November 30, 2006
Kids Kitchen Safety and Kitchen Sanitation
December Topic -Kids Kitchen Safety and Kitchen Sanitation
Kids Cooking Activities Newsletter
....Helping kids learn and grow up in the kitchen
Head Chef: Debbie Madson
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The Head Chef Notes
As the holiday season begins there are many opportunities to cook with your kids. My kids and I have been having a lot of fun with the
Christmas food gifts
and deciding whom should receive what food gift we are putting together. Having your kids make or create something whether it be a craft or a food gift, is a great way to get your kids involved in the Holiday gift giving. Check out some of these pages for some ideas for you and your kids...
We are working feverishly to finish our dough ornaments and scented cut outs recipes in time for this holiday season. Check our blog for updated pages.
We are also finishing a Kids Cooking Christmas e-book so watch your email in the next few days. We are getting ready to add more content and would appreciate your opinion. We have a poll throughout our website please take a minute and respond. Here is a link to our poll. Thanks!
Ask the Head Chef
What can you do if your child doesn't like milk or cheese? I'm concerned about getting enough calcium in their diet.I can relate to this dilemma as my oldest son doesn't like either milk or cheese. He isn't lactose intolerant but if he can see cheese on top of anything whether it is a pizza or a casserole he'll just pick it off. Here are a few ideas I use perhaps it will help someone.
- Add milk where ever possible. When making oatmeal add milk instead of water or in cooking add a little milk with the water.
- Add cheese when it is mixed into other ingredients such as scrambled eggs. (Yes, that is sneaking it in where they don't see it) Remember also there are a variety of cheeses perhaps if they are willing have a cheese tasting and maybe they will discover a type they do like. Also try letting them sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of soups, pizza, or pasta
- Don't forget about yogurt it is also a great source of calcium
- Store foods either hot or cold. The bacteria that causes food poisoning grows quickest when it is warm.
- Don't handle food when you are sick.
- Wear an apron and wash it often. As well as any dishtowels used while cooking.
- Keep your hair and yourself clean (nobody wants a dirty cook in the kitchen!)
- When washing your hands always use soap and warm water. Scrub your hands for at least one full minute.
- Keep raw food away from cooked food. Be aware that also goes for dishes being used in the kitchen. Never reuse a plate or dish that was holding raw food. Clean the dish thoroughly.
- Wipe up spills while you are cooking. It makes clean up easier also to clean as you go.
- Cover up any cuts or open sores you may have with a bandage.
- Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness.
- Clean and wash thoroughly dishes and utensils that were used during cooking.
- Salmonella bacteria can be prevented by cooking food thoroughly (always check with a meat thermometer!) and store leftovers quickly in the fridge.
Email us with your questions. Until next issue, Enjoy cooking with your kids!
Our featured kids cooking product review
We want to encourage you to get your kids involved in a cooking activity this holiday season so here are some ideas for Holiday baking with your kids...Gingerbread Kits-Kids will have great fun and love to sample while making this.
Bake Tree Set-Put together a festival cookie tree with this kit.
Nativity set-Bake and decorate a nativity set with this kit.
Cookie Wreath set-Bake and decorate a cookie wreath kit.
Kids Kitchen Safety and Kitchen Sanitation
This is an important topic for every chef young and old. We discuss kitchen safety in every age group cooking lesson for this reason. Check out our Kitchen Safety and Rules page here.We also have created a kitchen safety chart you can print off and hang in your kitchen.You can download the chart here.
Now that we've had an overview of kitchen safety don't forget about food sanitation. Here are some tips to teach your kids:
Kid Chef Section:
Do you have an experience cooking with your kids that you'd like to share with our readers? A recipe your kids enjoy making with you? Or a picture of your kids cooking? Feel free to send it to us to share.Check out our video we recently uploaded to YouTube. This project helped us to get our “feet wet” as we are looking on to making kids cooking videos in the future. Make sure you contact us with any ideas of what you'd like to see in the future? Kids Cooking Activities video talking about Site Build It.