Games to Encourage the Kids to have Fun Cooking

This is a guest post by Cormac Reynolds.

Give your children some inspiration to want to start cooking by giving them fun things to do in the kitchen.  Pretend to your kids that you are finding it very difficult coming up with things to cook in the kitchen and ask them to think of ideas.  You never know they may surprise you and make you a lemon cheesecake or some other indulgent dish.

Some kids are just not interested in cooking so in this case introducing them to cooking games can be a way of getting them to experiment with cooking. 

Let’s look at some easy cooking games that the kids will enjoy:

3 Foods 1 Dish

This is a fun game for the entire family.  The idea of this game is to pick three items and put them into a basket or even a bowl and cover them.  When it comes to cooking a dish let the kids pick one item out of the basket and they have to use it in their next dish.  Who knows if there is a lemon in there, you may get a lemon cheesecake.  The surprise element adds a touch of fun.

Name the Spice

Another fun game for both the kids and adults!  Choose a number of spices and allow the kids to add these to a dish.  Foods to cook include soup, spaghetti bolognaise, and chilli to name a few and allows a variety of spices to be added.  This is where the fun begins.  When it is time to serve the food it is the family’s chance to guess the spice or spices that have been added to the food.  The person that wins and guesses the spice correctly can win a prize.  Maybe first slice of pudding!

It is important to note that only spices that will go with the foods are included, because before you know it a bottle of chilli could be added to your dish. 

Challenges are Good for Kids

It is providing these challenges to your children that can get them excited about cooking.  What child does not like playing games?  Cooking can be fun and allows your child’s imagination run wild in the kitchen and see what recipes they come up with.  Who knows they may be the next Junior Master Chef. 

When it comes to desserts, we have mentioned lemon cheesecake, but there are so many creative recipes that allow kids to be creative.  Get them to make cupcakes and let them decorate the cakes themselves with sprinkles, icing and sweets.  Let them make their own designs and then enjoy eating them afterwards.

Not only will the kids enjoy playing the games in the kitchen but they will enjoy spending time together as a family.  It is this quality time that will be welcomed by all members of the family, while also allowing them to feel comfortable within the kitchen environment.

About the Author: Cormac Reynolds loves food and enjoys much of his time in the kitchen. He works at Anchor Dairies.