I don’t love cooking, but I do love eating.
I love all kinds of food, and I’m fortunate that my husband has infused his Italian heritage into our palates and my kids love all kinds of unique and different foods. I find getting inspired to cook and prepare meals and snacks, especially this time of year, particularly frustrating, because my kids are home for almost the whole summer and they ALWAYS want to eat.
I pride myself on being a very healthy eater (yes I love chips too) but my husband and I really do love healthy food. The thought of sticking frozen chicken nuggets and fries in the oven certainly does the trick on those days you want to collapse but it really does make me cringe when I know if we were better prepared, we could be eating so much better.
When I was asked to partner with the Healthy Kids Community Challenge, I was really thrilled. I believe wholeheartedly in the message of raising healthy adults by teaching our kids to make healthier food choices. I love the key messages of the campaign on HOW together our kids to eat healthier:
- Try New Vegetables and Fruit! Encourage kids to try it!
- Eat together & away from screens!
- Be prepared and have veggies and fruit cut up and ready to go for snack time and meal time.
- Get kids involved! They are WAY more likely to try it and eat it, if they are involved in making it, choosing it and growing it!
- Be a positive role model! Show them, don’t just tell them and be mindful of what you say and do around your kids!
The current phase of the campaign is specifically targeted at boosting veggies and fruits. The idea is to encourage kids to eat veggies or fruit with every snack and meal. Research (and my experience as a parent) shows the easiest way to engage your kids in healthy eating (or ANY habit for that matter) is to SHOW them not just tell them, be a positive role model.
It’s why I drag my kids with me to my ladies soccer league. They may not watch our riveting, nail biting games (insert sarcasm emoji here) but they are absorbing the fact that their Mom makes fitness a priority in her life. Healthy eating is the same.
But no one is expecting you to be Rachel Ray on your own. The HKCC has a TON of resources to ensure that eating more veggies and fruits with your kids is easy peasy. Not only are there a whack of resources on their website (CLICK HERE), but one of their key partners, The Nourish Project is offering FREE half day cooking camps for kids!
Yes, you read that right, they are FREE!
The Nourish Project in conjunction with HKCC is offering free Cooking with Kids classes in Peterborough ON. You have to call to register and reserve your spot 705.743.3526 . Each week caters to a certain age category. There’s two age categories: Ages 6-8 and ages 9-12. Oh and each week has a theme! There are four more classes available to register for.
Watch the VLOG above and watch how the kids made out with the watermelon theme!
We really had a terrific time and I can honestly say nothing builds confidence in kids like working in the kitchen. I have let me kids cook with me since they were really little, giving them age appropriate jobs and they ALWAYS love it.
So get cooking with your kids! Let us know your favourite family recipes and what you love to cook together!
MF
** this post is sponsored by HKCC Ptbo but all opinions expressed are mine!
