Invite Children into Kitchen –
Make Holiday Foods, Memories
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Many of a family’s best holiday memories date to a child’s early efforts to “help” with holiday preparations, a Kansas State University specialist said.
Involving even young children in holiday planning and preparation can yield special memories for the child and his or her family, said Sandy Procter. She encourages parents to step back, take a deep breath and focus on the family, rather than trying to create a picture-perfect holiday meal or event.
Something as simple as a parade of construction-paper turkeys with feathers shaped like tiny fingers or cookie-cutter shaped holiday trees can give a child an opportunity to pleasingly report: “I made this,” Procter said.
Inviting children to help in the kitchen can be a way for them to learn about a variety of foods, food safety and kitchen skills, said Procter, who is a K-State Research and Extension nutrition educator and the state coordinator for the USDA’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. She is also a registered dietitian and a parent.
Guiding a child through cooking tasks can nurture the relationship between the child and his or her parents and the family as a unit, said Procter, who encourages parents and children to choose simpler tasks on the day of the holiday or special event. Examples might include helping to set the table, placing previously made place cards, arranging relishes in a relish dish or placing rolls in the basket.
Since the kitchen is typically a busy place immediately before a meal, Procter encourages parents to involve children in preparing foods that can be made ahead, wrapped and stored or frozen for the holiday meal. One personal favorite that she recommends are quick breads, which range from basic banana or pumpkin bread to more holiday-ish recipes that include a variety of fruit or nuts.
“The process begins with gathering the ingredients and preheating the oven, and offers skill-building activities such as measuring and mixing before folding in holiday flavors and spooning the batter into prepared pans,” Procter said. She offered tips to help parents make time in the kitchen an enjoyable experience for their children and themselves:
* Invite children to participate.
* Choose a time when children and parents are rested and not rushed.
* Focus on make-ahead foods that will reduce mealtime pressures.
* Choose simple recipes. If following a traditional family recipe, explain how the recipe has become a tradition.
* Ask children to help check for and/or gather ingredients.
* Practice safe food handling, such as washing hands before and after handling raw or cooked foods.
* Take your time, chatting along the way. Cooking together can be educational, especially when the process is relaxed with occasional tips, rather than lectures.
* Make cleaning up the kitchen or work area together part of the process.
* Sample fresh-baked or cooked flavors together.
“In the learning process, some products may fall short of expectations,” Procter said. “Praise effort – and make a date to try again.”
More information about food, food preparation, nutrition and health is available at county and district Extension offices and on the K-State Research and Extension Web sites: www.oznet.ksu.edu and www.oznet.ksu.edu/humannutrition/.
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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.
Story by: Nancy Peterson
nancyp@ksu.eduK-State Research & Extension News Sandy Procter is at 785-532-1675 or procter@ksu.edu.