Category: Kid’s Cooking Recipes

Pretzel dough is better than playdough, you can bake and eat it! If it is a rainy day, a friend is over, or Monday means ‘Pretzel Day’ follow the recipe below to keep your child’s fingers, tummy and heart happy.

Here is the recipe for pretzel dough; once made the child will play away, and then it can be baked and eaten.

In a large bowl, dissolve one tablespoon of yeast in half a cup of warm water.

• Add one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of salt.
• Add to these one and a half cups of plain flour.
• Knead the dough, divide it up and let young children play and make shapes with it.
• Place the shapes onto a lightly oiled baking tray, brush lightly with beaten egg or milk. Bake for ten minutes in a moderate oven.
• Eat with butter, yum!

Write out the recipe for the fridge door (keep ingredients in stock) and buy a special cooking apron for your child, to bring a smile…

A healthy fruit and vegetable plate for morning or afternoon tea establishes great eating habits. Transform chopped carrots, cucumber slices, strawberries (protein sources if eaten cheese slices etc) etc into a picture of a smiling face and share with your child – what fun! Try a train or other picture food plates too.

My son Jayson loves to cook. If a friend comes over for a play, they often end up in the kitchen making pancakes – yes for them it is play!    

Here is Jayson’s favourite pancake recipe to share with you:

1 ½ cups of flour

2 cups of milk

pinch of salt

cinnamon

two eggs

Tahini Cookies to bake together (a really wholesome and nutritious sweet treat) – yum! Give this recipe a try…

6tbs tahina

1/3 cup of honey

1 egg

1 cup of rice flakes (or other cereal)

1/2 cup of coconut

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds 

Mix together tahina and honey. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well. Drop tablespoons onto a well greased tray and bake till brown but not overcooked (moderate oven).

Taken from Recipes to the Rescue: Jann Bonner, Lindy Kingsmill and Suzanne Morrow (Viking publishers)

Spinach, feta and ricotta sausage rolls – winter lunch recipe and veggie garden craft ideas

Grow some winter vegetables together, a child’s veggie garden is a healthy activity both for fresh food and the nature experience gained while digging and touching the earth. A little patch will do, even gardening in pots if restricted for space. Include a child’s watering can to give the seedlings a drink and pea straw to put a blanket on for bed! Four easy things to plant and grow are silver beet/spinach, parsley and mint.

 If these are at your finger tips (or just silver beet or spinach) you can easily make this lovely lunch together (spinach, feta and ricotta sausage rolls). 

 Here is the recipe – enjoy!

8-10 big spinach or sliver beet leaves, washed. Leafy bits cut off from stem and all chopped finely
small bunch of parsley, washed chopped finely (optional)
8-10 mint leaves, washed chopped finely (optional)
1 onion, chopped finely
olive oil
nutmeg
ground pepper
100g fetta
100g ricotta
Puff pastry (I use frozen sheets)

Method:
Put onion in fry pan/wok with olive oil and cook gently. Add chopped spinach/silver beet, parsley and mint. Cook until spinach leaves have wilted and the whole lot is reduced. Allow to cool.

 In a large bowl crumble fetta and ricotta. Sprinkle on nutmeg and pepper. Add the cooled spinach, parsley, mint mix. Mix well. (I often put the whole lot through for a quick whiz in the blender – makes the next bit easier).

Cut a sheet of frozen pastry into 4 pieces. Spread the mix over the 4 pieces, near to the end. Wet the end with water and roll up. Prick the top of the pastry. This amount of mixture makes 8 rolls (i.e. uses 2 sheets of pastry). Cook according to pastry instructions (about 20 minutes at 200C in my oven). Allow to cool slightly before handling, and eating – yum!

Hot Cross Bun Recipe (baking with children at Easter time can be a lovely Easter rhythm)

210ml milk, 1 egg, 450g plain flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 11/2tsp mixed spice, ¼ cup caster sugar, 50g butter, ½ cup currants, 3tbsp sultanas, 3tbsp mixed peel, 1 ½ tsp dried yeast

Mix all of the above ingredients together, knead for 10 mins before dividing into 12 pieces. Shape into balls and leave to rise in a warm place for 30mins.

For the crosses:

50g plain flour, 2tbsp butter, a little water

Rub the flour and butter together, add water to make a soft dough, roll out with your fingers (like making a snake) and place on the buns in a cross (two snakes!)

Bake in a 200c oven for 15 to 18 mins, until golden brown. Eat warm -yum!