Get kids to love good food- Have fun in the kitchen

Once again, the other day I didn’t have to worry about cooking. In fact I had a pretty special dinner. Youngest made those of us brave enough to eat it fried octopus! (It was delicious btw) And no I didn’t spend a ton on it either. I bought it on sale, around $4 dollars and some odd cents per pound. I stored it securely in our freezer to await the right evening. A couple nights ago everything worked out with the right combination of us home, and one kid feeling creative.

In my house this is actually a pretty regular occurrence! Maybe not Octopus for dinner, but me not having to cook. It’s usually Middle girl because she really loves working in the kitchen. She especially loves baking, and talks about doing it professionally someday. Youngest doesn’t take over the kitchen nearly as often, but when she does it’s always interesting, and has always been delicious! She tends to enjoy the unusual. (I do too so that works in her favor) Eldest doesn’t seem quite as interested, But I don’t worry about her feeding herself when she does someday move out on her own either.

This didn’t happen by itself. I had to introduce them to the kitchen

This didn’t happen over night. There were a lot of particularly difficult dinners on our way here. Difficult because things didn’t get cooked properly, or we were on the last ingredients in the house and we had to make them work one way or another. Or because, well cooking with kids underfoot can be difficult.

My husband has worked either 2^nd or third shift almost the whole time we’ve been together. He often wasn’t home for dinner time. I have been lucky enough to stay home with our girls most of their childhood. It’s a job I love, but also meant that no matter what I was doing there was someone underfoot.

Learning from Closed Kitchens is Hard

The women in my family generally kept closed kitchens. You know, the ones where the kitchen was a separate room. Where the lady of the house gets to go into a separate space? Even my mom when I was TINY and technically the house was built with an open concept- she put up a sheet as a door. I believe I was the only one who ever went in that kitchen while she was using it, and not particularly often either.

I was almost 5 when we lost her if that gives you an idea of how often I got to see someone else cook for a household who actually had any desire to run a kitchen for a household. Don’t get me wrong, my Dad is a perfectly serviceable cook- actually pretty good if you catch him on the right day. My grandmother was a wonderful cook, but like I said, closed kitchen… She didn’t teach me much except how to keep it orderly. And my dad had that pretty well covered. That is it’s own battle!

My husband grew up similarly with the main cook in the house not really enjoying the duty, though I have the feeling she had less of a “closed kitchen.” When you don’t enjoy cooking, or get burnt out it shows in what you put on the table from what I’ve seen. When that gets combined with being poor, and having limited resources it’s even worse. The problem tends to spiral.

Motivation from Adversity (and of course the love of real food)

These are the circumstances that led to both my husband and I being pretty motivated to learn to cook as kids. Yes, my husband also enjoys cooking, and usually does on his days off. (He now works the day shift!) My husband had the added motivation that he is quite picky… I lean in the other direction and like to try new things, and get rather bored easily.

We both had to teach ourselves though. I don’t know about him, but I was pretty determined to make that kitchen my own from the first time I lit the stove to make some hot cocoa. On a side note, that old stove didn’t have a pilot light, so I had to be brave enough to light it with a match!

Teaching My own daughters with an open Kitchen

Our girls didn’t have the same challenges we did. They had two parents who legitimately enjoyed cooking, and while we didn’t always have a lot, we always had enough food in the house. Because I was able to stay home I was able to make things from scratch that otherwise would have been out of reach so to speak, and I could make them to our liking. Believe it or not Milk, eggs, flour, and fat can be rearranged into countless things, with different preparations or another ingredient added.

That all had to be done with curious little gremlins underfoot though. I never wanted them to feel like I did as a kid, not to mention I didn’t trust them in a different room before they were – I don’t know, about three or four. Cooking takes time, and I can’t see through walls. The house we lived in when they were all really little was designed with a closed kitchen. I decided from early on though that I would invite them in whenever possible.

The Kitchen Endures Making Good Times Out of the Difficult Ones

They were right there with me the whole time. I’d let them help to keep their little hands out of trouble. Those days were not easy. Don’t get me wrong, but I sometimes miss that old kitchen, with Youngest in a sling, Middle girl sitting either on the counter, or in a highchair helping, and Eldest on a stool, or just hanging out. Someone may have been napping. I knew in those moments that my attitude would make or break their attitudes about food and cooking. As a big picture I loved those times, but I haven’t forgotten each night was a challenge.

Since those days we have moved, and my girls have (mostly) grown up. We have an open concept living area now, and a bigger budget for groceries. Not to mention practice running a grocery budget does help. With 5 creative cooks in the house when I see octopus for 4 something per pound I buy the octopus, and put it in the freezer to wait until the mood strikes someone. (on a day daddy works late of course, cause seafood is not his thing.) Those of us who wanted it ate it, others had leftovers.

Time Goes On. My Girls are Growing Up

I still remember the first time my eldest cooked by herself for me. It was chicken breast and it was delicious! Honestly I felt better about it with the open kitchen than I might have otherwise, but I also knew what she was capable of in the kitchen because she’d been in there with me for years already.

Little did I know it was the start of giving up my kitchen for years to come when middle girl practically took over the kitchen! I’ll get it back though. When I do I’ll have a lot less to worry about when they move out on their own.

My girls will be capable of making pretty much anything they could want to eat, or make almost any random ingredients they get their hands on work into an actual meal. I also know pickiness won’t lead to hunger. Remember what I said about flour, eggs, milk, and fat? My girls can make meals each of them will enjoy with the simplest ingredients, or make use of oddities such as octopus, or Beef tongue.

Cook With Love

I credit these things to the attitude with which we approached cooking each day. Cheerfully looking at what we had to work with, and making the best outcome we could with it, be it beancakes, or homemade hamburger helper made with sausage gifted by grandpa. Once in a while a meal was a disaster, but in our house we don’t waste food if we can help it. We add cheese or whatever it takes to make it palatable and move on. Sometimes transforming it completely. Sometimes just eating it, and taking the lesson.

Don’t be Afraid to Spice It Up, or Go Back to Basics

Of course I always did my best to keep our spice cabinet fully stocked and cheese in the fridge. I learned that in my childhood kitchen my dad ran before me. I’m not sure if he bought them, or if they were still there from when my mom ran it, but there were a lot of spices in that kitchen. I kind of suspect it was my mom, though I never asked. Of course cheese is the duct tape of food.

Attitude is everything though. I remember my grandmother always awoke us so cheerfully, and I could never quite figure out why honestly. She and I could be like oil and vinegar, but she was always so purposefully cheerful when waking my sister and I. As a young mom I remember reading about waking your kids can set the mood for their whole day.

Help your children set their attitude about food for life. Make it Fun to Eat Well.

I have learned that the way you introduce them to food can effect their whole lives. You don’t have to cook everything Homemade, from scratch, and blah, blah, blah… The act of including your kids in the choices you make for them will help them later on. Being able to make some foods from scratch could allow them to have endless choices in what they eat when they are finally grown. You can’t always be there to teach them. Teach them now, and make it as fun as you can!

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