Children cook themselves: simple illustrated recipes. Simple and delicious dishes that you can cook with your children What you can bake with your children

Ekaterina Morozova

Reading time: 21 minutes

A A

You should start preparing your baby for independent life from the diapers. It just seems that the little one will be a “disturbance” for mom while she is preparing dinner. In fact, a two-year-old child can already be trusted to beat eggs, for example. Or sifting flour. A 5-year-old child is already a more experienced assistant. He is capable of mixing a salad, decorating a dish, and making dumplings. Well, a child over 8 years old can already be allowed near the stove. But only under the supervision of mom! The main thing is to choose the right dish.

Here are the best recipes for young chefs!

Sandwiches for the holiday table

The simplest dish that even a 2-3 year old child can easily handle.

What to look for in bins:

Bread (sliced).
6-7 leaves of green salad.
A couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise.
Sliced ham and salami.
Sliced cheese.
Greenery.
Polka dots.

And pickled cucumbers, olives and boiled carrots (which mom will first cut into circles).

There are no cooking instructions. Because in this case everything depends only on the imagination of the child (and the mother who helps him). Food, as you know, should not only be healthy and tasty, but also... aesthetically pleasing in appearance. And on sandwiches there is room for your imagination to run wild - mice, cats, Smeshariki, marine themes and much more.

Let's stock up on food supplies and get creative!

Crispy cucumbers in a tub - getting ready for a delicious winter

Yes, imagine, a child can cook this too. Real pickles, prepared by the hands of your own son (daughter) - what could be tastier!

Of course, you will have to help a little, but the main work is on the young cook (let him feel involved in the “great”). And if the child is also a fan of crunching a cucumber with potatoes, then cooking will be doubly more interesting. A real grown-up dish for a growing child.

Don’t worry, there are no glass jars or boiling brine in the recipe, and a child over 12 years old can handle this Russian dish on their own.

What to look for in bins:

The cucumbers are fresh and small. Quantity - in accordance with the container (about 5 kg).
Salt. For 2 liters of brine - 140 g of salt.
Various spices - fresh and washed. For 5 g of cucumbers: 150 g of dill, 15 g of garlic, 25 g of cherry leaves, 25 g of horseradish (leaves), 25 g of black currant (leaves) and 2.5 g of hot pepper (optional), bay leaf and peppercorns.
Sugar - a couple of tbsp.
2 liters of water.

So, instructions:

Wash the spices thoroughly.
Peel and finely chop the garlic (if the child is not yet trusted with a knife, the mother can do this). We pound it in a mortar with a masher (and this is the child’s task).
We sort the cucumbers, choosing the smallest and thin-skinned ones. Wash thoroughly and soak in cold water for about 5 hours (so that the cucumbers do not wrinkle in the brine).
We take 1/3 of the spices and cover the bottom of the pre-prepared tub with them. Next is a layer of cucumbers, which need to be laid as tightly and vertically as possible (“standing”). Then another layer of spices and another layer of cucumbers. Afterwards, all the cucumber beauty is covered with the remaining spices, and horseradish leaves are placed on top of them.
On top there is a bend on which the load is placed. And only then we water everything with brine. How to make it? Dissolve 140 g of salt in water that has cooled after boiling (warm, 2 liters) and pour in our cucumbers so that they are completely covered with brine.

It is done. Cover with a lid and forget about the cucumbers for a couple of days, leaving the “dish” in the kitchen or room.

On the 3rd day, as soon as the initial fermentation process has started, we hide the tub somewhere dark and cool for at least a month.

Fruit butterflies - for a summer mood!

This recipe is suitable for a child 7-9 years old if he is already allowed to use a knife. However, you can cook “butterflies” even at 3-4 years old, if your mother helps you wash everything, cut out the wings and plan the antennae.

What to look for in bins:

Orange.
Grapes (for example, Quiche Mish and Lady's Finger).
Strawberry and kiwi.
Zest.

Instructions:

Orange slice - in half. And we lay these halves in the shape of butterfly wings.
Along the “back” of the butterfly we place half a grape – the “body”.
We put a small and round grape in place of the head.
We cut thin stripes of antennae from the orange peel, apply them to the “head” and bend them slightly to the sides.
Decorate the butterfly's wings with slices of kiwi and strawberries.
The eyes can be made with a couple of drops of melted ice cream.
Place it on a plate and... make the family happy!

If desired, butterflies can be seated on a “meadow” of currant leaves or hidden among marzipan flowers. By the way, children also love to create the latter.

Homemade apple marmalade

Tastes better than store-bought (and safer). Children will not only enjoy cooking this sweetness, but also eat it.

Recipe for a child aged 12-13 years. Or - for cooking with mom’s help.

What to look for in bins:

100 ml water.
½ cup apple/juice.
Gelatin - about 20 g.
Lemon zest - a couple of tbsp.
Two glasses of sugar.

Instructions:

Pour fresh juice over the gelatin and leave to “swell.”
Gently grate the lemon zest so as not to injure your fingers.
Next, pour water into the sugar in a saucepan and add grated zest to it.
Place the pan on the fire and stir thoroughly.
After the sugar has dissolved, remove the dishes from the heat and add our swollen gelatin.
Mix everything thoroughly until all lumps are completely dissolved.
Strain the lemon zest through a sieve.

