Who: Annabel Karmel, author of the newly released
The Toddler Cookbook
, as well as the
Mom and Me Cookbook
and
First Meals
, all available from DK Publishing.
What Annabel Says: When my children were little I was just starting my career, which meant spending a lot of time writing new recipes for my books. From the age of three I involved their helping hands, and I learned from this that sharing in real life activities can be more pleasurable than any toys you could buy! The delight they showed in baking something themselves and offering their cakes to others, beaming with pride, gave me a huge “feel good” factor. Even better, I knew that they were learning many skills that would benefit them later in life. Children learn lots of skills when they are cooking including basic math – weighing, measuring, and understanding time - all without noticing. It’s never too early to start. By the age of 3 children love to mix and stir, roll out dough and cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Even in today’s hectic world, the busiest of moms can still spend quality time with the kids. The kitchen is a great place to start, especially if you’re already cooking meals for your family there anyway!
Here are few of my favorite products to get you started:
1. A good apron is essential and there is a great range at
Growing Cooks, in a variety of sizes and colors, and they offer custom aprons for something extra-special. They also have high quality, small size utensils (spoon, whisk, spatula, fish slice/turner) at a good price.
2.
Williams-Sonoma’s Rolling Pin Set is a great investment. It’s silicone, non-stick, and comes with a silicone mat. Another great item on their site is the
Learning Tower, which is a safe and secure platform for kids to stand on so that they can reach countertops while they cook. The adjustable height is perfect for growing chefs! Also their cookie and muffin mixes are usually good quality, and I think their pink
Princess Spatula adorable!
3. Decent cookie sheets, muffin tins, and mixing bowls are great assets in the kitchen. I recommend
Bed,Bath & Beyond, as they have a great selection at very reasonable prices.
4. For a great selection of cookie cutters, head to
Off The Beaten Path. They have over 800 affordable, stainless steel options.
5. Fondant can be a real pain to get hold of, but is fun for kids to decorate cakes with, since they can roll, cut and mold it. The
Wilton online store has fondant in many colors, among their many great decorating options.
Win a copy of her new book,
The Toddler Cookbook from MomFinds!
We are giving away copies to five lucky readers. In order to be considered, share with us your favorite kid-friendly kitchen activity by Thursday, 3/6/08 at 11:59 PM. Five winners will be chosen during a random drawing and will be notified via e-mail to receive the prize. One comment per person.
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to Mia B, Kathy P, Staci A, Miranda A and Julianne B!
