Teaching My Boys to Cook (Eat Well, Spend Less)
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Teaching my boys to cook is a great way for us to eat well and spend less, while they live under my roof as well as after they fly the nest.
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Ever since my firstborn could stand up on a kitchen chair, we’ve encouraged our kids to help in the kitchen.
(That’s he and I almost ten years ago. We were remodeling our kitchen, but that didn’t stop us from cooking up a storm together.)
Now that the older ones are older, I’ve realized that I haven’t done the best job in making them independent in the kitchen. In fact, the older kids have been usurped by the littler ones who want to help. We haven’t moved too far past someone standing on the kitchen chair helping mom.
Only the names have changed.
When Shaina told me last month that her five year old could bake cupcakes unassisted, I realized the error of my ways. In the name of a clean kitchen and conserving resources (ie ingredients flung about the kitchen), I’ve kept my children in the dark, or at least not allowed them to fend for themselves.
This month, as part of my Pantry Challenge and my food goals for the year, I set about to change that.
I just can’t do it all. Therefore, teaching my kids to cook will help us to eat well and spend less while they live in our home. I won’t be the sole cook and bottle washer or as tempted to run for take-out on a night when I’m just too tired. I can call in the reserves!
And teaching my boys to cook will help them to eat well and spend less once they leave our home as young men. They’ll be able to fend for themselves, be independent of restaurant fare, and possibly woo the girl, too.
While my younger three are 7, 5, and 3, and still quite suited to being assistants, my older three are definitely cooking school candidates. At 9, 11, and 14, they love to eat and are perfectly able to make part or all a meal.
If they know how.
So, that’s the mission I’m on. It hasn’t happened in three weeks’ time. No, I think this will be a year-long goal, but I’m hoping that by this time next year, I’ll have some full-fledged sous chefs on my hands.
Here’s what we’ve done so far:
1. Create a recipe book that is easy for them to access.
I enlisted FishBoy11 to help with this project: a family recipe book that everyone could access. My recipes are all over the place. How could they know that some are only online while others are on ratty recipe cards in my grandmother’s handwriting in a binder on the second to the top shelf of the bookcase in the schoolroom?
Yes, I’m complicated.
So, at the beginning of the month, I printed out copies of the month’s meal plan as well as the recipes to go with. He created dividers as well as a book cover, and compiled them all in a binder. Cool.
2. Enlist a child’s help with kitchen prep whenever possible.
A lot of my cooking this month has been hodge podge lately due to the Pantry Challenge. But, one thing that has been constant has been prep work as concerns all the fresh produce we get each week in a subscription box. Everyone is pretty eager to see what each week holds as well as to taste what’s included.
Kitchen prep lessons have involved juicing lemons, making lemonade, washing spinach, peeling sundry root vegetables, and otherwise exploring this world of strange and new fruits and vegetables. What WILL we do with those rutabagas and lemon grass, anyway?
As a result, the kids are learning about the produce as well as the techniques used to prepare it.
3. Offer cooking tutorials often.
As I’m cooking dinner each night, I’ve been more intentional about including a child in the prep work and/or offering a tutorial/running commentary about how to make a certain dish. I’ve given the rice pilaf lecture at least twice in the last three weeks.
I figure that repetition and visuals are helpful to learning and if I’m right there while someone’s stirring the pot, they will become more comfortable in the kitchen.
What’s next?
As the month draws to a close, I’ll be enlisting their input on the meal plan for February as well as their help in a round of freezer cooking. Yes, this should be interesting….
But, I think that teaching my boys to cook and making them independent in the kitchen is a worthy goal for the year and a great way to eat well and spend less!
This post is part of an ongoing series about how to eat well and spend less. Along with some fabulous foodies, organizers, and frugalistas, I’ve been bringing you suggestions on how to eat like a king without becoming a pauper to do it. This month we’re discussing our food goals for the year.
From wasting less in the kitchen to saving money on healthy foods to eating better for baby, we’ve gotcha covered on all manner of tasty resolutions.
Be sure to check out what the other ladies are sharing this week or browse their archives:
- Aimee from Simple Bites
- Amy from Kingdom First Mom
- Carrie from Denver Bargains
- Katie from Good Life Eats
- Katie from Kitchen Stewardship
- Mandi from Life Your Way
- Shaina from Food for My Family
- Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes
Yes, the children of the world need to learn to cook. I wish I had learned more recipes by heart as a child. Now my brain just seems to be too full.
