Some of my earliest memories are from time spent in the kitchen – baking cookies with my Nana, peeling eggs with my Grandma, or mixing meatballs with my mom. My family always took an early approach to getting my sisters and I involved in preparing our meals. In fact, I was making dinner for the whole family before I hit middle school!
Because I’ve always been in the kitchen, it has been important to me that my kids get involved in the kitchen early as well. My girls have been in the kitchen with me from their infancy, graduating from swings and bouncers to sitting on counters and standing on step stools.
While most of us think of memories like baking cookies, there are things kids can do really early on to get involved in meal preparation. Ella just turned four, but she’s already a pro at helping me make her lunches!
One of her favorite things to eat for lunch is a simple peanut butter sandwich with a green apple on the side – something that’s easy for her to help with. We use bread made with whole wheat, like Arnold Organic White made with Whole Wheat Bread. It’s made with whole grain and is a good source of Vitamins A, D, & E. Arnold Organic White made with Whole Wheat Bread is also sustainably baked using renewable wind energy (how cool is that?) and Arnold Organic donates 1% of their revenue to support environmental causes. Of course, Ella’s favorite part was seeing Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse right on the packaging. They’ve long been her favorite characters!
As we made her sandwich, Ella helped with each step – getting out the bread and peanut butter, spreading it on the bread, and putting it together. She really wanted to cut out the shape of Mickey Mouse, but was too excited to take a bite of her sandwich. She loved the smooth texture of the bread and proudly told me it was the best sandwich ever – well, until tomorrow when we make another one, right?
I love getting my kids involved in their meals at a young age and know it really helps them to enjoy the foods they eat. Made with Organic whole grains as the first ingredient, Arnold Organic White made with Whole Wheat Bread made with Whole Wheat is plant-based and provides a good source of Vitamins A, D, & E. Having them help prepare the food that fuels their bodies also helps them make the best choices they can as they grow. It’s important to me to keep the kitchen stocked with nutritious ingredients and let them experiment, and I can’t wait to see what Ella wants to make next.
