Cooking together at home?
“Cooking together with your family” – to some, that might sound like stress and work at first. But the fact is, according to family therapist Jasper Juul, there is simply no better way to strengthen the family. You talk a lot, work together for the common meal and often have a lot of fun. Hand on heart, dear parents. The general meal plan usually consists of 6-8 recipes and they get really boring in the long run, don’t they? We will now show you how our tips & tricks, your future family cooking will be a success.
Cooking together – 3 tips & tricks
Tip 1: Put kids in the cooking apron
Many parents think that after all, their kids wouldn’t be great at helping anyway, or they might hurt themselves. But children as young as three can very well help out with cooking. For example, they can wash vegetables, stir sauces together, or help with the dough for the bread maker. However, if you still think that your child is not old enough for this, the youngest can also set the table in a creative way. From the age of 5, even a small knife can then be entrusted without any problems. So cooking together is suitable for everyone.
Tip 2:Every master needs rules
To ensure that cooking together is relaxed and stress-free, it’s hard to imagine cooking without rules. Therefore, discuss with your family beforehand which rules are to be followed. For safety, the rules “do not run with knives” or “the knife is carried with the tip down” are indispensable. Everyone should also wash their hands before coming into contact with food. In addition, you should explain to your children that it cannot work without teamwork and order.
Tip 3: Have fun !
The most important thing when cooking with children is that they develop fun in cooking, especially the first times. Praise your children when they cut the vegetables correctly or when they set the table beautifully. Especially if children were involved in the main dish, they are particularly proud of their work when they eat together. Above all, it is important that you are not too serious. Have fun together, fool around and if something goes wrong it’s not a big deal.
3 Recipes for your family dinner
Recipe 1: Spaghetti Bolognese
Yes, as simple as it may sound, spaghetti bolognese is super especially for toddlers. Toddlers often don’t like very elaborate dishes at this age, but spaghetti bolognese is perfect to try out for the first few times. The sauce can also be decorated with lots of vegetables or cheese, making it perfectly changeable. Carrots should also not be missing in any Bolognese sauce. They soften the acidity of the tomatoes and contribute to the natural sweetness of this popular dish.
Ingredients:
- Minced meat
- Oil
- Garlic
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
Recipe 2: Spelt waffles with fruit salad and chocolate sauce
There’s nothing better than homemade waffles, fruit and chocolate…and then all in one? Perfect! Especially with this recipe the children can help perfectly. Wash the fruit, mix the batter or melt the chocolate. What’s more, each child can decorate and arrange their own waffle as they wish.
Ingredients for 6 waffles:
- 500g strawberries
- 2 medium bananas
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons and 50g sugar
- 1 packet of bourbon vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 eggs
- 250g spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 500g whole milk yogurt
- 125ml milk
- 100g chocolate
- 125g whipped cream
Recipe 3: Crispy chicken legs with vegetable rice
Here the motto is: Simple and yet so delicious! Especially for children, the chicken legs are often a small highlight, because they can enjoy the legs with their hands and do not have to laboriously cut off each small piece of meat with cutlery. Here, too, the children can help diligently. As you can see, cooking together can be so easy and quick.
Ingredients:
- 8 chicken legs
- Salt
- Sweet paprika
- 2EL sunflower oil
- 1EL flour
- 4EL breadcrumbs
- 200g long grain rice
- 150g carrots
- 200g tomatoes
- 1Tbsp butter
- 100g frozen peas
- 1 pinch of sugar
- 1 can of vegetable corn
Your opinion is needed
Do you perhaps already have first experiences with cooking with children? If so, let us know. Also feel free to share your tips & tricks with other community members. Your experiences can certainly help many others and you can exchange among yourselves. Finally, I have 2 product recommendations for you – firstly, the children’s stool for the very young. And a cookbook by Dagmar von Cramm exactly on the subject of “cooking with the family”. Really great written and with 365 recipes enough material for Geimeinsamkochen. More great cookbooks here.
