When I was growing up, I had certain responsibilities in the kitchen. Mom always had me take a turn stirring our traditional holiday caramels, which made me feel so grown up! And anytime we had ground beef on the menu, I was the designated ground beef-browner. It was an easy job, but it taught be something very important – that cooking was something I could do, and that helping my mom make meals for the family could be fun. I love that Uncle Ben’s has asked me to participate in a campaign that is so completely up my alley! All opinions and thoughts are my own, as always.
When I became a mom, one of my early goals for my kids was to teach them to cook. I didn’t only want them to know HOW to cook, but I wanted them to be confident cooks and enjoy the process. Because I started my kids cooking at an early age, they each have the confidence to look up a recipe, gather the ingredients, and whip it up. Their recipes don’t always turn out perfectly, but I love that they aren’t afraid to try.
Raising confident cooks is something that anyone can do – even moms who don’t consider themselves to be fantastic cooks themselves can help their children love cooking (with the added benefit of having built in kitchen helpers in the end!).
How to raise confident cooks:
- Let your kids watch you cook. Set them up on a stool or a chair and observe dinner preparation.
- Let your kids help add and mix ingredients.
- Give your kids responsibility over a portion of the recipe (like my mom did with the ground beef when I was little).
- Teach your kids how to make simple recipes, supervised.
- Let your kids help with the meal planning.
- When they’re old enough, assign a day for them to cook each week.
- Let them be creative in the kitchen – not every recipe creation will turn out, but that’s ok!
Did you know that research has shown that cooking with your kids while they’re young teaches them better eating habits later?
According to University of Michigan’s Project EAT, kids who prepare meals with their parents are more likely to eat healthier as adults while those who are not taught cooking skills resort to quick fixes like fast food. In other words, teaching them how to cook teaches them how to eat.
Do you have kids who love to cook….or do you want to get your kids involved in the family cooking? The Ben’s Beginners™ Cooking Contest is perfect for kids and families to get excited about cooking together!
Here’s what you need to know: the Ben’s Beginners™ Cooking Contest is a cooking video competition for kids nationwide that helps bring families together to cook a healthy rice based meal.
Check out UncleBens.com/BensBeginners for all of the details on how to create your own video for the contest and how to get your kids excited about cooking! Even more exciting? The Grand Prize is $15,000 for your family and a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for your school.
Hurry over to learn all about the cooking contest on www.facebook.com/unclebens or on unclebens.com and how you can get involved!
Cooking with your children makes for a great beginning! Visit www.unclebens.com and click on The Ben’s Beginners™ Cooking Contest page to learn more!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Uncle Ben’s. The opinions and text are all mine.
© 2014, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
