There is no such thing as too many cooks in an early years setting, so get them involved with these easy children’s cooking ideas from dietician, chef and founder of Grub4Life, Nigel Denby…
Cooking is a fantastic activity to do with young children. They can learn and practise a wide range of skills. It also gives them an understanding of food and where it all comes from.
But even more important than that, it’s one of the most fun, therapeutic and interactive activities you can do.
Try these tasty and nutritious children’s cooking ideas in your setting. We’ve also set out some extra tips for cooking successfully with under-fives. Find them below…
When it comes to children’s cooking ideas, bread is really easy and satisfying to make. Here’s a recipe for making bread dough – you can make a simple loaf or try some rolls.
Ingredients (makes 12 rolls or a 2lb loaf)
Method
Put the flour into a large bowl, add the butter/oil and mix well, then stir in the sugar, salt and yeast. Make a well in the dry ingredients.
Add enough of the water/milk to make a soft (not sticky) dough. If the dough is too sticky, just add a little more flour. Add a drop of water if the dough is too dry.
Knead for five minutes and then cover and put aside to rise for around 45 minutes. Knead again and put into a greased 2lb loaf tin. Cover and leave for a further 30 minutes.
Bake at 200°C/Gas 6 for about 30 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack. Alternatively, cut the dough into about 12 pieces and make into bread rolls. Bake for 10–15 minutes.
These flapjacks are simple to make and great for snacks.
Ingredients (makes 10–15 flapjacks)
Method
All you need to do is mix the ingredients and press into a greased 8-inch/20cm tin. Then bake for about 30–40 minutes at 180°C/Gas 4 until golden brown.
Once it’s cool, cut it into slices. Vary this recipe by adding some grated or finely chopped veg.
There’s nothing like the taste of freshly cooked pizza. Once you’ve got used to making your own, you’ll never want to go back to buying frozen pizzas again! If you want to cheat and save a bit of time, you could use one of the following to make the base:
If you have more time, have a go at making your own scone base (makes two pizzas):
Ingredients
Rub the flour and butter together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg and then add enough milk to make a soft dough and knead lightly.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces, or 4 pieces if you want smaller pizzas, and pat out into rounds. Place on greased baking sheets. Or try making a traditional bread base (makes two pizzas):
Ingredients
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and kneed until you have a smooth dough (add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky).
Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to prove for around 30 minutes. If you have a bread maker, use the dough setting. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, or 4 pieces if you want smaller pizzas, and pat out into rounds. Place on greased baking sheets.
Base sauce ingredients
Method
Spread the tomato over the pizza bases, sprinkle with the herbs. Top with grated cheese and get the children to decorate with your choice of toppings.
Bake in a preheated 200°C/Gas 6 oven for 5–10 minutes if using one of the quick options, or 15–20 minutes if using a scone or dough base, until golden brown.
Ingredients
Method
Thread the chunks of fruit (pineapple, banana, apple, peach, apple, mango, melon, strawberries, grapes – whatever is in season) onto wooden satay sticks. (Take care with the sharp ends.)
Serve with yoghurt, cream or ice cream. For a hot alternative, heat 2 tbsp orange juice, 1 tbsp honey and a good pinch of ground cinnamon in a small saucepan until just bubbling.
Brush the orange juice glaze over the fruit and grill the kebabs for a couple of minutes each side. Pour the remaining glaze over the fruit and serve.
This is a great children’s cooking idea – little people will love crushing the Weetabix!
Ingredients
Method
Measure out all the dried ingredients into a large bowl. Pour in the milk and egg, and mix well (the mixture will look like a lumpy batter).
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin. Bake at 130°C/Gas 3 for around 1 hr 15 mins, until it is firm to touch, golden brown and a skewer or knife comes out clean.
Once cooked, turn out of the tin onto a wire rack and remove the grease-proof paper. Cut into slices when cool.
This recipe can be summed up as ‘the 4-4-4-2 recipe’, which once you know you will never have to look up again!
Ingredients (makes 12 cakes)
Method
Put the oven on at 180°C/Gas 4. Whisk all the ingredients until creamy and spoon into a bun tin or bun cases. Cook for 10–15 minutes until cooked.
To check they are cooked just press gently and they should spring back. Once cooled, the cakes can be decorated.
To make icing, mix icing sugar and (a tiny bit) of water to and spread it on the buns when cold. Decorate with anything you like (sprinkles, sweets, cherries). Children will love this bit – and eating them, of course!
Once you’ve got the basics you can do anything with these. Try adding some cocoa to make chocolate buns. Add choc-chips, raisins or lemon zest if you want to.
Being able to cook is a great skill to have. Whilst it can sometimes feel like a chore to adults, it’s an exciting and fun activity for children.
It’s also a terrific way to get children interested in food in general, or to help children with food issues to feel comfortable with ingredients they don’t currently eat. Start by teaching children the following basic cooking skills:
Choose what you make carefully: For children under three, choose something like an easy biscuit recipe or a fresh fruit salad. Don’t try anything that takes too long or is too involved. As children get older, they can concentrate for longer and you can move on to more complicated dishes and eventually entire meals.
Plan ahead: Make sure you have all the ingredients before you embark on a session in the kitchen. Involve the children in choosing a recipe, shopping for the ingredients or planning the shopping list, making the food and finally eating it. It’s amazing how children are more likely to eat foods that they have been involved in making.
Allow plenty of time: Don’t think you can do anything quickly when you’ve got little helpers in the kitchen. Things tend to take a long time, so don’t squeeze a cooking session in between other sessions.
Expect mess: You’re going to have to expect some mess even with the neatest of children. But once you’re in that ‘messy frame of mind’ it’s easier to turn a blind eye to that layer of goo developing on the floor. You can always have a good clear-up later. Allow time for this when you plan children’s cooking ideas. Unless you have a full change of clothes handy, don’t forget aprons for everyone!
Decide on key learning outcomes: We might take it for granted that eggs are laid by chickens and that sugar, cocoa, rice and flour all come from plants. However, children may be amazed to learn just where their food comes from, and how it is produced.
Extend the learning: A trip to a local farmers’ market, farm shop or, better still, a farm where you can pick your own fruit and vegetables will also open children’s eyes to the variety of foods available in the UK.
Nigel Denby is a chef, a registered dietician and the founder of Grub4Life.
