kids cook once a month!

Curious_George_2

I was reading the (free) Tesco magazine yesterday and noticed a letter from someone who says they get their kids to cook the family meal at least once a month, they get a budget and can cook whatever they want as long as its within the money limits...

I thought this was an interesting idea and a great way to help your kids learn to fend for themselves, as obviously they will need cooking / budgeting skills one day...
My DD is 9 1/2 and shes really excited by this idea, she watches me cook from scratch all the time and loves to help..

so... can you suggest any nice easy first timers recipes and meal ideas?,
nothing too over complicated, i want her to really enjoy this and hopefully her success will spur her on to doing it regularly,
she wants to try my Spag Bol recipe first... lots of prep but not much difficult oven work sounds good,

teaching kids the OS way plus giving them confidence in the kitchen sounds like a good thing to me!

phizzimum

This sounds like a great idea, and one I might adopt as my girls love cooking too, they always surprise me at how capable they are. I like the idea of bringing budgeting into it too.

If you look in the library there will probably be several cook books aimed at kids (ok, you could buy one, but I'd use the library)

that way DD could chose what she would like to cook, but you know it's not going to be overly complicated. I remember going through my mum's recipe books when I was little and asking if I could make things - I always chose the most complicated/expensive things, so she said no!

newlywed

The good food magazine regularly has a recipe for kids to cook - they must have some on their website.

I remember a fish pie, cookies, but not much else just now

Curious_George_2

actually... she has an usbourne cookery book, we might go through that together!

i think its a great idea, i hope other people adopt it!
I didnt have the first clue about cooking when i first left home, i had to figure it all out myself with mixed results!
I'd rather my kids had at least a basic knowledge of cookery to keep themselves fed when they go off into the junk food filled world!

MegandNicsmum

Brilliant idea...I've just texted my 12 year old to tell her she's cooking dinner tomorrow night!!! (she learnt tuna pasta yesterday in home ec, so probably getting that!!!;o) Still need to break it to my 9 yr old DS....I just know he'll love the idea for the first 5 minutes!!

Norman_Bean

This is a great idea - I already have plans for my two to cook a couple of times a month. They are 3 and 4 at the moment so may have to wait a while
However I hadn't thought about the budgeting aspect - genius!
Can I ask will you get them to shop for the ingrediants as well or will you go and buy them?

Norman x

oh and I think macoroni cheese is dead easy and yummy x

midnightraven3

we have done this for as long as i can remember
mine are 19, 16 & 15 now, 2 girls & boy

they have always cooked with me, and once they got up a bit, they decided to do "theme" evenings, and they also cook together, still within the same budget, but 1 does 1 course, 1 another

sometimes the budget is extravegant, sometimes its tineeeeeeeeee so they need to think and be resourceful
my dad was a chef, so cooking has always been there for me
i enjoyed it so much
i did the same with mine as he did with me

my 19 year old student daughter teaches her friends how to cook as some know nothing
i think thats so sad, as we have always spent great times together cooking, they must have missed out on all of that

dizzybuff

OHH , i KNOW ITS A BIT YOUNG ... ooops sorry im shouting you could always look on the cbeebies website at I can cook .. Hold on http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/icancook/

its aimed at children younger than 9 but it still has some fab ideas on , Im not sure about grapes on a pizza though .

uolypool

I have 5 chilred who's ages range from 12yrs to 16 yrs 4 boys and one girl and due to my fibromyalgia they have learnt to cook now i know that they all are capable of cooking a weeks meals plus more from scratch and not with a ready meal or pizza carton in sight there favourite method of cooking though has to be using the slowcooker

jacand

My little man is 2 1/2 and he helps me. I got an Annabel Karmel book from the library and he loves it. He learns the words for new foods, and the numbers on the scales. You can see the satisfaction he gets from eating something he has helped to make. It can be messy at times but great fun.

LJM

my girls are 9 aqnd 5 and they regularly help me with cooking the prep and even do their own baking (obviously with supervision) they love it and its fun plus good for later on in life.i learnt at a very early age with my nan and im glad i am now doing it with my kids least i know that when they do leave home a long way down the line yet they will be able to cook for themselves and friends