With Christmas only being days away, you've probably already started cooking and baking in preparation for the big family party.
Instead of pushing the kids aside when you're trying to bake, there's a few techniques and strategies parents can use to get the kids more involved in the kitchen.
Katie Kimball from Kitchen Stewardship stopped by to share some strategies and terms to educate kids in the art of baking.
When teaching the kids how to measure ingredients, there are a few terms and saying that can help them remember how measure properly.
With measuring spoons, Tablespoon and Teaspoon can sound very similar for a kid. So to help differentiate the sizes and measurements of the spoons, think of them like members of a family. So have your child rearrange the measuring spoons from biggest to smallest, and name them the following:
- Daddy = Tablespoon
- Mommy = Teaspoon
- Kid = Half teaspoon
- Baby = Quarter teaspoon
This way when you need a tablespoon of an ingredient, just say which "family member" you need and there won't be any confusion between you and your kids.
Another great term to use for measuring cups is "no holes, no hills." When filling up a measuring cup, you need to make sure the cup isn't overflowing or under-filled when the kids fill it up for you. So when you tell the kids to make sure the cup has "no hills, no holes" have them flatten the top of the cup with a knife so the ingredients in the cup are flat. There are no "hills" because it's too full, or "holes" because it's too empty.
With flour, it's a similar method, but a different saying called, "let flour fall like snow." Don't pack in the flour into the cup, have the kids use the same method to fill the measuring cup like before. However if the flour is packed in the cup, there will be more flour than is actually needed for the recipe. So by letting the flour "fall like snow," there will be the right amount of flour in the cup.
Kitchen Stewardship is opening up a last minute registration for Kids Eat Real Food eCourses for Fox 17 Morning Mix viewers. This includes an 8 week eCourse with online materials like recipes, baking strategies, and so much more.
These eCourses will make a great last minute Christmas gift, but the registration will only be open until the end of the year.
For more strategies and recipes by Katie Kimball, visit KitchenStewardship.com