What are good independent (not from a box) recipes for kids to start on? I learned to do scrambled eggs around age 10, which was a great one.
ParentHacks has “the perfect first baking project” today.
http://www.parenthacks.com/2012/01/blondies.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+parenthacks+%28Parent+Hacks%29
I don’t know that it’s learning a recipe by heart as much as it is learning a method and being able to “eyeball” it. Honestly, that’s my preferred mode of cooking.
The first thing I learned to cook was Sloppy Joe’s– ground beef, onions, a little water, a little mustard, a splash of vinegar, a bit of brown sugar and lots of ketchup.
Brown the ground beef and onions, (as an adult I usually add mushrooms and green peppers too– but my Mom didn’t like either!) drain the fat, add the rest until it tastes good and looks right but a little watery. Let simmer while the tater tots or fries are in the oven and the salad is getting made….
Love your goal to teach your boys to be self-sufficient (and thrifty) in the kitchen. One of the first things my Mom taught me to cook was an omellete. Pretty easy, some room for creativity, takes some dexterity, and always has a backup plan – i.e., scrambled eggs. We’ve done the same with our 5 kids.
Great blog! -Bill
Yes, omelets do have a backup plan! That’s great.
I’ve been thinking that same thing, Jessica. It’s so easy to just do the cooking myself, but by doing so, I’m not doing any of us any favors. Thanks for reminding me! I miss you!
Miss you, too! I think you should chaperone the boys next summer! 😉
What a great way to combine saving money and teaching your children a new skill! I just love it and will share this post as well as get my kids in the kitchen more.
Thanks for sharing the post!
My daughters have done a great job taking their cooking skills into the real world of college and career, but I realized my son hasn’t gotten the same exposure to cooking…even though he grew up in the same kitchen. I need to fix that! (His current cooking specialty is pizza on a tortilla, but at least he has learned to vary ingredients like sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and pineapple. I like to think this has taught him to be creative and experiment with new ingredients.) I want my son to have the same cooking life skills I’ve given my daughters…thanks for reminding me!
Well, since I had my boys first, they are my guinea pigs. 🙂
This is something I’ve not done very well in. My 6 children range in ages from 1 to 15, and while they are very comfortable making snacks and cleaning the kitchen, I have not enlisted their help with cooking. Great post…and like Cherie said above, thanks for the nudge!
We all need a nudge every now and again. 😉
I love the idea of teaching my kids to cook – much of my experience is like yours – youngers love it – and help – but then it gets old LOL.
I have a 13yo who rarely has homework [don’t ask – I’ve had that fight – she does it in class in full view of the teachers who KNOW she gets 100s on everything and don’t blame her boredom while they review something she obviously knows – I don’t like it but I am just waiting for next year when I know it will be more challenging LOL].
She also ALWAYS wants more time with Mom – so why am I not drafting her? In addition she’s recently gone vegetarian – so I think our meatless meal [or fish – she doesn’t seem to think they’re cute enough to forego] are the perfect opportunity for her to cook!
Thanks for the nudge
I think the fact that she’s chosen the veg route qualifies her for KP in a biiiiiiiig way. And sounds like you have a great opportunity to spend some time together.
On another note, you might want to pick up a copy of The Well-Trained Mind. There’s a great section on supplementing and afterschooling to keep a good learner going.
I have the same problem with recipes. It occurred to me recently that if the unthinkable should happen to me my family wouldn’t know where to find anything. I’ve been considering starting a blog just for my family so that they could find all of my recipes and ideas in one place.
As for the kitchen education, I’m trying to teach my crew, but have realized that I need to rearrange my supplies and tools to make it more user friendly for the kids. This is my Feb homemaking goal. Thanks for always being the encouraging sort. Yours is the first blog I choose each day.
Thanks, Kim! I appreciate your kind words.
You’re not complicated, you’re normal – in my book anyway! You should see my recipe collection. I’ve been trying to sort it for nearly a year but it’s hard to find time. I love what you are doing and really like the idea of creating a binder full of “kid-can-do” recipes.
great reminders! I’ve been thinking the same things lately – wanting my 9 and 10 year olds to be more independent in the kitchen. And to have the younger ones “help” even more. thanks for the reminder 🙂