cooking w/ a 2yr old

AngieB90

I have a 2yr old son and a 6wk old son. And since I had the baby Ive been trying to do more things with my 2yr old that can be special. I want to get him involved in making meals so it can be our own thing. Does anybody know any good websites with kid friendly recipes? 

SarahC99

Just made pumpkin muffins from here and discovered her website... Cookingwithmykid.com 

MrsPteranodon

Buddy makes some amazing pancakes

groovygrl

I don't know if you really need specific kid friendly recipes, you just need to think about what he can 'help' with- things that are easy, not a safety issue & if it gets a little screwed up it isn't a big deal...

My DD is 3 and is really getting into helping me make dinner and bake now- I let her a little closer to the stove than I would have at 2 to help dump something in a pan or something and I will let her stir raw eggs or handle chicken (she had a blast making chicken nuggets w/ me b/c of the dipping part even though it was beyond messy) b/c she gets not to put it or her hands in her mouth and that we have to wash really well afterward but otherwise it is not much different- I have her hold measuring cups or spoons while I put things in & then she gets to dump, I let her stir things, to some extent (depending on what it is) I let her spoon stuff onto a tray or into a muffin pan, sprinkle the cheese/pepperoni/veggies on the pizza, etc.

If you're doing something that only requires cutting & then putting in the oven or a pan, that is tough but if there is any measuring, stirring or sprinkling, they can totally get into that. GL!

megann831

DD is going through an "I help you" phase.  Now that she wants to help with everything it's kind of difficult, but I try to do as much as possible with her.  We made a salad today, I chopped up the veggies she put them in a bowl, she's great with pizza, she can spread the sauce the cheese.  We really enjoy baking, I measure out the ingredients, she puts them in the bowl, and she loves using the electric mixer.  She'll spoon out the cookie dough and then I'll fix her pan before I put them in the oven.  I recently got her a stool to make things a little easier, and as long as she's on her stool she is so happy.

akayf

Any baking recipe is great.    Kids love dumping flour, sugar etc into the bowl.    I usually will use smaller measuring cups so he gets more to dump(instead of 1 cup of flour we'll do 4 quarter cups).    

 Anytime you need to coat something in flour or breadcrumbs, I like to put the breadcrumbs in a ziplock.   Throw 1 piece of chicken or whatever in the bag, seal it and let them shake shake shake!   

Brewtowngrl

anything that involves eggs.  Have your LO break them into a tea cup and then dump into what you are making.  that way you don't have to fish shells out of your meal.  We do a lot of breakfast for dinner.  My DH works 2nd shift so our main meal as a family is lunch.  

MrsWindyCity

I agree on baking recipes. DS and I just made a coffee cake this weekend and he loves to dump everything in the bowl, turn on the mixer, mix with the spatula, etc. 

He also loves using the salad spinner, and putting salad ingredients in bowls. He will do stuff like put shredded cheese on a tortilla for quesadillas.

And ditto about not needing 'kid friendly" recipes. I find that DS eats half the stuff we're prepping which is sometimes annoying but mostly it gets him to eat stuff he may not eat once it hits the plate - like in the last few weeks he's eaten half a raw zucchini and raw green beans :P

groovygrl

MrsWindyCity:

I agree on baking recipes. DS and I just made a coffee cake this weekend and he loves to dump everything in the bowl, turn on the mixer, mix with the spatula, etc. 

He also loves using the salad spinner, and putting salad ingredients in bowls. He will do stuff like put shredded cheese on a tortilla for quesadillas.

And ditto about not needing 'kid friendly" recipes. I find that DS eats half the stuff we're prepping which is sometimes annoying but mostly it gets him to eat stuff he may not eat once it hits the plate - like in the last few weeks he's eaten half a raw zucchini and raw green beans :P

Ha- this is SO true, my DD will try anything we're prepping even if it is stuff she has insisted she does not like. We make scrambled eggs w/ cheese & spinach regularly & she always is eating the chopped spinach out of my prep bowl... she would never eat plain spinach if I put it on the plate.