Easy Family Dinners Kids Can Help Cook!

You want your child to eat healthy foods. That’s why we parents strive to serve better options  as often as possible. However, serving nutritious meals often isn’t enough to change your child’s tastes. They may still prefer the less-than-nutritious snacks that are popular among most kids (especially mine). Maybe you’re worried they’ll never develop a taste for healthy meals.  By reading beyond this point, you are agreeing to my use of commission based links, and my updated privacy policy found here.

That doesn’t need to be the case. Getting children involved in the cooking process can help you cultivate their interest in nutritious meals over time.  Often, I will even let the kids grocery shop with me, so that they can choose one interesting looking fruit or veggie to try!

To put this  kids cooking idea into practice, consider the following family-friendly recipes:

Pita Pizzas with Veggies

You don’t need a complicated recipe to make a meal that kids will love (and love cooking). Just get some pita breads, top them with pizza sauce, cheese, and some chopped vegetables, then cook them in the oven at 400 degrees for about seven minutes, or until the cheese has melted and all ingredients are sufficiently hot.

The cheese will provide your kids with calcium they need. The veggies will of course also provide nutrients, though the specific nutrients they deliver will depend on which vegetables you choose to top the pizza with. Unique options to consider include asparagus, zucchini, and peas.  Anything goes!

They can easily help you make this meal by adding the sauce and cheese to the pita breads.  My ten year old is getting quite good at chopping these days.  This kids safe knife set on Amazon has over one thousand 4 star ratings!

If you like this post, read this one about the 14 Disneyland Foods you need to try on your next trip!

Simple Baked Salmon

Substituting meat with fish at least one night a week is a simple but effective way to get a different protein into picky kids. Fish is often leaner than many meats, while still delivering substantial protein and other key nutrients.

Help your kids develop a taste for fish with an easy baked salmon. Simply buy a few salmon filets and apply your favorite seafood seasoning blend to them, along with salt and pepper. This is a step kids can certainly help with. At 350 degrees, bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through. (A quick note about fish, please be careful about the source.  Most of the farmed fish that we buy is loaded with antibiotics, colorants, and growth hormones.)

Ground Turkey Tacos

Sometimes eating healthy is as simple as changing up a few ingredients in your favorite meals. For instance, if your kids like tacos, switch to ground turkey instead of ground beef. It’s a leaner option. I buy my organic ground turkey from Costco, in bulk, so it's cheaper!

Your child might help by heating up the ground turkey over the stovetop, or if you are like me, adding it to the instant pot. As long as they’re safe, this can be a useful way to teach them the basics of cooking equipment.

These are merely a few recipes to consider if you want to promote healthier eating habits among your children. If they’re involved in the cooking process, my kids are always more likely to want to give different foods a try.

Read this post about how we used meal planning to get out of our mealtime rut!

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