All. All that remains is to place in the molds, cool overnight in the refrigerator, then cut, generously roll in powdered sugar and place on a plate.

You can decorate with cranberries and mint leaves.

Tofifi candies - prepared with nuts and cranberries

An option for an adult child (from 12-14 years old) or for a baby who would not mind helping his mother create a small miracle.

What to look for in bins:

Hazelnuts - about 35 pcs.
70 g dark bitter chocolate.
9 tbsp cream (approx. 10%).
Creamy toffees (the most ordinary, stretchy, not crumbly) - 240 g.
One and a half spoons of plums/oil.
One and a half spoons of vegetable oil/oil without smell!

Instructions:

Finely chop the toffee, add cream (5 tbsp) and melt in a water bath.
Melted? Remove from heat, add butter and mix until smooth and shiny.
We grease the mold (this is where the mold from the candy box comes in handy) with butter (or take a silicone “fancy” mold). Even a toddler can do this.
Now we hand the baby a spoon and wait patiently while he pours the melted toffee into the molds.
We clean the nuts (hazelnuts) in advance and lightly fry them, wash the cranberries.
We give the child a plate with nuts and a plate with cranberries - let him decorate the candies.
Meanwhile, mom melts the dark chocolate, gradually adds 2-4 tablespoons of cream to it (we look at the consistency) and pours the resulting mass into a container.
We give the child a spoon again. Now his task is to “drench” each future candy with chocolate before it hardens.

Ready! Place our sweets in the freezer for 4 hours.

We beautifully arrange the candies on a platter and go treat dad and grandma!

Flowers for a tired mom after work

An original snack for a hungry mother who is exhausted after a hard day at work. Option for children who are already allowed to use the stove. Or for smaller children, but with the involvement of dad or grandmother in the process (dads also really like to misbehave in the kitchen).

What to look for in bins:

Thin sausages of good quality - several pieces.
Green onions, dill - for the bouquet
Regular baby noodles (a handful).
Products for decoration (whatever you find).

Instructions:

Remove the film from the sausages and cut them into 5-6 pieces (of course, across the sausage).
We carefully and creatively stick the noodles into our sausages so that they stick out halfway from the sausage. Do not portion it so that the noodles do not fall out during cooking.
We put our “buds” into boiling water and wait 15 minutes for them to “bloom”.
Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and let dry a little.
Well, now the most important thing is creating a bouquet. We beautifully lay out the stems with leaves (onion, dill) on a dish, arrange our “flowers” and, at our discretion, add, for example, vegetable butterflies (the principle is the same as for fruit butterflies - see above).

Mom will be pleased!

Mini pizzas - for the whole family

The cook's age is from 3 years. But only mom turns on the oven.

What to look for in bins:

A package of puff pastry dough (total 0.5 kg).
100 g marinated chopped champignons.
Russian cheese - 100 g.
150 g sliced brisket.
Ketchup (optional - and mayonnaise).
Ingredients for decoration: shaved bell peppers, sliced olives.

Instructions:

Defrost and roll out the dough. The child diligently helps his mother with a rolling pin.
Cut out exactly 8 circles of the same diameter.
Decorating pizzas - giving free rein to your imagination! Smileys, animal faces, funny inscriptions - anything is possible!
Bake until fully cooked in a preheated oven. Naturally, with my mother's help.

Ready! You can invite your family for afternoon tea!

Scrambled eggs Heart - for mom's breakfast

Well, what kind of mother would refuse such a breakfast!

Are they already letting you near the stove? Then go ahead and have a good mood!

What to look for in bins:

2 long sausages.
Salt, drain/oil.
Of course, eggs (2 pcs).
Green onion and lettuce leaves - for “decor”.

Instructions:

We cut each sausage (note - not all the way!) lengthwise.
We turn it inside out and carefully secure the sharp corner of our heart with a toothpick.
Heat a frying pan, melt the butter and lightly fry the sausage heart on 1 side.
Fried? Turn over and crack the egg directly into the center of the heart.
Don't forget to add salt.
After cooking, place the “heart” with a spatula on lettuce leaves and garnish with red pepper.

You can bring mom breakfast!

Banana cocktail - impossible to stop eating!

Any child whose mother already lets him near the blender can handle this drink. An easy and simple recipe for a quick summer refreshing and nutritious drink.

What to look for in the bins (serves 4):

2 .
400 ml fresh milk.
Cinnamon.
200 g of creamy ice cream.

Instructions:

Place ice cream in a blender.
Add chopped bananas to it.
Fill the products with milk.
Beat until the bananas are completely chopped.
What's next? We coat the edges of the glasses with banana (do not overdo it) and, turning them over, dip them in cinnamon - that is, we decorate the rims of the glasses.

All that remains is to pour the cocktail itself over them and serve.

Berry ice cream made by a child

It doesn't matter that summer is over. After all, the best time for ice cream is always! And if you also learn how to make it yourself, then even your grandmother, who stubbornly refuses to eat “cold” food in the slushy autumn, will not resist.

As for the age of the cook, we note that again we cannot do without the mother.

