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Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

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Cooking with Littles: Raddish Cooking Club Subscrition Box Review

June 22, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Complimentary box provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I never really learned to cook while I was growing up. Cooking wasn’t really a strength for either of my parents (Corned beef hash? From a can? Sorry, guys…). It’s a skill I had to fumble through during the early years of my marriage (apologies, Tim) and it’s not something I want my daughters to fear in any way.

But cooking a skill that has to be taught; it isn’t intuitive. Being comfortable in the kitchen takes some practice. 

So I was very intrigued to see a cooking themed subscription box for kids called Raddish (Get it? Rad dish?). Darah and I did an unboxing video so that you can see exactly what’s inside a typical box. Take a moment to check it out!

Understandably, my girls were eager to make the carrot cake first. We got out our ingredients, which were very beautifully listed for us in our laminated recipe card, and mommy, quite honestly, got overwhelmed.

raddish review 2

Because I have the arms of a T-Rex, I couldn’t even capture half of the stuff I had to haul out and put on the table. I was annoyed; this was going to be too much work.

But you guys, here’s the thing: I went into this with the totally wrong attitude. I went into this project wanting to work at the speed I would work all by myself. I didn’t want to lay out all the ingredients. I didn’t want the girls to make a mess. I wanted to get in and out of the kitchen FAST. That’s my cooking style! And actually, it’s a GREAT one that I won’t apologize for having.

BUT

If I’m going to teach my girls how to cook, then I simply must slow my roll and get comfortable being a little uncomfortable. Cooking, just like many other skills we teach our kids (reading, writing, even using the potty!) take a great deal of effort on our part, but once we impart those skills, then we have given our children precious gifts that will last a lifetime.

Also? There are fringe benefits to having that special time together in the kitchen.

raddish review 3

When Darah realized that she would be licking the beaters clean, she exclaimed, “Oh cool! We are clean eating!”

Yes, child. That’s a kind of clean eating that I can get behind!

So, yes. Cooking with your kids is messy and takes a long time. Getting a Raddish box doesn’t change that. But it does make some of the steps a bit quicker for you (recipe lists, recipe ideas, supplementary activities, etc.) and it certainly is fun in the end. I would order it again! 🙂
raddish review 1

Rad Savings

Raddish subscription boxes are $24/month (you can get a 6 month subscription for $22/box or a 12 month subscripion for $20/box). If you’d like to get a 3, 6 or 12 month membership, your first box will be 25% off by using the code DELICIOUSSTUFF. 

Filed Under: DIY Projects · Tagged: cooking with kids, easy recipes for kids, kids cooking, raddish, raddish kids, raddish review, raddish subscription box, subscription box, subscription box review, subscription boxes for kids

Cooking with Kids: 31 Days of Unforgettable Recipes

October 17, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Most kids are highly aware of and interested in food – just watch preschoolers play at cooking, shopping and eating. Meal preparation provides terrific opportunities for fun family bonding, for kids to learn about cooking and nutrition, and to allow family members to feel and be useful.

At age-appropriate levels, have kids help pick recipes and plan meals, brainstorm and write shopping lists, go shopping, measure or cut food, and set and clear the table. Older children can make a dish for a family potluck or create their own special meal.

The following projects are especially fun, rewarding and easy, both to make and to eat. And if some of the processes involved feel like playing, so much the better! Enlist your young sous chef to help crack eggs, crush fruit, place sprinkles on cookies, and enjoy that tactile mainstay, rolling and kneading dough.

Sandwich Sushi

Polka Dot Pea Soup

Shrimp Enchiladas Verde

Great Guacamole

50 Easy Pizzas

Lasagna

Soft Pretzels

Jell-O Rainbows and Fairy Burgers

Morning Biscuits

Triple Berry Jam

Apple Butter

Blueberry Buckle

Apple Pie

Yogurt Pie

Colorful Cookies

Best Holiday Cookies

Photos: Martha Stewart, Mark Flickett, Susan Sachs Lipman

Want to see the entire 31 Days of Unforgettable Recipes series? Just click the banner below to see the full list!

31 days of unforgettable recipes

 

 

Filed Under: Fun Things To Do, The Kitchen · Tagged: #31days, cooking with kids, kids recipes, recipes

Cooking With Kids: The Perfect First Cookbook (Giveaway!)

August 31, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 88 Comments

Cooking with kids can be a lot of work, at least at first. But the payoff for having a child, and eventually a teenager, who is comfortable in the kitchen can be SO worth it! Has your child started to develop an interest in cooking? And are you ready to start encouraging that budding interest? Then I’ve got the perfect cookbook!

I was recently sent a copy of ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family. It is a beautifully photographed book filled with over 100 recipes that new little chefs will enjoy. It also has great tips and tricks and teachable moments , such as how to operate a salad spinner, or answers to questions that kids might be asking while cooking that will help them better understand why the recipe needs to be followed as written (such as why tomatoes get added so late in the process of cooking lentil soup).

cooking with kids: chop chop cover

Perhaps my very favorite thing about the book, though, is the fact that the photos inside show kids doing the cooking. How empowering it must be to a child to see example after example of someone their age creating something in the kitchen!

Here’s an example recipe from the book. Check it out and give it a try with your child in the near future!

Little Lasagnas

from ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family.

It’s fun to get your own cute little lasagna! And this is an easier, quicker recipe than the  big-pan lasagna. Plus, this recipe will give you some good math practice, too.

cooking with kids: little lasagnas

Adult Needed: Yes

Hands-On Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Makes: 12 little lasagnas

Kitchen gear: 12-cup muffin tin, measuring cup, measuring spoons, box grater (adult needed), pot holders, butter knife

Ingredients:

  • 1⁄2 cup hot tap water
  • 2 1⁄2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1⁄2 pound (1⁄2 box) spaghetti (any kind is fine)
  • 3⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 1⁄2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions
1. Turn the oven on and set it to 350 degrees.
2. Put 2 teaspoons hot tap water in each of 12 muffin cups inside the tin.
3. Add 1 tablespoon tomato sauce to each muffin cup.
4. Count out 48 spaghetti strands. Break up 4 spaghetti strands and add them to the first
muffin cup, then continue, adding 4 broken spaghetti strands to each muffin cup.
5. Top each with 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese.
6 Top each with 2 teaspoons shredded mozzarella cheese.
7. Top each with 2 teaspoons tomato sauce.
8. Repeat, starting with step 4 (the spaghetti strands).
9. Repeat again.
10. Carefully put the muffin tin in the oven and bake until the top is golden and the
tomato sauce is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes. Slide the butter
knife into the inner edge of each muffin cup and gently go around it, loosening up the
sides. Carefully remove the lasagnas from the tin and serve right away.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food With Your Family!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Giveaways, The Kitchen · Tagged: chop chop, chopchop: the kids’ guide to cooking real food with your family, cooking with kids, first cookbook, giveaway, healthy kids recipes, healthy recipes, kids cookbook, kids recipes, recipes, review

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Welcome!


Grab your beverage of choice (mine is iced coffee) and let's hang out for a spell! I'm Tiffany, and I've rambunctious little girls and a fierce desire to share any tip and trick I can find to make lives with little ones a bit less hectic and a lot more fun. [Read more...]

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