Why prepare food with children?
Getting children involved in meal prep helps them to understand what is going into their bodies. Children involved in meal prep also tend to make healthier choices when it comes to food and therefore are likely to eat more fruits and vegetables. Additionally, teaching them at a young age allows their skills to develop and strengthen, which they can take into adulthood.
4 Tips for getting children involved in food prep:
- Allow them to make choices – this makes your child feel important in the kitchen. Show them a cookbook and let them choose some recipes for you to make together
- Delegate tasks – delegating tasks between children not only speeds up the cooking process but also allows them to take ownership and pride over the meal
- Let them be creative – meal prep doesn’t need to be by the book. Let your child try cutting the veggies in different shapes, add ingredients, not in the recipe, and share their ideas with you. Be supportive of their ideas so that they are not discouraged
- Get them to measure – knowing how to measure quantities of ingredients is important, as well as teaching them how to portion their meals.
On Sunday July 7 our POP Club kids will be learning about the importance of vitamins as they create their own fruit salads. learn more about the POP Club here and visit us at the market to register.
The POP Club is a farmer’s market-based kids program. Children (ages 5 – 12 years old) will learn about fruits and vegetables, local food systems and healthy food preparation through fun activities all season long.
Each week children will earn a $3 market token to use towards any fruit or vegetable of their choice. There is no cost to participate and the program runs every Sunday rain or shine!