What to look for in bins:

300 g of ready-made berry puree (make in a blender in advance).
One egg.
200 g drain/oil.
150 g sugar.

Instructions:

Mix the egg with sugar. Children love working with a whisk.
Add the resulting mixture to our berry puree and cook this mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes, remembering to stir.
Next, beat the butter with a mixer and slowly pour it into the now cooled fruit mixture.

Now you can pour the ice cream into molds and put it in the freezer.

Apples with cottage cheese

Healthy and tasty. The cook's age is from 12-14 years.

What to look for in bins:

2 large apples.
100 g low-fat cottage cheese.
A handful of washed raisins.
1 tbsp honey.

Instructions:

Cut out the cores from the apples.
Mix cottage cheese with raisins and honey for the filling.
Stuff the apples with the filling and sprinkle a little sugar on top.
Place the dish in the preheated oven. You can also cook them in the microwave.

To check the readiness of the dessert, pierce the apple with a toothpick.

Rolls for dad

Even a 6-7 year old child can prepare such a snack.

What to look for in bins:

Pita.
Filling: 100 g cheese, garlic, mayonnaise, sliced ham, washed lettuce leaves.

Instructions:

Cut the pita bread into squares in advance (you can cut it with scissors).
Grate 1 clove of garlic and cheese on the finest grater, mix with mayonnaise.
Place the cheese mass in a thin layer on a square of pita bread, place a thin slice of ham and a leaf of lettuce on top.
We roll our square with the filling into a neat roll.

Banana cookies for grandma

Who said cookies are only grandma's domain? It’s not true, everyone can cook! And the children will prove it to you.

The cook must be over 9 years old with the right to use a microwave.

What to look for in bins:

A few bananas.
Drain/oil.
Coconut flakes.

Instructions:

Grind bananas in a blender. If you don’t have a blender or your mother still forbids using it, grind it with a fork or on a grater until smooth.
Mix the mixture with coconut flakes.
We form future cookies with our hands.
We take a plate without pictures and gilded edges (allowed for the microwave), grease it with butter and carefully transfer our cookies.
Dry the dessert in the microwave for 5 minutes.

We take it out, crumble crushed walnuts on top, decorate with cranberries and serve.

Vitamin salad for mom's lunch

We've been cooking without a knife since we were 4-5 years old!

What to look for in bins:

Grated cheese - 100 g.
1 tbsp vegetable oil.
Half a lemon.
A handful of pine nuts (hulled).
10 tiny cherry tomatoes.
Green lettuce leaves (washed).
Greens and arugula - to your taste.

Instructions:

Place the tomatoes in a wide salad bowl.
Sprinkle with nut kernels and grated cheese.
Tear the greens and lettuce leaves on top with clean hands.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto the salad.
Add a little salt, a little pepper and pour vegetable oil over all this beauty.

Salad ready!

Curd tomatoes

The cook's age is from 7-8 years with the right to use a knife.

What to look for in bins:

Tomatoes - 5 pcs.
A couple of green onions.
Cottage cheese - half a pack (125 g).
A clove of garlic and herbs.
Sour cream, salt.

Instructions:

Wash the tomatoes and carefully cut off the tops.
Carefully remove the pulp with a regular teaspoon.
Place the tomatoes with the holes down to drain the juice.
Chop the greens, crush the garlic, mix.
Add the cottage cheese mashed with a fork, 3 tablespoons of sour cream and a pinch of salt to the mixture.
Mix again and stuff our tomatoes with the mixture.

Bon appetit and good luck to the young chefs!

Before allowing your child to prepare simple meals on his own, study with him. It would be better if you prepare a colorful instruction sheet for your baby in the kitchen - which you can also draw with him.

What kind of dishes do your children cook? Share your children's recipes with us!

After all, together it is much more fun and interesting!

1. Pizza on a baguette

Prepare the base and prepare the toppings, and let the little ones create their own pizza designs. All you need to do is cut the bread in half, place the pieces crumb side up on a baking sheet, brush them with sauce (red, white, pesto - whatever you want) and sprinkle generously with hard cheese. To prevent the pizza from falling apart, it is recommended to place the filling on top of the cheese. This is what the little assistant will do. Cheese lovers can sprinkle another layer of mozzarella on top a couple of minutes before removing the dish from the oven.

2. Vanilla cookies with sugar and colorful sprinkles

If children were paid for every cookie they decorated, they could become millionaires.

To make cookies you will need the following ingredients:

3 cups flour;
¼ tsp. salt;
½ stick of soft butter;
1 cup of sugar;
1 large egg;
2 tsp. vanillin.

Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate container, use a blender to beat the butter with sugar, egg and vanilla. It is advisable to beat at low speed until the mixture is homogeneous. Combine the contents of two bowls, knead the dough and divide it into balls 2.5 - 3 cm in diameter. Roll out the balls and place on the mold. Bake cookies at 175 degrees for 15 minutes. You can top the sweets with whipped cream, protein cream, condensed milk, or melted chocolate. The powder will stick securely on all surfaces!

