Dinners the kids can cook
Take a night off and let someone else fix dinner – easy meals that your kids can make themselves.
Isn’t it time to put your feet up and let the little scallywags take a turn in the kitchen? You too can live the dream!
Scrambled eggs
Kids love cracking and whisking eggs and since scramblers are cooked over a very low heat, there’s less chance of hot fat bubbling and splattering. For grown-up servings get your child to tear a few pieces of smoked salmon or fresh herbs into the mixture.
Potato jackets
Bake then cool some spuds, get the kids to scoop out the innards and mix with butter, cheese, tomato, sweetcorn or anything else their little hearts desire. Put the mixture back in the skins, top with more cheese and then re-bake until browned.
Spag bol
This will involve hot pans and bubbling water, so it’s one for older teens (or your supervision). Kids enjoy concocting their rich bolognese by adding a jar of tomato sauce to easily fried mince and a few sprinkles of herbs. Snapping the spaghetti in half to fit the saucepan is fun too.
Cauliflower cheese
Show your kids the ‘art’ of assembling a cheese sauce and they’ll work hard to get it right. Melt butter and a little flour, then gradually add milk and bring to boil; simmer until thickened, take off the heat and add grated cheese to pour over steamed cauliflower or broccoli. Great with sausages.
Pancakes
Whisking, throwing food in the air – what’s not to love? Just add sugar, syrup, and more sugar and syrup, and you have child-chef heaven.
Savvy tip
Get children into the cooking habit early – mashing bananas into a muffin mixture, washing veggies, beating batters, and squeezing lemon juice over fish. Not only will they be confident in the kitchen but it might encourage better eating habits, too.
Pass it on – wise words for picky teenagers
If you have a teen who won’t eat most of what’s in the fridge for fear of putting on weight or getting spotty, check out 5 Food Myths to Bust with Teenagers.