Kid-Friendly Family Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do kids appreciate home cooked meals? ›

Kids are more likely to sit down to a meal that they have helped prepare. This can go a long way towards family time during an era of excessive outside demands on tween and teenage schedules. Involving your kids in the kitchen is a big stepping-stone towards getting them to appreciate family meals.

Regular family meals are also associated with lower rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, tobacco use, early teenage pregnancy, and higher rates of resilience and higher self-esteem, all of which impact mental health.

According to a survey we conducted of over 1000 US households, we found that 95% of millennials (age group 18-29) cook weekly at home, compared with 92% of those aged 30-44 and 93% of those aged 45-59.

Kids who grow up having family dinners, when they're on their own tend to eat more healthily and to have lower rates of obesity. Then the mental health benefits are just incredible.

Aim for your child to get most of their calories from foods like fruit and vegetables, and starchy foods like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice (preferably wholegrain versions). They should also have some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein foods, and some dairy or dairy alternatives.

While meat can be a part of a healthy diet, not all sources are created equal. The leanest and healthiest meats to eat include poultry, pork, fish, and seafood. Eating a balanced diet is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, which means choosing various foods from different food groups, like proteins.

Young toddlers (over twelve months) begin to develop a neophobic response to food2, which means they become wary of trying new foods. This may be a survival mechanism to prevent the increasingly mobile toddler from poisoning him or herself through eating anything and everything.

What is a family style meal? ›

“Family-style” is a method of dining where servers place all components of a meal on the table and allow everyone to serve themselves. They place large serving dishes in the middle of the table. In this way, everyone can reach the offerings and choose what they want.

Cooking can help young kids learn and practice some basic math concepts and build language skills. And reating meals with you can help build their self-confidence and lay the foundation for healthy eating habits. It may take a little flexibility and some simple prep work.

Giving your children a bit of freedom in the kitchen will nurture your child's self-esteem, confidence, and sense of self-worth. Stirring, measuring, rolling, squeezing and spreading are just a few of the kitchen tasks that allow young children to develop their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills.

Preparing healthy meals at home can support your immune system and reduce the risk of illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It can give you more energy, improve how you sleep at night, and help you better manage health problems.

As described above, cooking with our kids can inherently boost self-esteem because it promotes meaningful interactions between kids and parents. However, cooking also provides opportunities to master new skills and can promote a sense of achievement (Farmer&Cotter, 2021) – all of which helps enhance self-esteem.