Cut out the middle of the pumpkin (or zucchini, if desired) and grate it on a fine grater. Salt and pepper the mixture, add a few tablespoons of butter and your favorite spices, place in pots and cover with cheese. If desired, you can put a little mozzarella inside. When a golden crust appears on the dish, it is ready!

4. Skewers of cookies and fruits

Didn’t you know that cookies on skewers are much tastier?

For this dish you will need soft cookies that can easily be put on a skewer, and any fruits or berries that are on sale.

5. Zucchini baked with Parmesan

The dish turns out to be very simple, but tasty. To prepare it, you just need to cut the zucchini into thin strips, place them on a baking sheet, brush with oil, sprinkle with a mixture of salt, pepper and seasonings to taste, and top with grated Parmesan. After 15 minutes, a golden crust should appear on the appetizer and you can take it out.

Many parents are familiar with the problem when children refuse to eat salads. It's actually easy to solve. All you need to do is give your child the opportunity to make his own salad... in a jar. The process of preparing such a dish is reminiscent of a game, which means your baby will certainly enjoy it. But the most important thing is that the child will choose the ingredients for his salad on his own. Parents only need to provide a decent range of products and not interfere, because the little chef will create.

7. Egg noodles with leeks and corn

Ingredients:

½ kg noodles;
2 leeks;
½ can of corn;
2 – 3 cloves of garlic;
½ cup Parmesan;
¼ cup cream cheese;
basil;
olive oil;
salt;
pepper.

While the noodles are cooking, cut the onion into rings and lightly fry it along with the corn. Season the pasta with olive oil and add vegetables to it. Mix everything with cream cheese. Add Parmesan, basil and garlic and stir again before eating.

8. Energy bars that don't require baking

Choose the ingredients you like: nuts, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, rice balls and others. Fry them all in a frying pan for 5 – 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix melted honey and butter. Pour the resulting mixture into the ingredients into the frying pan and mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, divide into portions and enjoy the deliciousness!

9. Watermelon and berry salad

There is hardly a child who will refuse fruit salad. Especially if it looks original (however, for this you will have to either hone your skills in cutting out figures or buy special molds for canapés).

Watermelon and berry salad is easy to prepare. Cut the watermelon into slices and cut out figures from the pulp. Add any berries to the bowl and top with honey or yogurt. This dessert is delicious and very healthy.

10. Homemade honey bread

All you need:

1 pack of dry yeast;
1.5 glasses of warm milk;
¼ cup honey;
1/8 cup melted butter;
1 tsp. salt;
4 cups flour.

Yeast dissolves in milk. Honey, butter and salt are also added there. Everything is mixed well. Add 3 cups of flour and knead the dough with your hands. Afterwards, put it in a warm place so that it rises. This will take about an hour. Then the dough needs to be transferred to a greased form and left for another 30 minutes. Bread should be baked at 190 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. It is recommended to brush the slices with butter before eating.

11. Chewable Oreos

Of course, Oreos themselves are quite tasty, and if you make chewy sweets out of them - which is not at all difficult - you will get a real delicacy. Grind a pack of cookies in a blender. In a separate container, melt a pack of marshmallows (chewy marshmallows) and 4 tbsp. l. butter. Mix everything in a blender bowl and place in a frying pan for 5 - 7 minutes. Now the sweetness is ready and can be cut into portions.

12. Cereal cookies with cranberries and raisins

Ingredients:

2 glasses of rolled oats;
½ cup raisins;
1/3 cup cranberries;
1 tsp. chopped marmalade or zest;
3 apples;
½ cup sugar.

Mix oatmeal, raisins, cranberries and marmalade in one container. Peel the apples, cut into cubes and cook. Add sugar to the pan and when the mixture thickens, you can remove it from the heat. Add the resulting apple sauce to a bowl with rolled oats, stir and form small balls from this mass. Bake cookies in the oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

This is a very simple, tasty and bright delicacy that all children adore. It’s good if you have special ice cream molds at home. But if necessary, they can be replaced with ordinary plastic cups. Prepare the jelly according to the directions on the package. The treat can be single-color or multi-layered. Place it in molds/cups, stick the sticks in and place in the freezer for 8 – 12 hours. To make the finished dessert easier to get out, you can pour boiling water over the mold.

14. Mini lasagna

Children like miniature dishes, like themselves, much more. A smaller version of lasagna, for example, can be made in muffin tins. For this you will need:

0.5 kg minced meat (to taste);
0.5 kg sausage;
1 cup cream cheese;
1 cup grated cheese;
salt;
pepper;
1 package of lasagna dough;
tomato sauce.

Fry the minced meat with sausage and season with tomato sauce to taste. Mix cream cheese with spices and form small balls from it. Grease the molds with olive oil and place the dough in them. Place cheese balls inside and distribute them according to the mold, then add minced meat and sausage. Finally, sprinkle with grated cheese. Mini lasagnas are baked for 10 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

15. Nutella cookies

Ingredients:

1 jar of Nutella;
2 eggs;
½ cup flour.

Mix everything in a bowl, place on a baking sheet and bake for about a quarter of an hour in the oven at 175 degrees. Before serving, cut into portions.

