Helping in the kitchen

Do you remember how cool you used to think it was to help in the kitchen?

no?  You're getting old, then!

Kids LOVE to help with everyday chores like preparing food.  My girls are in HEAVEN, seriously, when I let them help me.

As an example, today we made granola.

Together they mixed EVERYTHING!

 I talked the entire time about ingredients and using a recipe and "cups", etc.  We even sounded out the word "c-u-p" with Charlotte and showed her where it showed 1 cup on the measuring cup.

Before we put in each ingredient, the girls got to taste test 

(of course not all ingredients in every recipe can be taste tested, but many can!)

Pepitas were their favorite ingredient today :)

...and more stirring

We baked the granola, and then, the most important part -

They got to EAT some fresh out of the oven...YUM!

If you have picky eaters, letting them help prepare their food really helps!

My girls have begun eating things from growing them or simply chopping them.  It's kind of amazing :)

Granola & homemade yogurt with blueberries - DElish!

Letting your kiddos help in the kitchen of course takes additional time, but it REALLY helps the time go more pleasantly for all involved :)  If you work full time, maybe only let them help on weekends?

The possibilities are endless.  My girls "compile" lasagna for me, stir, chop, sprinkle, etc

Some moms are really funny about their kids and knives.  Honestly, both of my girls have had "baby" gerber knives since they were about 18 months.  They can chop a ton of things with those little things.  My girls have their own chopping boards.  Of course they can't chop really hard things, but fruit, etc are really easy things for them to help with!

Tonight, Charlotte chopped pre-cooked chicken for dinner!