What’s for dinner?” The question arrives nightly around 5:30 as my kids begin to circle like sharks. Usually I have an answer. But occasionally, overwhelmed by the Sisyphean nature of my role as chief cook, I come up blank. At times like this I resort to something I call “Dry Cocktail Party Night,” which means I defrost all the mini quiches and chicken nuggets in the freezer and adorn them with frilled toothpicks. This strategy worked great when my kids were 4 and 6, but now that my tween and teen are both articulate and extremely hungry, the plan usually falls short in idea and execution.
“Cocktail party?” my daughter might ask. “Is that even appropriate?”
Recently, the Food Network show “Chopped” has provided inspiration and the impetus to get my kids involved in the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?” they ask. At least once a week, my answer is a basket filled with ingredients and the daring reply, “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“When kids get involved in the experience of preparing food, they are much more willing to try new things,” said Linda Gigliotti, wellness consultant for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.
I test this theory by giving my plain- pasta-loving daughter a container of mini tomatoes, some green beans, a zucchini and a handful of cilantro. She turns the pile into a fresh side salad to accompany the sausages her brother has put in the grill pan.
“I call this Beanie Zucchini,” she said. She salts liberally and squeezes lime over the whole thing. It’s crunchy, but tasty and, more important, filled with vegetables.
Another night, I find an open package of corn tortillas, an onion, a couple of nubs of cheese, a mango, a bell pepper, half a baguette and some chocolate pudding. I put it all in the basket and the kids turn out grilled onion quesadillas with mango pepper salad and chocolate bread pudding.
“I julienned the peppers,” my son points out. His smile is a mile wide.
“Kids are perceived as picky eaters,” Gigliotti said, “but they learn to eat what they are exposed to. The more they experience taste, texture and flavor, the more they will find palatable.”
In order to “rig” the basket, I take Gigliotti’s advice and add as many different-colored fruits and vegetables as possible. I include whole grains and a minimum of fat, while making sure to include a few fun ingredients like sprinkles or Marshmallow Fluff. Our game of “Chopped” helps my kids broaden their taste horizons and enables me to clean out the refrigerator. I talked to Los Angeles parent Molli McIlvaine, who plays a similar game with her kids.
“It drives me crazy to waste produce,” she said. “So I pull everything out of the fridge and ask the kids to help me figure out what to do with it.”
Getting kids involved in the kitchen is an opportunity to talk about the value of food and increase their awareness of waste. As you use ingredients, encourage kids to add new ones to the shopping list and become engaged at the market.
As my kids become more comfortable in the kitchen, I’ve expanded the baskets to include more advanced ingredients. I’ve also made a few ground rules. A raw pork tenderloin prompted me to insist that they riff off a recipe for meat to ensure that everything was cooked properly. I also eliminated the 30-minute time limit. On television, the pressure of dwindling seconds amps the drama, but at home, I want my kids to find peace in the kitchen.
“Food is about nutrition,” Gigliotti said, “but it’s also about presentation and social interaction.”
My husband and I can vouch for that. With the kids in the kitchen, we get a few minutes to catch up, share news of our day and, together, anticipate a delicious meal.
