When Your Child Doesn't Want To Help

YouTube Video Tutorial:

Feisty Fajitas

Let's be honest, there are days when I do not feel like cooking. Cooking for me is not a hobby, but a part of life that I accept and do because I value living a healthy lifestyle for myself and my family. It therefore stands to reason that my kids on any given day may or may not feel like cooking as well, and that is totally normal.

Despite what moods may circulate through our home, cooking and contributing to the family team remains nonnegotiable (I do on rare occasions make exceptions). In my experience, the quality of food you eat has just as much impact on your ability to think clearly and function properly as quality sleep. Although it can be frustrating and annoying to work with a child (or multiple children) who are grumpy and reluctant to help, excusing them from the kitchen to go play will only perpetuate the problem.

I debated long and hard about whether or not to edit this video, but I want people to see that my kids don't always want to cook. As cute as Olive is, she is still a very typical three year old who has her own ideas for the day and what she wants to do. We don't just cook together when it's convenient or when we are having an awesome day and I have time for it. Nope. We do it on the worst of the worst days (believe me, I've been there often in the past four months) because I know that if I get out of the routine or if I let my children get out of the routine that it will be that much harder to get going again.

Building grit and learning how to persevere means doing the hard stuff, even when you don't feel like it. Life will always be filled with things we don't want to do, but as I have learned from my own life, especially during the most challenging times, digging in and just doing it really really does help. The more you do the things you don't want to do, the easier they become. It becomes a way of life, a way being and doing, doing hard things becomes a part of you.

So, if your child is grumpy and doesn't want to help don't get discouraged, don't give up and don't give in. Create the happy, find something about what you are doing that is fun. Praise their efforts and remember to have joy in the journey.

We took this on the go to Benson's baseball game and it was a hit.

Recipe:

1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced into strips
1 Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper,  sliced into strips
1 Red Bell Pepper,  sliced into strips
1 Small Yellow Onion, cut in half and then into thin pieces
1 1/2-2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, sliced into bite size peices
1 Packet Favorite Fajita Seasoning
1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Combine bell peppers, onion, and chicken on a baking sheet. Add fajita seasoning and drizzle olive oil over the top. Then toss everything together. Cover and store in your fridge until dinner time. Then bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Add a stack of tortillas wrapped in foil to the bottom oven rack 5 minutes before fajita mixture is done. Remove from the oven and add black beans on the top. Serve with your favorite toppings such as lettuce. guacamole, sour cream, and salsa (check back soon for my favorite dressing to go with this dish).

Great Jobs For Children Include:

Transferring bell pepper slices from the cutting board to the baking sheet
Spreading the bell peppers around before adding the oniona and raw meat
Opening seasoning packet with scissors
Sprinkling seasoning with a 1/2 teaspoon or small spoon
Helping you toss all ingredients using tongs or a fork
Rinsing the beans in a strainer

Green Yellow Red

YouTube Video Tutorial:

Green Yellow Red

America's Test Kitchen has long been a favorite place of mine to gather new recipes and their new cookbook One-Pan Wonders, recently discovered at Costco, is no exception. I was so excited to find this book because I simply love one pan meals that allow you to prep and clean up everything before the chaos of the evening sets in. If you are looking for some "one-pan wonders" I highly recommend you check it out. It is available on Amazon as well.

As I looked through the book, I was immediately drawn to one of their recipes, Vegetable and Orzo Tian. It is delicious! However, when we made it the first time the minced shallots made it impossible for Olive to help because her eyes burned. She also thought the dish was too spicy. So I made a few changes and am now renaming this dish Green Yellow Red. Why? Because this recipe incorporates concepts that children should be learning at a young age, primarily the concept of patterns. 

Recipe:

1 1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 C Whole Wheat Orzo 

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/8 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 Zucchini

1 Yellow Summer Squash

3 Roman Tomatoes

1 3/4 Vegetable or Chicken Broth

1 TBSP Olive Oil

Combine 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, orzo, and all spices together in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Slice vegetables approximately 1/4 inch thick. With your child create rows from the vegetable slices  by following the pattern green, yellow, red. When you are done you can cover and place the baking dish in the fridge until dinner time. 

When you are ready to eat preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the refrigerate and pour the broth evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and drizzle with olive oil and remaining Parmesan cheese. Broil for 5 minutes, just until the cheese begins to brown and serve.

We at this on a week night on the go with Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella With Artichokes & Garlic Chicken Sausages from Costco. I simply heated them on a baking sheet in the oven while our Red Yellow Green dish was baking. I also served this for a Sunday dinner with a simple salad of spring greens, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. 

Great Jobs For Children Include:

Measuring the whole wheat orzo using a tablespoon and one cup measuring cup (have them keep the bag tight up against their body so it doesn't tip over and spill everywhere)

Measuring the spices (you measure, they dump)

Combining the ingredients using a fork or their hands in the bottom of your baking dish

Arranging the vegetables in tidy rows (they may need a hand in the "tidy" department)  

Lining up the sausage on your baking sheet (they are fully cooked so no need to worry!)

Additional Notes:

On that Sunday dinner Olive ate only the vegetables and salad and for our dinner on the go she only ate the orzo and sausage. Kids can sometimes be funny about what they will and will not eat, however, this dish is definitely here to stay. I love how light it feels and the flavors were delicious. The ease of assembly, the low mess, the portability, and the fun of playing with patterns were an added bonuses as well.

