Madhouse Wednesday again so I’m jumping in hopefully with a bit more of an even flow than last week. This week’s topic is ‘In the Kitchen.’
I am not a fantastic cook, I prefer to grill, if you can throw it over a flame I am all for it and usually it turns out pretty darn good. The times I cook in the house Derek and Monet love, I MEAN REALLY LOVE, to help in the kitchen. Steve and I really have issues with safety but lately I have started throwing some caution to the wind and have them enjoy small culinary tasks, I figure they will never be comfortable to try new things and more excited to eat unless they help prepare meals. Luckily both kids have pretty adult palates so we have been able to spring some pretty awesome food into their diet, mom is more of a finicky eater than they are.
I have the kids help with everything, from collecting the ingredients and tools needed, measuring and mixing and of course clean-up. I try to monitor the baking and hot stuff but I have on occasion let them stir over a burner (oh don’t tell Steve.) I also REFUSE to let them handle raw meat but I hope to get them to a point to help with that as well ( you know transplants and certain bacteria just don’t mix well at all.) For Monet’s 2nd birthday we bought her a little play kitchen and most days where I am working in our kitchen without her, she comes in to tell me she is cooking in her kitchen. She is usually baking a gum drop cake or something of the alike. I love to see how creative they both can be in our kitchen or with just their imagination in the play kitchen. I believe it has opened their ability to try new foods and avoid many of the “picky-eater syndrome” you here of with kids their age. We have played up pancakes and waffles throwing in fruits and chocolate. We are to top them with a variety of things as well. We stick all kinds of stuff in our grilled cheese sandwiches and also make our own version of “pigs in a blanket.” We play with vegetables and they choose their vegetable for almost every meal. Their favorite is a Normandy Mix with Cauliflower, Carrots and Broccoli. They also LOVE stir fry. They dig through hoping to find water cress and baby corn but they also identify all of the others while they eat them. Another big success and extension to our kitchen is our garden this year. We have shown the kids how to plant a seed care for it and then harvest & enjoy the wonders of fresh produce, though this seems more of a treat for mom. 
Giving kids a front row seat and even a part in meal preparation in the kitchen can create many life long advantages and wonderful memories. If you have kids I say pull a chair or step stool up to the counter and let them at it…you’ll never forget all of the fun and wonderful discoveries you make together.
So are you going to jump into Madhouse Wednesday??? Let’s see who else does….
Derek is very physical and loves to role play his father and papa all day long. Monet however is super verbal with an ability to talk about anything constantly and follows her brother around to do some of his dirty work and tell the story of what happens. I love to listen and watch them, since they don’t invite me to play anymore yet I am involved constantly redirecting them to a new project that does not contain water or soap, it seems Play-Doh has lost much of its luster lately.
