Junior Chef Program – Cooking with Mississauga Kids in the Park!

Monday was our Junior Chef program and since the weather is nice we hosted it at Erindale park and not inside at a kitchen table! We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the park to play and then the kids made an easy summer dessert – trifle.

I packed up cutting boards, utensils and a variety of fruit, cake, pudding and whipping cream as well as clean up supplies.  As I was on my way I realised that I had forgotten the knives. A quick stop to text a member mama and she saved the day! She brought along enough knives for all the kids to have their own. 

First we cut up cake and put it into bowls – then we spooned on pudding! I made lemon pudding as the cake was a plain pound cake. Next the kids got cutting up their fruit - there were mangoes, grapes, strawberries and blueberries. They all practised cutting the soft fruit and then covered it all up with whipped cream! It was a nice cool dessert on a hot day.

Have you let your kids try using a knife? It’s not something you might have thought to do but cutting food is a basic skill that all kids should learn. Of course it needs to be supervised and we used plastic knives outside at the park on soft fruit, so there was no danger of anyone losing a finger!

Here are my Top 3 tips for getting kids used to Using a Knife.

• Only mom gets to pick out the knives – ours are kept in a block and it can be difficult to pull out a knife properly from the counter.
• Keep the point of the knife touching the cutting board as much as possible. Do not let the knife point come up off the board as this will minimize the chance of the sharp end being swung around as questions are being asked. It also avoids the sawing motion which can lead to slips as round food moves around so easily. 
•  Use a sharp knife. Now of course you have to be there and start out holding on with the kids but older toddlers can use a sharp knife for cutting like a paring knife (however you know your own child). It’s much safer (in my opinion) than a plastic knife where you might be tempted to look away for a sec – it goes without saying... never ever leave your kids alone with a knife!

Engaging your children in food preparation will increase the likelihood they will try new and different foods. Yes the pieces will be all different sizes to start– that’s ok! Did you know it can take a child up to 10 times trying a food before they will decide whether or not it is palatable? Getting kids involved in the shopping and food prep will increase the chances they will be healthy eaters now and in the future!

Not ready for knives? Have your kids tear up the lettuce for salads, use a peeler on a carrot or shred the cheese! How do you engage your kids in healthy eating? Share here on our blog or on our Facebook Fan Page. Join us next month at our Junior Chef program and get cooking with your kids! Not a member yet? No problem – free 4 week trial memberships are available on our website!