouse at being taken away from the TV or video game, but the meal only lasts a short time and it's important. Aside from finding out what is going on, it's a chance to see your children's socialization skills and if they are eating right. There is a reason behind why parents (for generations) sent their kids to bed hungry. It was to teach them discipline and to eat what's on the table. This is easier to do when the entire family (even if it's just you and them) are eating together. More than anything the family meal becomes a mainstay of the daily routine. The structure for the family is based on this routine and offers a sense of order in kid's lives.

Hopefully this book will provide inspiration to stop the erosion of the family meal — at least in your home -and help you make lasting impressions with your kids.

WAYS to Introduce Your Kids to Cooking

You'll need to keep their interest level high by using cooking themes and fun endeavors. Initially kids will want to help, but their interest may wan. (This is OK - just keep including them in some part of the family meal.)

• Get kids interested in what they eat.

• Cooking for kids with allergies and dietary issues- talk to your kids about the children in their class who can't have peanut butter or milk.

• Visit a farmer's market - an inexpensive family trip where kids can pick out foods they find interesting and then prepare it at home.

• Learn where foods come from. Kids love farms, look for places that give tours.

• Teach Safe Cooking techniques and kitchen etiquette.

• Pick one NEW FOOD item with your kids each time you go shopping

• It's 'The Family Kitchen': Clean up can be fun too (and moms will be happy for the help).

• "Make dinner for daddy night."

• "Monday is mom's night off!" Somebody else make dinner!

• Motivate kids with healthy snack food.

WHY Cooking With Your Kids Is Important

• Adults can connect with kids through food.

• Kids discover new foods, facilitating a desire to learn.

• Empower choice.

• Learn to work with people (starting with siblings).

• Strengthen the familial bond.

• Cooking skills improve reading & math comprehension.

• Kids who like to work alongside parents are happier. Children and parents are less stressed.

• Kids like to play with ingredients and make things (why not healthy foods?)

• Preparing dishes at home saves families money!

• Offers structured family time.

• Family recipes are being lost as the generations pass.

Cooking with Your Kids Has Both Short & Long Term Benefits

• Teaches them a lifelong skill

• Teaches age appropriate responsibilities that advance as age does

• Pass along family heritage

• Reduce 'drive-thru' and caloric intake and processed foods in overall diet

• Cooking encourages kids to try healthy foods.

• Kids feel a sense of accomplishment and contributing to the family.

• More likely to eat with family when they helped make dinner.

• Parents get to spend quality time with their kids.

• Kids aren't spending time in front of the TV or computer while they're cooking.

• Kids generally eat less junk food when they're cooking at home.

• Kids who learn to eat well may be more likely to eat well as adults.

• Positive cooking experiences can help build self-confidence.

• Kids who cook with their parents may be less likely to abuse drugs.

Cooking teaches the basics for math. How many kids are sitting in class wondering why they need to learn about fractions? They cannot correlate a reason to learn math. It is boring. And sitting in a sterile classroom listening to a teacher drone on about things does not relate to them (or a lot of them to be fair). However cooking gives parents a chance to surreptitiously teach with visual aids- not lectures. Kids can interpret this knowledge as being useful for making things. And kids like to be creative. It may improve their math scores because they understand its daily importance to them. It becomes more than numbers on a blackboard but relative weights and measures.

Cooking is a great way to introduce children to mathematical concepts like weight, volume and division. The cost of purchasing ingredients imparts the value of money. As kids get older cooking teaches scientific concepts like what change heat brings to raw ingredients. How different ways of cooking can produce a different end product with the same ingredient; textures, odors, sizes and shapes. The examples go on and on.

We've only listed some of the most beneficial reasons for introducing home cooking to your kids. The most important reason to cook with your kids is to spend time with them. It doesn't matter if a gourmet meal comes out of it. The interaction is what's most important. And you still get dinner on the table.

How To: The What & When:

Kids need to feel important and have a sense of belonging. Younger kids need to feel like their older siblings are not getting all the glory.

Toddlers: An empty pot or plastic mixing bowl and a silicone spatula will make them feel like they are part of the endeavor. Something as simple as this will start them off in the right direction. To older kids this re-enforces the importance of cooking being family time and the sharing of responsibility.

