Cooking with my three-year-old underfoot can be a challenging task. He used to be satisfied with a bowl, whisk, and his faux food. Now he's tired of his plastic broccoli and wants in on the cooking action! If he had it his way, he'd stir spaghetti sauce every night before it went on the stove.



Good news: You don't have to choose between chasing your little inspiring chef out of the kitchen and eating spaghetti for the next 10 years. There are plenty of recipes that are nutritious and fun to make, so grab some aprons and start cooking with your kiddies!

Teach Your Kids Kitchen Basics:

* Choose age-appropriate recipes and tasks. Preschool chefs can help with no-cook recipes and preparation while pre-teen chefs can work on stove-related tasks with supervision

* Turn handles of pots and pans in and always use potholders

* Wash hands before and after handling food

* Educate children about cross-contamination of food-borne bacteria

* Work together to develop a menu, create a shopping list, and go shopping for ingredients

* Teach kids how to read the entire recipe first, then follow directions step-by-step

* Involve pint-sized cooks in the clean-up, too. Just remember to make it fun!

Sweet Taste of Success

These kid-approved recipes have steps that allow even the tiniest of cooks to contribute. Your kids will have as much fun making them as they will gobbling them up! And, if you have a child that's as picky as mine, feel free to borrow my kid cuisine philosophy: kids will eat anything on a stick!

Breakfast

Toad in the hole - Use a cup to make a hole in a slice of buttered bread, place in a pan, and crack an egg right into the hole. Preschool chefs can help butter bread or just enjoy eating their breakfast not-so-sandwich!

Smiley breakfast - Whipping up a nutritious breakfast like blueberry pancakes or bran muffins can involve the whole family, especially when mixing batter is so much fun! Add fresh fruit eyes and a nose and a whipped cream mouth that's sure to put a smile on the face of the pickiest eaters.

Lunch

Wraps - The new sandwich! Your child can grab a tortilla, fill it with their favorite sandwich stuffers, and roll it up for a lunchbox main course that's sure to please.

Gray PB&J - Before you spread the bread, mix peanut butter and your youngster's favorite jelly to form a gray concoction. They'll think it's fun to mix, gross to look at, and delicious to eat!

Snack

Pizza crackers - This build-your-own snack lets kids add pizza sauce, cheese, and their favorite pizza toppings to a shredded wheat cracker before you pop them in the toaster oven. Quick and easy!

Smoothies - Whether your chef-to-be is knee-high or towering over you, picking out their favorite fruit for a customized smoothie is a breeze. Blending frozen fruit and your child's favorite yogurt and juice will have them sucking it down in seconds.

Apple smiles - Top two slices of apple (for lips) with peanut butter and mini marshmallows (for teeth) and press together. Substitute almond slices for a healthy tooth alternative. Break out the camera and snap their new smile!

Dinner

Backwards dinner - Eating dessert first and working your way backward to the appetizer is sure to be a hit with any kid crowd! They may enjoy it so much that they forget to complain about their vegetables.

Polka-dotted soup - Dish soup into bowls and fill a pastry bag with sour cream. Have your little helper dot the soup's surface to his heart's content!

What's your kid's favorite comfort food? Better yet, what's yours?