16. Taco Pizza

You could make pizza or tacos separately. But “two in one” turns out to be much more interesting and tastes just as good! For preparation you will need the following components:

0.5 kg minced meat;
1 package of puff pastry;
1 packet taco seasoning;
1 can of green peas (or canned beans);
2 – 3 cups grated cheese;
½ cup crushed tomatoes;
¼ cup chopped olives;
green onions.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Fry the minced meat and season with taco spices. Place the dough on a baking sheet, folding it over the edges. Place beans or peas as the bottom layer. On top - minced meat, cheese, tomatoes, olives, onions. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

17. Berry popsicle

To make popsicle you will need:

0.5 liters of natural yogurt;
3 tbsp. l. honey;
1 tsp. vanillin;
100 gr. blueberries;
100 gr. raspberries

Mix half of the yogurt with honey and vanilla and pour into ice cream molds (up to half). Add a few whole berries to each mold and place the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes. At the same time, mix the second half of the yogurt with the remaining fruit and beat with a blender. Remove the molds from the freezer and top each with the resulting mixture. Freeze for another 3-4 hours and you can enjoy the delicate taste.

18. Cauliflower steaks

There are no limits to the imagination of little chefs! For kids, cauliflower in this form seems especially attractive. Parents just need to get the hang of cutting it carefully. And then everything is simple - coat the steaks with salt and pepper and put them in a frying pan. Batter, of course, can also be added if desired, but this will additionally have to be negotiated with the mini-chef!

19. Shells with cheese

It's hard to say what exactly attracts kids to mac and cheese. But almost all kids love this dish. To prepare it you need the following ingredients:

2 cups shells;
2 glasses of milk;
1 cup Cheddar cheese.

Boil milk and add pasta to it. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the shells are cooked, turn off the heat, add the cheese to the pan and stir until it melts.

20. Breakfast in a basket

The dish looks very beautiful and expensive, but in fact it is more than affordable and easy to prepare.

Ingredients needed (for 6 servings):

6 slices of fresh bread;
spinach;
¼ cup grated cheese;
6 eggs;
6 slices bacon;
salt;
pepper;
2 tbsp. l. butter.

Cut out a circle of crumb from the bread (you can do this with a glass or a cookie cutter) and roll it out. In each cake pan, place a small piece of bread on the bottom, and on top - a rolled out crumb, rolled into an “envelope”. Place spinach, cheese, bacon on the bottom of the future basket and beat in the egg at the end. Breakfast is baked at 190 degrees for 15 minutes (until the whites turn white).

21. Quesadilla with nut butter and bananas

Quesadillas can be made for breakfast with nut butter and bananas.

Cooking with children is interesting and fun - the point is not even that this way you “pump up” culinary skills and develop good taste. It’s just that this is a rather rare opportunity in the times of gadgets to spend full time with your own child, talk, listen and learn something undoubtedly important about the baby - and about yourself. What to cook, how to prepare for this exciting process and what points must be taken into account?

10 life hacks: how to cook with a child

You can cook anything - but you should set aside at least one and a half times more time. If you are not sure about the recipe and method of preparing something intricate, either choose a simpler dish, or do a preliminary search, watch a couple of cooking videos on YouTube - in general, prepare yourself. It is very important that everything turns out as well as possible for the child. This is a psychological moment that motivates him to learn to cook further or will discourage him from going into the kitchen for a long time.
Even the most ordinary dish can be given a story - geographical or historical. For example, you will cook not just pizza, but Neapolitan pizza, not just dumplings, but their Chinese variety. The chicken can be simply fried - or you can tell that this is how Napoleon’s court cook prepared it.
Give your child the opportunity to create and invent ideas on the fly while cooking. If you are not confident in your child’s creative abilities (or, on the contrary, you know them too well), the illusion of choice comes into play. For example, you might ask what sauce you will use for making pizza - homemade mayonnaise or ketchup, what berries to add to cookies - strawberries or raspberries, or maybe even peaches? Even the most fastidious little ones usually enjoy eating home-made dishes, and even if they also “invented” it themselves.
Assess the complexity of the chosen dish and adequately correlate it with the age of the assistant. If you are afraid to give a knife, cut everything you need in advance. A child must definitely do something himself, even if he has barely learned to walk - even just sprinkling grated cheese on a sandwich or pasta is very important for him. A long journey begins with small steps! Decide in advance what exactly you will entrust to your child - and make sure that you have everything ready to perform the action.
With children in the older kindergarten group and younger schoolchildren, you can start by discussing the recipe, making a grocery list, and going to the store together. This way the child will know for sure that he is in control of the process, that he and his thoughts are important - this raises self-esteem and greatly motivates him to new gastronomic exploits.
Buy plastic measuring cups. Children's hands sometimes turn out to be not very skillful - so it is better to take care of your expensive dishes. Bright plastic will easily survive a drop or two. Measure and count everything together with your child - this way the baby will learn how to count, touch foods, and become familiar with textures and smells.
Aprons, oilcloths, sponges for washing - cleaning is also fun, and it’s also best to do it together. Where do you think people come from, after whom there is eternal chaos in the kitchen? The cooking process begins with the first letter on the grocery list and ends with sweeping the floor. Don’t leave out any of the important points - and your child will quickly learn to clean up after themselves and after cooking.
Invite your child's friends over - it's best to do this on a day off. Make a menu in advance (of course, the children themselves will cook), think about what exactly they will take with them to treat their parents. The ideal option is cookies or a sandwich. You also need to think about the packaging in advance: craft paper on which you can write the name of each child with a marker, multi-colored ribbons - let it be a small holiday.
The smallest children who sit on a high chair can be given dry beans packed in bags, baking paper, a small toy rolling pin - they will be happy to rustle with all this stuff. Talk to your baby, even if he doesn’t know how to answer you yet. The main thing is that the child wants and loves to be in the kitchen from a very early age. And sorting through various objects also develops fine motor skills and is certainly more useful than watching “Masha and the Bear” for the hundred-fifth time so that mom has time to prepare dinner for the whole family. Make sure your baby doesn't put anything in his mouth.
Cold-hot, hard-soft, salty-sweet. Before each cooking, you can conduct an “exposure session”. Sniff foods blindfolded, watch how liquids become thick, loose foods become plastic, and so on. The art of cooking is a story about seeing and feeling, distinguishing and understanding. Start teaching your child today - at any age, and this will definitely help him in the future. And you, of course.

