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by Cindy 4 Comments

Healthy Kids in the Kitchen with Picture Book Starters

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I have a serious chef in my house.  He’s only nine years old, but the boy can cook!  When I see a natural motivation like this in one of my children, I make sure there are plenty of opportunities to foster its growth.  So…he cooks.  Because our goal is to have healthy kids in the kitchen, he cooks healthfully (most of the time.)

I allow him to experiment with ingredients as often as I insist that he follows a recipe.  I allow him to do as much of the chopping and stove work as he’s ready to handle.  He’s just so darn cute standing on his stool while doing the truly serious work of a real chef.

He’s been my kitchen helper since he was old enough to sit in a Boppy chair.  All that side-by-side work proved to teach him not only a love for cooking, but all the safety precautions and general knowledge about food prep are second nature to him.  Because we’re already way beyond basic cooking classes, he’s been transitioning from my helper to completing recipes mostly on his own for quite some time now.

This healthy kids in the kitchen post was inspired by the serious chef in our house - who happens to be nine and also has some special dietary needs.

Why Healthy Foods?

Over the past two years, our family has been making some major shifts in our food and drink lifestyle.  I’ll write more about that one of these day, but suffice it to say for now that a gluten-free, low dairy, low sugar menu has drastically turned around the health of three of our family of five.

Eli (the chef) used to be very sick every spring and fall with respiratory issues that found him on antibiotics, inhalers, nebulizers, allergy meds, eye drops, nose sprays and more.  During dry months of the year his skin resembled that of an itchy chicken.  Fatigue and belly pain lingered frequently.

Since being gluten-free, mostly dairy free, and low sugar, he has not been majorly sick one time during the spring or fall seasons.  His skin has been supple in the driest of climates.  He has much more energy and I don’t hear belly complaints any longer.  I’m not a doctor – although we see an integrative doc who suggested many of these changes – but the proof for us in in the health changes for Eli (as well as his sister and me.)

This is why our kitchen is mostly full of whole foods that rely heavily on veggies, fruits, healthy fats and healthy proteins.  We still eat carbs, some processed food, and more sugar than I care to admit, but we’re consistently making better choices.  At any rate, since our health has been so drastically changed by eating healthier, it’s of utmost importance to me that my children learn to cook healthfully.  (You might be interested to know we have been msg-free for almost 20 years and mostly artificial color/flavor/preservative-free for nearly that long.  M&M’s get me every time, though.)

My little chef loves to cook. I'm on a mission to help him learn to cook healthy, whole food recipes. Books are an extra-special ingredient to inspire kids in the kitchen!

This post contains affiliate links.

Even though Eli is in the 4th grade, he and I still enjoy reading picture books together here and there.  While we certainly don’t read a book to kick-start all his cooking ventures, these are some much-loved books we have on our shelves that inspire chefs of all ages.  To go-along with each book, I’ve included a (mostly) healthy recipe that Eli has prepared in the past.

Safety first!  Please don’t turn your child loose with any of these recipes.  Even though Eli is pretty serious about cooking and somewhat experienced, I’m still the kitchen supervisor.  I look over each and every recipe and decide what he can handle by himself and what he needs help with before we even begin gathering ingredients.

I hope your entire family enjoys the “fruits” from these healthy kids in the kitchen projects!

Healthy Kids in the Kitchen Books

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Blueberry Green Smoothie – Blueberries, bananas and greens are the staples that make this versatile smoothie an easy favorite for Eli to blend together.  P.S. I love my Vitamix Blender.  Yes, it was expensive, but its performance is unrivaled.  We use ours all the time considering most of our food is prepared from scratch.

Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco

Roasted Chicken Dinner – While a roasted chicken dinner may seem a bit much for children to prepare, there really isn’t much to it once you teach children how to clean a chicken and safely cut up veggies.

The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl

Carrot Cake Cupcakes – If your family is used to very sugary treats, these cupcakes will take a little getting used to.  They use almond flour which pretty easy to find these days.  I buy ours at Trader Joe’s or a local grocery co-op that offers bulk health foods.

Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley

Madame Blue’s Rice and Beans – You probably have everything you need for this recipe on your shelves right now!

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Loaded Scrambled Eggs – Eli’s first “specialty” was this recipe. He makes better scrambled eggs that me, hands-down. It’s important for our family to use to use MSG-free sausage for this recipe.

Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh

Apple Cookies – Easy, easy, easy.  Fun, fun, fun.  We use various nut butters – all without added sugar.  (Homemade nut butter is another thing that’s easy to do with the Vitamix Blender.)

Little Nino’s Pizzeria by Karen Barbour

Pizza – This is the best gluten-free pizza crust we’ve found so far. Add whatever healthy toppings you like. We don’t do tons of recipes using gluten-free flours, but this gluten-free flour (that I buy it from Costco to save a nice chunk of money) works well for any one-to-one all-purpose flour substitute.

Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle

Oatmeal Pancakes – These pancakes can be eaten for breakfast, but also make a good treat since they have some sugar in them.  The recipe uses two “odd” flours – brown rice and tapioca.  You can likely find them at a large grocery store, but I buy them inexpensively at our local grocery co-op in the bulk food section.  Also, any milk would work if you prefer a dairy-free recipe. (Rice milk is yet another thing we make easily in the Vitamix Blender.)

The Popcorn Book by Tomie de Paola

I’ve simply taught my son to make popcorn on the stove, which happens to be a much healthier option than microwave bags that usually contain all kinds of chemicals.

Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – These cookies are easy and fast!  Here is another version that uses bananas instead of pumpkin and one more version that includes nut butter in the recipe.

Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco

Deviled Eggs – Eli loves making deviled eggs – especially when I let him place the yolk mixture in a plastic bag, cut the corner off the bag, and pipe the yolk into the eggs.

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

Vegetable Soup – This recipe makes a very basic veggie soup. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients based on what’s in your pantry.  Look in the fridge for leftovers to include, too.

Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

Spaghetti and Meatballs – Spaghetti squash is one of our new favorites and it’s packed with nutrition. If your children don’t like spaghetti squash, you can use gluten-free spaghetti noodles instead.

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

Make a yummy salad with all your favorite ingredients. Eli has become a master at building a colorful salad!  (We try to buy organic veggies and fruits as much as possible, especially when purchasing the dirty dozen.)

Tortilla Factory by Gary Paulson

Chicken Enchilada Casserole – While the book is very simple, the recipe is much more involved.  Not too involved for a seasoned little cook, though.  (This is a recipe where we DO include cheese because it just wouldn’t be nearly as good.  For us, it seems that as long as dairy is a treat rather than a daily food group, we’re okay.)

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Sometimes, you just need an unhealthy chocolate chip cookie!  Again, we use the gluten-free flour blend from Costco mentioned above.

This healthy kids in the kitchen post was inspired by the serious chef in our house - who happens to be nine and also has some special dietary needs.

I’d love to hear about other books you’ve used to inspire your kids in the kitchen.  I’d also love to hear about your journey to healthier food if you have a story to share!

Kids in the Kitchen Gifts

Eli loves to wear his “professional” apron his sister bought him for Christmas last year.  If you have a budding chef in your house, an apron makes a great Christmas or birthday gift.  He absolutely loves when he gets some special supplies that are “his” for cooking.

Special supplies aren’t at all necessary, but just in case your chef would love his or her own kitchen supplies, I’ve put together a few fun ideas for you…

Chef's Apron and HatChef’s Apron and HatColorful Kitchen UtensilsColorful Kitchen UtensilsColorful Mixing Bowls and Measuring CupsColorful Mixing Bowls and Measuring CupsPump DecoratorPump DecoratorNylon KnivesNylon KnivesFruit and Veggie Prep KitFruit and Veggie Prep KitFun Kitchen TimerFun Kitchen TimerVegetable Cutter ShapesVegetable Cutter ShapesPlastic Cutting BoardsPlastic Cutting BoardsMolds for Ice, Candy, Soap and MoreMolds for Ice, Candy, Soap and MorePopsicle MoldsPopsicle MoldsNon-Skid Mixing BowlsNon-Skid Mixing BowlsOven MittsOven MittsStep StoolStep StoolSturdy Measuring Cups and SpoonsSturdy Measuring Cups and SpoonsPourable Measuring CupsPourable Measuring CupsFun Baking CupsFun Baking CupsFood TraysFood TraysGlassLock Storage ContainersGlassLock Storage ContainersFunnelsFunnels

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Last Updated: November 16, 2017 Filed Under: Creative Homeschooling, Elementary, Healthy Homeschool, Language Arts, Living Math Tagged With: cooking, gluten-free, life skills, living literature, picture books, Recipes, whole food

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Comments

  1. Rachel says

    October 3, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    What timing! We are working on this as well! I found this great free resource online this weekend. It is for a lapbook, which we do not normally do, but I really like this one. Here is the link:
    http://www.homeschoolshare.com/cooking.php
    We, too, have been making healthier choices over the past few years. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis a couple years ago and the doctor told me even after surgery, it would come back, but with our dietary changes and supplementing with unadulterated vitamins and minerals, I am no longer in pain. My kiddos rarely get sick any more either!

  2. Cindy says

    October 3, 2016 at 8:51 pm

    I’m so glad healthier food is making a difference in your family, too, Rachel! I have a cousin who had endometriosis and wish she had tried lifestyle changes to help. I would love to write an entire series about the changes we’ve made for the better…we’ll see.

  3. Melissa says

    March 17, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    Could you make a link for a printable list of the books and ideas? I’d love to have something to take along with us to the library.
    Thanks!

  4. Christina Jenkins says

    January 3, 2021 at 11:59 am

    Such wonderful ideas 🙂 and you are right your little chef is pretty darn cute! Thanks for sharing your recipes and the books.

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When my boys were little, I loved reading these “letters from God” to them as blessings to start the day.
As I was sorting bookshelves earlier this month, I stumbled across this sweet book again. I decided the blessings are still as pertinent today for my bigger boy as they were years ago. So, we’re starting our day yet again with a quick, but powerful “letter from God” before jumping into our daily Bible studies.
Do you do anything special to start your day off on the right foot? I’d love to hear about it!
Click the link in my bio for a link to the book.
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When the world seems to be falling apart around you, the sun never stops shining. The seasons never stop moving. Without a single, solitary effort of human hands, the woodlands still buzz with life.⠀
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I love being auntie to a sweet baby again! 😍 I love being auntie to a sweet baby again! 😍
Merry Christmas from the Wests! 🎄 Merry Christmas from the Wests! 🎄
Christmas picture books are some of my very favori Christmas picture books are some of my very favorite books of all time. I’ve spent years collecting new ones here and there (and will probably continue collecting for years to come because there are at least a few favorites I still don’t own).🤗🤫⠀
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