Some kids relish mealtime, while others might be picky eaters. They engage in play, chatter, or TV watching during meals, diverting their attention from food. To prevent this, engage them in meal preparation tasks or explore cooking games for kids.
These activities can pique their interest in diverse cuisines. Through discovering various flavors and textures, children also find pleasure in the imaginative cooking journey.
Check out these top cooking games for kids that may entice even the most selective eaters to experiment with new recipes.
Play Dough Chef
For the younger crowd who can’t wait while you prepare, keep them engaged by letting them create their own dish. This is ideal for pizza night – provide extra pizza dough for them to play with, shaping it into various forms like shapes, sculptures, and animals using cookie cutters.
They will enjoy “cooking” with you while staying away from kitchen dangers like the hot oven and sharp knives.
What’s great is that you can bake their creations for them to enjoy! Offer dipping sauces to transform their fun into a tasty pre-dinner snack. This might even appeal to older kids and young adults. You could also pair the results with flexible meal plans from EveryPlate to make a fun dinner night even better.
Guess the Weight
This activity presents a challenge for everyone participating. Begin by selecting a specific unit of measurement, such as cups or pounds. Hide the readings on the kitchen scale and task your children with estimating the quantity of a particular ingredient.
For example, if the recipe requires a pound of grapes, let them speculate the weight of a pound of grapes and place them on the scale. Subsequently, unveil the readings to see their accuracy.
Cooking Bingo
A fun activity to engage children in the kitchen is Cooking Bingo. Prepare bingo boards in advance, with squares featuring common ingredients, utensils, cooking techniques, and phrases like “preheat the oven.”
While preparing dinner, guide them through the recipe as they listen and mark their bingo squares – a fun way to learn! Laminate the cards and let them use stickers or candies as markers. The first to shout “Bingo” can pick their preferred dessert as a prize.
Bread Science
Looking to amaze your child? Mix science with baking by making a simple bread recipe like banana bread muffins with and without baking powder for children aged 5 and older. Show kids the wonder of baking through an enjoyable chemical reaction.
Witness how baking powder causes the batter to expand, resulting in light muffins, while those without baking powder remain flat. This project ignites interest in how ingredients interact and turns science learning into a tasty adventure.
Scavenger Hunt
Encourage children to join in the cooking fun! Scatter kitchen tools or ingredients around the house for kids to discover with clues. Once they locate the items, involve them in preparing the recipe. Opt for easy recipes for this activity.
For instance, hiding a jar of peanut butter and a bag of confectioner’s sugar is effective when making three-ingredient peanut butter cookies. Conversely, hiding an egg in the house may not be as practical.
Endnote
Cooking and food games for children foster creativity, enhance food acceptance, boost nutrient intake, and build confidence. Engaging kids in food-related activities is an excellent way to cultivate less picky and more adventurous eaters.