I hope you will give this one a try with your kiddos! I'd love to hear how it goes! 

Sharp Knives

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR CHILD GETS HURT WHILE USING A SHARP KNIFE. 
INTRODUCE THIS SKILL AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. 

Four years ago, right before my son turned three, I looked out the kitchen window to find him jumping on the trampoline, butcher knife in hand. He was swinging it and waving it through the air as if he were fighting off a great dragon or monster. I was horrified and immediately, but calmly addressed the situation, careful not to overreact. Of course I told him that sharp knives were not for children and that he was not allowed to touch them. Of course I told him the dangers associated with using a sharp knife. But it didn't work. In the weeks and months that followed I struggled in vain to keep him away from the sharp knifes. I set them up high, but he set a stool on the counter to get them off the top of the fridge. I tried to hide them, but I used them so frequently that he quickly discovered their whereabouts. I talked to him, I punished him, I tried just about everything I could think of and then I gave up and I gave in.

I gave in because he cut his finger when I wasn't in the room and despite the tears and the blood he still wanted to use the knives. So, I showed him a small paring knife and told him that it was his special knife. I told him that he knew the potential consequence of using a sharp knife and that if he was ready to accept that consequence (cut his finger again) he was welcome to use it. I gave him boundaries for where and when he could use his knife and told him that if he broke the rules that his special knife would be taken away. I taught him knife safety and then I had to let it go. Surprisingly for me and for this child this was the right move.

With boundaries in place he was no longer sneaking into the kitchen to use the sharp knives behind my back and he was more willing to help at meal time because he knew it meant he could use his special knife. He has cut his fingers several times throughout the years, but usually as soon as he is bandaged up and his tears are dried he is back at it again. This may not be the right solution for your child and I do not share this to promote the use of sharp knives in young children, but rather to help you understand why I let my kids use something that I know most parents forbid. If you think you might like to give it a try here are some suggestion based off what I have learned from working with my own children for the past four years.

#1 Regular practice with a standard dinner knife (as Olive has done in our previous videos) is the best way for your child to learn how to cut without the risk of cutting their fingers. Just like balance bikes give a smooth transition to pedal bikes, standard knives give a smooth transition to sharp knives because your child will have experience in keeping their fingers out of the way while they chop. Soft fruit is a great starting point. Check out my video on teaching your child how to cut soft fruit for more ideas.

#2 Your child must be standing in place to use a sharp knife. When we first started this four years ago I would get their knife and give it to them once they were on their stepping stool or sitting on their bar stool with a cutting board ready to go.

#3 Use a small paring knife. Although sharp enough to cut your child's finger it is not big enough to do serious damage. I found some at Walmart recently as well as Pampered Chef. They are about six inches in total length and the blades are thin and small.

#4 Prep the food for them. This means you are not going to hand them a sharp knife and an apple and just let them go for it. When they are first starting out and especially if they are little (between the ages of 3 and 6) you are going to prep everything for them to cut to ensure that nothing is going to suddenly roll around or slip while they are cutting. This also means that you are going to prep everything to size because their hands and fingers are small and cannot cut large foods safely. For example this zucchini has been sliced into quarters creating strips that are easy to manage and have at least one flat side for stability.

The only exception I make to this is cherry tomatoes, grapes, and green beans because they are small enough for them to secure safely with their hand. (This is a bit more advanced so you will want to make sure you are confident in your child's ability to use a sharp knife before attempting this one).

#5 Stay close by so you can frequently remind them to watch their fingers, slow down or be careful. You can never give too many reminders.

#6 If they do cut their finger don't freak out. Cutting your finger is something you never grow out of (I just cut mine earlier this week) and it generally helps your child learn to be more cautious in the future.

Although it is sad to see them hurt and in pain, in my opinion, the benefits of teaching your child to use a knife far outweigh the risks. My older kids (now ages 8 and 7) come into the kitchen every day to cut their own fruits and vegetables for school lunch and after school snacks rather than grabbing something that is prepackaged. Habits are hard to change and eating habits are no exception. In my experience the more prepackaged food I keep in my house the less likely my kids are to grab fresh produce. If you want your child to make healthy food choices you have to empower them by letting them get their own food and teaching them how to prepare it. Once again, as stated above, I am not responsible if your child gets hurt while using a sharp knife. Every child is different and every parent works differently with their children. Be smart and in tune with your child's strengths when determining if and when you might want to introduce this skill.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

For the past two years my son has requested carrot cake for his birthday. This year he surprised me by changing his request to chocolate peanut butter (this kid never tires of peanut butter). Naturally I turned to Pinterest and was delighted to find this yummy recipe from The Baker Upstairs which was well received by not only the birthday boy, but the entire family as well.

This was the first birthday in our family since delivering our stillborn daughter Dove in January. My perspective on many things in life has changed since that time, including my perspective on birthdays. My thoughts are these:

This year I did not ask Benson to stop growing up. This year I did not tell him to stay little forever. This year I felt no sadness by his age, only gladness. 

This year I want him to grow up because growing up is not something I will see Dove do. This year I do not want him to stay little forever for that is now what Dove is to me. This year I feel gladness for the chance to see all the milestones he has hit so far in his life because that means that he is alive.

And so dear Benson, grow. Please keep growing. Don't stay little forever. Hit those milestones and continue to make my future bright with the anticipation of all you will do and become.