Kids in the Kitchen = Better Nutrition

One of the best ways to encourage your children to make responsible food choices now, while setting good habits for the future, is by getting them involved in the family’s food selection and meal planning process. Spending time talking to your kids about different types of ingredients, food preparation, and nutrition will not only serve to convey importance, it will also give them valuable information they will continue to use throughout their lives.
Start with the basics and keep it simple. Print out or bring home an up-to-date food pyramid in order to help your child understand what the different food groups are and how many servings of each are healthy to have during the course of a day. When your next grocery store trip rolls around, you and the small fry will have the chance to get in some field work. Before leaving the house, decide together what meals the family will have during the week and what ingredients you’ll need to pick up at the store; your mini-helper can participate by checking through cabinets and the refrigerator for supplies you may already have in the house.
For your child’s first kitchen assist, think: quick and easy. After you have a few positive experiences under your collective belts, you’ll be able to try increasingly more complicated and time-consuming recipes together. Don’t forget to use the opportunity to teach your child about kitchen safety and make sure to keep in mind that a successful parent and child cooking venture isn’t judged by a taste-test, but by how much fun you had while learning together.

Here’s a kid-friendly recipe to get you and your tiny chef off to a tasty start!

Ingredients:
• pizza dough (boxed, canned, pre-made, whatever you prefer)
• shredded cheese
• eggs
• breakfast meat and/or vegetable toppings

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat eggs in a bowl with a little water, milk, or sour cream. Chop up toppings and add to eggs. Mix in shredded cheese.
3. Spread dough out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan/stone. Make a small lip around the edge of the dough so the mix doesn’t run off.
4. Gently pour the eggs, cheese, and topping mixture onto the pizza dough. Place in pre-heated oven. Cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the eggs are thoroughly cooked.
Don’t forget that cooking left unattended is the leading cause of house fires. I recommend a ADT home security system, including a monitored smoke alarm to help keep your family safe. A monitored smoke alarm ensures that the fire department responds in an emergency, even if you are asleep or away visiting family. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years in business.