Shortbread

The simplest recipe is the basic one. You can add various spices to it (cinnamon, vanilla, grated orange or lemon zest), dyes (for example, a tablespoon of beet juice, cocoa powder or a little saffron for a yellow tint. The dough, painted in three or four colors, can be rolled into sausages, easily connect them together and cut with a sharp knife. As a result, you will get multi-colored fun chess cookies. You can sprinkle with nuts, pieces of chocolate, seeds, or press frozen berries into the dough or put raisins in the shape of faces. Roll out the dough yourself if the child is too small. and give him a cutter for cutting, or trust him to make decorations.

flour - 1 cup plus additional amount;
sour cream or yogurt - ½ cup;
egg - 1 pc.;
sugar - 1 glass;
soda or baking powder - 1 teaspoon;
salt - a pinch;
butter or margarine - 150 gr., melt and cool.

All ingredients must be mixed together until a homogeneous dough is obtained. It should be of medium density and hold its shape well. Add flour if you feel the dough is too soft. Roll into a ball and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then roll it out into a thin layer about a centimeter thick - and you can start cutting out the figures. Please note that they will increase in size during baking, so leave gaps between the cookies.

Bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes, constantly monitoring - the cookies can burn quite quickly on the bottom.

Pizza (basic recipe)

You can put any filling you like on this base. Classics: tomatoes cut into thin slices, sausages or sausages, canned tuna, corn. You can add beans from a can, canned or fresh pineapple cut into small pieces along with bacon - try a few options.

Some of the flour can be replaced with whole grain or even buckwheat, then you will have not only a tasty, but also a healthy dish. Dough from the refrigerator is easier to roll out than fresh dough - the best option would be to make it the night before, then it will “ripen” overnight and will be much more pleasant to work with.

For the test:

kefir - 1 glass;
yeast - 1 sachet;
olive oil - 5 tablespoons;
sugar - 1 tablespoon;
salt - a pinch;
egg - 1 piece;
flour - about 3 cups (depending on the type and stickiness).

Place the dough (all ingredients must be warm): mix sugar and kefir, add yeast and a third of a glass of flour, stir gently. Bubbles should appear, which means the yeast has begun its work. When the mass doubles, add the remaining ingredients and mix. It is better to add flour in small portions, stirring most conveniently with your hands. The dough should have a consistency between dumplings and yeast. Roll into a ball or two, put in the refrigerator in a bag. The pizza base should be about half a centimeter thick, don't forget about the sides.

Cream soup

Boil any seasonal vegetables in the required amount of water or broth. Salt and add spices to taste. Give your child an immersion blender - watch carefully so that he does not get burned by the hot drops of liquid. Add a few tablespoons of butter and stir. Garnish with herbs, fried pieces of chicken fillet, and croutons.

Such soups allow you to utilize almost any leftover vegetables; you can take a mixture or one type. Frozen mixtures are also suitable - but they need to be filled with a minimum amount of water and cooked very quickly.

Sandwiches based on pita flatbreads

flatbreads - according to the number of eaters;
cheese, grated on a coarse grater - 200 g;
tomatoes, cut into thin slices - 3 pieces;
sausages or frankfurters, cut into thin circles (if you take minced meat, you must first fry it with onions in a frying pan and add salt).

Carefully open the flatbreads on one side to create a “pocket”. You need to put the filling into it in layers - in addition to the listed ingredients, you can take boiled eggs, herbs, stewed vegetables. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with the other half of the flatbread. Heat the stuffed tortillas in a dry frying pan - about a minute and a half on each side, you can heat them in the microwave for a minute. Please be careful that children do not get burned in this case.

carrot cake

The dish is very simple to make; it can be left as a cake, baked in muffin tins, baked in thin layers and layered with sour cream mixed with sugar. Very unusual, satisfying and tasty - even those children who usually don’t like carrots will eat it with pleasure.

3 large carrots, grated;
flour - 1 ½ cups;
kefir or yogurt: 2 cups;
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanillin - a pinch;
orange or lemon - squeeze out the juice, grate the peel on a fine grater. Do not use the white part, it may taste bitter;
sugar - 1 glass;
sunflower oil - ½ cup;
soda or baking powder - 1 teaspoon or bag;
eggs - 2 pieces.

