Letting Kids Help With: Salad

If you were hoping that this would be about tips to get kiddos to eat salad, you are mistaken. And I'm sorry about that.

But even if they might not eat salad, they can still help make it. And, well, that's a start.

Tonight, I made a quinoa salad, and as I chopped the veggies, I put them in a small bowl and invited my almost-21-month-old to dump them into the salad bowl. He found this quite entertaining.

It was also an opportunity for him to taste the veggies as they went in. (He likes capers, we learned!)

If you are looking for other ways to involve kiddos in a salad, here are a few ideas:

• Chopping. As kiddos get older, they can use safety knives to cut veggies. Or you can put veggies into a small food processor and let them push the "chop" button.

• Choosing. Salads come in all shapes and sizes. Invite your kiddo to pick the veggies (if you don't have our allergy concerns, cheese and nuts!).

• Go bar. Kids love salad bars because it represents choice. As they get older, there's no reason they can't have a choice in building their own salad.

Letting Kids Help With: Cookies

Cookies! What kid doesn't love cookies? And they just don't get better than homemade. (Sorry, Girl Scouts.) Last weekend, I came across some canned pumpkin leftover from the fall, so I decided to whip up some pumpkin oatmeal cookies, which my boy loves. A couple of simple substitutes makes them compatible with his allergies and doesn't affect the taste (check out the recipe).

There are a few easy ways to involve kiddos in the process:

• Measuring and counting. When I've baked with my nieces and nephew at the holidays, I've taken the opportunity to work on math skills. Measuring, counting, cutting recipes in half (or — who are we kidding? — doubling recipes) is great when kids get older.

• Turning on the mixer. When she was about 3 or 4, my oldest niece always loved flipping the switch on my standing mixer.

• Dropping the cookies. As they get older, kiddos can help roll dough into balls, they'll love decorating cookies. For simple drop cookies, older kids (with stronger hands) could do this too. (I like using a small cookie scoop to make it easy.) But my little toddler struggled with dropping the cookies entirely on his own, so helped in two ways: Spooning the dough onto the cookie sheet from a spoon I held:

Hold the dough on one spoon, and let your kiddo spoon it onto the baking sheet.

And telling me where the next cookie should go:

Toddlers like to be in charge. They can help by directing where you drop the next cookie.

Letting Kids Help With: Herbs

As the weather warms, I start craving lighter foods — simple salads and side dishes, for example. And there's just nothing better to brighten up those flavors than fresh herbs. One of my favorites is basil.

The other night, I did a simple tomato salad — sliced tomatoes with basil on, then sprinkled with some kosher salt, ground black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

The kiddo was not impressed with this dish. BUT he did love helping. First, he loved smelling the basil (I bought a plant rather than pre-cut). And he loved ripping the leaves off the plant. I ask you: Could there be any more perfect task for a toddler?

The basil never stood a chance.

And a couple days later, we had some gardening fun and planted the basil in a small pot in the back yard — another great project to involve the kiddos in.

Letting Kids Help With: Pasta

If you saw my meals, you'd know immediately that I'm no professional chef. I break rules because I don't they are rules. But some rules I break because I just don't care.

For example, I know that you're not supposed to break pasta before you put it in the water. Still, I don't want to get out my giant stock pot for a simple weeknight linguine. So, yeah, I'm going to break the pasta in half. Better yet? Get the kiddo to do it!

Letting Kids Help With: Citrus

I love fresh citrus juice — lime and lemon in particular — in various recipes. They add fresh flavor to marinades, dressings and sauces.

Now, I have a new reason to love citrus: Juicing the citrus is a fabulous way to involve the kiddo in cooking. Mine is still too young to have the strength (or accuracy) to be left to his own devices to juice a lemon. But with some mama supervision, he has a fantastic time. I presume as he gets older, he'll be able to be progressively more helpful.

Have the Kiddo Pick the Veggie

You've probably seen this tip before, and I'm here to tell you a couple things about letting kids pick the veggie:

1. Even at 20 months of age, it gives them a sense of empowerment — and sends a message that their opinion matters. (My son's verbal abilities are developing, but one thing I believe I can still communicate is respect for each family member's opinions.)

2. It doesn't guarantee that they'll try the darn thing. And even though this is sooo frustrating, it's still OK.

In this particular showdown, my kiddo picked mushrooms. Anything not-green always wins, by the way.

Letting Kids Help With: Chicken

Ugh, dealing with raw meat in the kitchen is so challenging. There's some fun to be had for sure, but at the same time, how do you prevent cross-contamination? (#nobodylikessalmonella)

Here's one easy way I've let my kiddo get involved with preparing chicken: Bust out the tenderizer. Full disclosure: This requires some supervision because mine is seriously heavy-duty. But he's engaged.

Here are a couple ideas for making it easier/safer:

• Use a Ziploc bag. Usually you'd put the meat between two pieces of plastic wrap, but with a child, there's a good chance those pieces of meat are going to fly right out of there. A bag is less frustrating for all involved.

• Place something under the meat. I use a metal baking sheet. This way, if he slips, he's not banging my counter with a heavy-duty meat tenderizer.

Letting Kids Help With: Asparagus

Veggies are tough. In my reading, it appears you have to expose kids to a food about 9,000 times before they consider maybe possibly liking it. So, to help expedite exposure, I say let's expose them to foods in the kitchen AND the dinner table.

The first time my son tried asparagus (grilled), he LOVED it. But ever since then, he's had the following reactions:

• Throwing it across the table

• Throwing it across the dining room

• Making a face at it

• Looking at me like I'm an alien for having suggested it be a part of the meal

BUT one thing he has enjoyed is helping prepare it. He's four months shy of 2 years old, and he loves being involved in the following ways:

• Breaking the asparagus. As kids get older, they can do this themselves. My son isn't quite there, but he holds one end, and I snap the other, and he giggles with joy!

• Spices. He can salt, pepper and red-pepper-flake asparagus with the best of 'em.

• Oil and vinegar. Whether I'm roasting in the oven or grilling, olive oil and (most days) balsamic vinegar are involved. My toddler helps add these ingredients to the asparagus with my (essential) guiding hand.

Take Them to the Store

My parents often tell me I shouldn't be taking my kiddo grocery shopping. Go after he goes to bed, they say. When they watch him, I can go, they say. I've resisted. 

Now, don't get me wrong, he's not a perfect angel every time, but I've been taking my son with me to the grocery store nearly every week since he could sit up in the cart (around 6 months). He holds the food, he picks out a fruit or veggie from time to time. (He's only 20 months, so he doesn't really get it, but that time is coming.) 

This way, he doesn't think that the pantry and fridge make the food. He has some idea of our starting place. And someday, we'll plant a garden in the backyard, and he'll get an even deeper understanding.