Cooking with kids  is one of the very best ways to get them hooked on healthy eating and curious about nutrition. Plus, it’s a great way to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company. You probably know all this already, but sometimes we get sidetracked, or find ourselves too busy, or just don’t make it a priority.

If you need a nudge, take a look at the data. Health Canada research shows that food prep, meal planning and developing cooking skills positively impact children and teens’ food choices. Early learning about fresh, unprocessed food results in healthy adulthood habits. 

Little Chef

Our brand new Little Chef Program promotes fun, safe, simple and healthy cooking with kids: information, tools and professional tips, cooking tasks by age group, Little Chef Approved, kid-friendly recipes, even a contest to win a year’s supply of Little Creamers. Share your favorite kid-friendly Creamers recipe by August 28 for a chance to win. It’s the last week to send in your recipes, so don’t delay!

Watch this recent cooking segment on Global TV for more on our Little Chef Program.

Get started in the kitchen this week with our Little Chef Approved recipes, like this one for Little Potato Poutine, a creative take on the Canadian classic. Just search our website for recipes with the Little Chef Approved stamp. These all teach basic skills and are simple to make. They are quick, under 15 minutes to prepare, and nutritious (potatoes are part of the daily recommended 4 to 6 servings of vegetables and fruit), requiring few ingredients—most of which you probably have in the pantry already. The Little Chef Approved recipes also use familiar ingredients children like and are proven winners—even the most finicky eaters will love them. Most importantly, they’re fun.

Kid-friendly recipes

You might also like to test our kid-friendly recipes for Little Creamers on our new Pinterest page. Here are a few of the crowd pleasers: Pizza Macaroni and Cheese, Cheesy Potato Stacks, Bacon Wrapped Little Creamer Potatoes and Delicious Potato Pizza.

We hope you’ll invite the kids into the kitchen today, roll up your sleeves, pull on the aprons and get cooking! With potatoes, of course.

Photo credit: The Cookie Writer