Mix everything together to form a medium thick dough. Pour into greased muffin pan or cups. Bake for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown. You can eat it hot with cocoa or cool it and top it with sour cream and sugar or any glaze. You can add chocolate chips directly to the dough.

Yourconciergeservices.wordpress.com

Sliced strawberries and cream cheese make a great sandwich filling. You can eat it for breakfast or take it with you to school.

A truly decadent breakfast cookie that even the pickiest of eaters will love.

Greatist.com

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts;
1½ cups rolled oats;
¾ cup whole grain flour;
2 teaspoons baking powder;
½ spoon of baking soda;
½ stick of butter;
½ cup brown sugar;
2 tablespoons flaxseed;
finely grated orange zest;
½ teaspoon salt;
½ teaspoon cinnamon;
½ cup low-fat yogurt;
1 egg;
1½ cups dates.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. On one, toast the walnuts for 8 minutes, then let them cool.

In a medium bowl, combine rolled oats, flour, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate mixer, beat the butter, sugar, flaxseed, zest, salt and cinnamon. Add yogurt, egg and mix.

Then add the oatmeal mixture, dates and walnuts and mix again. Place the mixture on a second baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

This quick and easy meal will make any dinner unforgettable and will definitely eliminate the desire to order something.

Simplyscratch.com

Ingredients

400 g spaghetti;
1 cup frozen peas;
6 slices bacon;
4 eggs;
½ cup grated cheese;
½ teaspoon salt;
½ teaspoon pepper.

Preparation

Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Then add peas to the spaghetti and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pasta and peas from the pan, reserving ½ cup of the resulting broth.

In a shallow skillet, cook bacon for 8 minutes. After this you will be left with fat. You will need 2 tablespoons.

In a bowl, beat eggs, add cheese, fat, broth, salt and pepper. Mix pasta and bacon.

Chicken breast served with penne pasta and broccoli will not leave your family indifferent.

marthastewart.com

Ingredients

2 eggs;
¾ cup finely grated Parmesan;
½ cup breadcrumbs;
2 chicken breasts;
150 g mozzarella;
1½ cups tomato sauce;
½ pack of penne;
300 g frozen broccoli;
1 tablespoon olive oil;
salt;
ground pepper.

Preparation

Beat the eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, combine grated Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip in the egg and roll in the Parmesan and breadcrumb mixture. Fry in a frying pan for 2-4 minutes on each side.

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees. Pour a cup of tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Then place the breast, pour in the remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

While the chicken is cooking, cook the broccoli until al dente. Combine them in one pan, add olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Serve the breasts with penne and broccoli.

To turn a quesadilla into a balanced meal, serve it with a salad dressed with vinaigrette, olive oil and lime juice.

30poundsofapples.com

Ingredients

2 onions;
1 bunch of green onions;
2 cups cooked shredded chicken;
1½ cups grated cheese;
1 pickled jalapeno pepper;
¼ cup fresh cilantro;
4 flatbreads;
¾ cup salsa;
½ cup low-fat sour cream.

Preparation

Finely chop the onion. Scatter precooked chicken, cheese, jalapeño, cilantro and onion evenly over tortilla. Then roll it up. Fry the flatbreads for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown.

Then cut each quesadilla into two pieces and sprinkle with green onions. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

marthastewart.com

Boil and finely chop them, mix them with sour cream, add a little salt and spread this salad on black bread. Kids can use any veggies or sauces to put a face on this classic sandwich.

Allrecipes.com

This easy pizza-inspired wrap recipe will delight your child. Making rolls is very simple: take pita bread, spread it with any sauce, add meat and salad and roll. Then cut and place beautifully in a container or on your child’s plate.

Quorn.co.uk

centralmarket.com

The simplicity of toast and melted cheese is the secret to the perfect kids meal. Let your child make the sandwich himself and enjoy its taste. This will bring you closer and bring warmth even on the coldest day.

Twice baked potatoes

Pinterest.com

These potatoes are cooked twice, but their deliciousness is quadrupled.

To make this, bake it whole with the skin on. Then cut it lengthwise, take out the pulp, mix it with feta, broccoli, finely chopped carrots and put it back in the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 15 minutes.

Children usually like these dishes, and adults enjoy the ease of preparation.

Many parents are familiar with the problem of whims at the table, when children refuse to eat home-cooked food. And the solution to this problem is quite simple - invite your child to help decorate a dish, arrange snacks beautifully, make sandwiches or mix a salad, and your child will never refuse to eat what he prepared himself! In addition, such a pastime is another reason to praise the child, show him your love, communicate and establish contact...

