by the Editor Nutritionists and other health professionals are encouraging parents to cook with their children.  Helping with meals at home is a great foundation for kids, helping them to learn life skills and good nutrition habits.

In a past life self-confessed foodie Kristy Moore was an art director for celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, but says that running Cooking Camp for Kids at the Sydney Sustainable Markets is far more rewarding. More than 100 kids aged from seven to 13 have attended camp.

"I think it's really important to teach kids about different foods and where they come from," Kristy said.  "For so many kids, things like pancakes are made from a mix bought at the supermarket. They can't believe how simple and delicious they are made from scratch, from real ingredients that are already in their cupboard and fridge."

"Some parents cook with their kids all the time, but many are just too busy. We show kids that cooking is fun and show parents what their kids are capable of - including using knives."

Researcher James Bray and his colleagues from the University of Newcastle developed the ‘Back to Basics’ kids cooking club and studied the development of children’s eating habits.  They found that the number of children eating fruit daily increased by 46 per cent and the number eating vegetables at dinner increased by 21 per cent in kids who took part in fortnightly after-school cooking lessons.

Mr Bray said that the the Junior MasterChef phenomenon has seen a nation of Aussie kids get more interested in cooking.  "We taught the kids in our study to read recipes and to prepare and cook healthy food.  We encouraged the kids to ask if they could help cook at home and to make meals using the fruit and vegetables they tasted at cooking club. This beats the kids watching television and nagging their parents about dinner, while waiting for mum or dad to prepare a meal."

Unlike the Junior MasterChef contestants the children in Mr. Bray’s study stuck to the basics.  “There were no fancy sausage rolls or double chocolate delights in our kitchens.  The kids made healthy, simple food like stir-fries with lean beef and vegetables, mini-pizzas made from English muffins, and fruit salads and Smoothies," said Mr. Bray.

"At the end of our study the children were more confident choosing vegetables at meal times and had a better grasp on how many serves of fruit and vegetables they should eat in a day," said Mr. Bray.

Claire Hewat, CEO of the Dieticians Association of Australia, said food habits and eating patterns in childhood track into adulthood, so getting in early and focusing on healthy food choices at a young age could have a major impact on the future health of adults.

Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service (CYWHS) nutritionist Rita Alvaro believes that children need a range of activities to help keep them occupied.  "So… we suggest parents get the kids away from the TV and into the kitchen by involving them in cooking,” she said.

“Cooking is an important life skill – teaching children where their food comes from, and helping them develop the skills they need to enjoy healthy eating.  And the great thing about cooking is that children think it is fun!"

According to Rita, encouraging children to make meals and snacks based on fresh healthy ingredients, such as fruit and vegetables costs a lot less than buying ready prepared meals and snacks.  “Children are also more likely to eat something they have helped prepare themselves,” she said.

Rita said whilst children think cooking is fun, it also important to keep safe. Some ways to ensure safety in the kitchen are:

• Choose recipes that aren’t too complicated.
• Read the recipe with your child before you start cooking. Decide which parts your child can safely manage.
• Ensure thorough hand washing using soap and warm water.
• Keep young children away from sharp knives, hot items or electrical equipment. Teach older children how to use knives safely. Help children with moving hot items or taking hot food out of the oven. Adults should be present at all time when knives, hot or electrical items are being used.

And while we’ve got the kids in the kitchen, why not harness their cooking efforts to freeze meals for later use?  Two creative mums, Kerrie Hancox and Clare Raymant, have come up with the concept of freezing meals in smaller, kid-size portions through their ’Recipe Blocks’ concept.

“When muffin sized portions are frozen they are quick to defrost, it’s harder to over-eat and you don’t waste as much food,” Kerrie says.  “But even better, why not prepare a few base recipes so you can choose a base then make a quick meal around it for the family?”

Clare and Kerrie thought it such a great idea that they spent a year testing and tasting base blocks and applying them to more than 100 recipes. The end result is Recipe Blocks, what the pair call “a whole new concept in cooking”.  “You prepare the base blocks and freeze them in an easy to pop out silicon muffin tray (can be bought with the cookbook).  Then you simply add the blocks to a recipe in the book,” Clare says.

The mums, who both run their own health management businesses, say the book is an extension of their desire to provide tasty, nutritious food for their children.  “There are lots of child-friendly recipes such as cheesy potato bake, tuna fish cakes and lamb pasties.  And my children love helping at dinner time now because it only takes minutes to prepare a meal.”

Kerrie finds that "the recipes are so simple that kids can help stir sauces, mash the potato, add ingredients, learn to chop simple things like tomato and my eldest daughters favourite, spoon it into the muffin trays or pop them out.”  They are also fascinated in the transformation that occurs at meal times when a block becomes part of the meal!

The trick to getting the kids involved is to keep it simple. When they are little they need something they can master without too much difficulty. Helping also allows them to feel they are contributing to the family. For older children they are interested to see if they can master they whole process, “can I cook this meal?”

The important thing is to find what works with your family in order to get the children interested in helping to prepare meals.  Kids can develop a whole new sense of satisfaction as they contribute to preparing the family meal, while having fun and learning at the same time!

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