Easy recipes for cooking with kids

Getting into the kitchen with your kids can be great fun, but it can also be messy, difficult and frustrating. To make sure it goes smoothly, it’s important to choose the right recipes. Look for recipes that will be quick enough to stop them getting bored, and challenging enough that they don’t lose interest, without being so difficult that you have to do most of the work. The two recipes below should fit the bill perfectly, while also making a nice change from endless fairy cakes.

Pizzas

This old favourite is as fun to make as it is to eat, and can be easily adapted to different ages and cooking abilities.
For the youngest children, you might find it easier to use shop-bought bases and just get them add toppings. But older kids can get involved in making the dough too. You can freeze the dough in base-sized balls for future use if needed.

To make the dough base, take one sachet of dried yeast (usually 7g) and mix with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, half a pint of warm water, a splash of milk and 650g of white flour. Then sieve some flour on to a work surface and knead the mixture on this until it is well combined. Roll out into bases: there should be enough for four. Then simply add healthy toppings and cook on a high heat for around ten minutes.

Smoothies

Smoothies are more interesting to make than you might think! Smoothie-making is a fantastic way to get kids to eat some fruit and help them discover new flavours. Don’t think that you need a special smoothie maker: a simple hand blender is all that’s required, but this shouldn’t be used by younger children. Most smoothies combine fruit and yoghurt, and usually a little honey or sugar. You can experiment with thinner milk or pure fruit smoothies, or add ice cream for a delicious treat.

With Mother’s Day coming up, get your kids to learn to make you a special treat in the kitchen with these recipes – the perfect Mother’s Day crafts activity to keep them occupied on a day that should be all about you!