Preschoolers: Can see how the dishes they eat are put together and get hands-on experience, which is a great way to learn and feel like they are helping out. First let them watch what you're doing and then they can help out with small tasks, like washing fruits and vegetables in a colander, stirring ingredients or setting the table with silverware. As they get older, cracking and separating eggs or measuring ingredients are great tasks.

Tweens / School-age kids: Are at the perfect stage to learn some cooking basics that will help use their math skills. They can combine together ingredients for recipes. This is a good opportunity to talk about what occurred in school that day or talk about nutrition and why you chose the ingredients you're using. Under your supervision they are at the age to learn about basic knife safety and gardening.

Teens: Many teens we see in cooking classes appreciate the chance to improve their cooking skills. They already know the basics of simple meals and hot sandwiches and are looking to expand their talent. For others, this is the age to provide them good preparation for when they'll need to cook for themselves. Whether advanced, intermediate or beginner, teens might be interested in a certain type of cooking or trying different cuisines. Indulge them (and take a class together if they let you) or learn how to make an authentic dish at home. Go on the Internet with them and research the history behind a national cuisine or famous product. It could even turn out be a great social studies homework project too.

It seems obvious, BUT Always choose a time —when you have time— for your kids to work with you. If you are feeling rushed, it will not be conducive to a fun event.

The recipes in this book are here to broaden your family's culinary horizons, provide you with ideas, and expand your knowledge about healthy eating. You are the cook. We are not presuming to tell you the 'what' or 'how' and 'which task' for cooking methods and prep work you or your kids should perform. Some recipes are more advanced than others and some lend themselves quite well to children doing most of the work. This is the fun part of cooking with your kids! You and your kids should naturally determine which methods and processes they will be involved with and it will depend on their age, skill level and your comfort zone.

COOKBOOKS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE STATIC VOLUMES ON YOUR SHELF. THEY NEED TO BE OPENED AND USED.

We've placed a page after each recipe so that you and the kids can write notes and your own memories. Make a variation of the recipe, notate how your kids enjoyed it, what you might want to change or if it was for a special occasion. It's a great page for the little ones to draw on- thereby creating a memory and for the older kids to experiment with their culinary craft. So let them go at it. Years from now everyone will be happy you did.

Even starting with making one home-made meal together a week is a great beginning toward reducing your family's overall intake of over processed, high calorie and nutrient deficient food. Making one meal a week together will put your family on the road to better health and develop a better relationship with your children.

Chapter Two

Guide to Cookware

This guide is by no means complete, but we have listed the essentials every kitchen should have to prepare a variety of meals in the most healthful manner possible. Purchasing the best equipment you can afford is important, because quality pieces will last longer and perform better. Performing better means the food will cook evenly, brown quicker, need less oil, clean up better and stay new looking longer.

You don't need every gadget to make healthy meals with your kids. Of course some are fun and by all means if you'll use it or it will help get kids interested, get it. Kids love to play and this element can be introduced in cooking by using useful gadgets. Remember when your toddler only wanted to play with the pots and pans in the cabinets? Try to avoid 'unnatural' compounds or ones, which the 'safety jury' verdict is still out on like aluminum, plastic, or Teflon. Aluminum on a cooking surface is thought by some to be a carcinogen. Others feel that because aluminum is everywhere, the body will absorb too many toxins over the decades creating a potential health issue. So eliminating aluminum cookware will reduce some of this risk. Plastics and PFC coated containers can leach dioxins and PCBs. Teflon, when overheated, may emit harmful PFOA vapors.

For cookware look for Stainless Steel and Cast Iron.

Stainless Steel

Is non reactive to food and dishwasher safe. Stainless cookware should be made of a multi-ply, which means the manufacturer sandwiches in layers of aluminum (and sometimes copper) in between the stainless steel cooking and oven surfaces. The layers are what transfers and conducts the heat evenly. Of course the more layers the better (and more expensive).

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Cooking Togetherby Michelle Day Eric Bleimeister Copyright © 2011 by Michelle Day and Eric Bleimeister. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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