It is likely that many people will have a question - where to start? We suggest starting with something not very complicated, but at the same time unusual and interesting to prepare. For example, with sausages. Arm yourself with a pack of spaghetti, sausages or sausages and a wide saucepan. Just imagine how much delight your child will experience when you invite him to pierce the sausages with thin long spaghetti!
To make the finished dish look more interesting, break the spaghetti in half, then the hanging ends will not be so long, and it will be more convenient to eat them. Be sure to remove the casing from the sausages, even if it is natural, then it will be easier for the child to pierce the spaghetti. When all the sausages are ready, place them in boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. I am sure that children will be interested not only in cooking, but also in eating this shaggy miracle!
You can try another option for preparing sausages. It’s not at all difficult to turn the most ordinary sausage into a real inhabitant of the seas and oceans - an octopus! And ask the child to lay out the seabed on a plate. The main thing is to provide him with the necessary products. Carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, olives, peas, corn, green beans - just what you need.

While your child is imagining a seabed scenery, get busy with octopuses. To do this, peel the sausages from the casing and make three intersecting cuts on one of the ends - these are the future tentacles. Boil the sausages and arrange the tentacles nicely on a plate. The eyes of the octopus can be made using a regular knife or using peas. Agree, the sausages look much cuter this way!
Children's help will also come in handy when preparing more complex dishes. Not every child will want to eat rice. What if you make a snowman out of rice? Any child can handle this. Boil rice and give it to your favorite child, let him roll balls of different sizes and make snowmen. And you will have to cut out a hat, scarf, mittens, nose, eyes and buttons from available products, and maybe you will dress your snowman in a special way!

It is very important that the snowman is not only beautiful, it must also be tasty. Therefore, come up with some interesting story with your child, “draw” it on a plate using vegetables, meat, cheese and herbs and place a snowman there. The result will be a bright, funny picture, and the story can be turned into a game and continued while eating. In addition, you will have a complete lunch, because it will contain only healthy products!
If you are planning a light snack, then you can make unusual snacks from the most ordinary products. For example, to prepare such a sandwich you will need crispbread or toast bread, herbs, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, capelin caviar, olives and sour cream. Come up with an interesting picture, arrange all the ingredients in an unusual way, and your sandwich will attract everyone's attention.

Spread the bread with sour cream, cut out petals of approximately the same size from the bell pepper and place them on the bread in the shape of a flower. Place some pollock caviar in the middle of the flower. For decoration, use half a cherry tomato and a slice of olive. Ask your child to place a ladybug on a flower using these ingredients, and make dots on the back using eggs. It turned out to be a small work of art. Be sure to praise your child, this will only increase your baby's joy and delight.
Remember what the cat Matroskin said in the cartoon “Holidays in Prostokvashino”: you should put the sandwich on your tongue with sausage, it will taste better! We think the same thing, so we bring to your attention the following sandwich, which looks like a frog sitting in a swamp, surrounded by lilies. There is nothing difficult in preparing such a sandwich; your child can handle it himself, without your sensitive supervision and participation.

He will need a leaf of lettuce, herbs, sour cream, garlic, olives, sausage and an egg. The greens need to be chopped, combined with sour cream, squeeze in half a clove of garlic and mix thoroughly. Cut two large but thin slices of sausage and one slice of bread. Now you need to spread the bread with sour cream, herbs and garlic, first we spread it on one side, then we put the sausage on it and turn it over, then we spread it on the other side and put the sausage again. Now carefully cut out the holes for the eyes and insert the olives there. Place the resulting sandwich on a lettuce leaf and decorate with an egg. To get these lilies, cut the egg in half and cut out the triangles. Of course, there are special knives for making such decorations, but you can get by with the simplest kitchen knives. So, instead of a regular sandwich, there will be a cute sausage frog on your table.
Do you think it is harmful for your child to eat sandwiches? No problem. You can always come up with something only from natural healthy products. For example, a “flower” composition. When food is not only healthy, but also tasty, beautiful and made with your own hands, not a single child will refuse to eat it to the end!

Offer your child spinach, celery, tomatoes, parsley, carrots, cucumbers, olives, corn, peas and any other vegetables that your child finds tasty. Give free rein to his imagination, let him do what he wants, and in the meantime you help him cut the necessary ingredients. Tell me what the “flower” eyes can be made from, how to secure it, and what sauce to eat it with.
Children's help may also be needed when preparing dessert. For example, such a fruity lobster. In fact, you can post anyone, even a butterfly or your favorite cartoon character, it all depends on your child’s imagination. Such culinary creativity develops spatial imagination, because it is not enough to imagine what the future dish will look like, you need to make it three-dimensional.

To prepare a fruit lobster like in the photo, you will need watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, apples, mangoes, tangerines and limes. Simply cut all the fruit into wedges and arrange them in a lobster shape. To prevent apples from browning, pour lime juice over them and serve. Such a dessert will be remembered not only by your child, but also by everyone present, because it is not so often that you can see a dish prepared by the hands of your baby.
In general, involving children in the cooking process is an important step. This teaches them to value meals together and spending time with family. In addition, by inviting your baby into the kitchen, you demonstrate his importance, he feels like an adult, which means he develops independence and responsibility. By counting the required number of ingredients and their combination, the child develops logic and mathematical abilities.
Cooking is a fascinating activity; by preparing something interesting and unusual, we develop our creativity and train our imagination. And if we involve our beloved children in this activity, we get even more pleasure from communication and the results of joint efforts. And most importantly, what is prepared with joy will be eaten with delight!
Happy culinary discoveries and bon appetit!