Cooking with Vegan Kids

Children are often so eager to be a part of the action, but when it comes to cooking parents have a hard time seeing around the mess that is sure to be made. If your family happens to be vegan it can be even more frustrating to find that many recipes geared toward children usually include animal products. Here are some tips to help you avoid and handle the mess that comes with cooking with kids as well as some vegan recipes that will work for the whole family.

The first step in starting to cook is setting up your work space. This becomes even more important when you are cooking with kids, because you'll want to spend your time focusing on and helping them rather than searching the kitchen for tools every few minutes. Each recipe calls for different things but in general you will want go have the following things handy:

*Measuring cups aren't very expensive so it's best to have two sets.

*Measuring spoons

*Two or three wood or plastic mixing spoons in kid friendly sizes.

*A rubber scraping spatula

*A cutting board

*Many cloth kitchen towels and napkins

*Mixing bowls in a variety of sizes. I find that kids like to use glass types so that they can easily see the ingredients inside.

Before you dive in you might want to talk to the kids about cleaning up as you go along. Show them how to put something away when you are finished using it so that there is less final clean up when you are done. Let them use a sponge or towel to help clean up any messes or spills that occur. Let things be casual and fun throughout. Cleanliness is a valuable thing to teach our kids, but cooking should be fun too.

Here are a couple of vegan kid friendly recipes to get you started.

Fruit Salad

Fruit salad doesn't really need a recipe, but sometimes it's nice to have a basic framework to help us out. This is a perfect recipe for kids because it's so easy.

2 medium bananas, sliced

¼ cup blueberries

¼ cup sliced strawberries

1 cup seedless grapes, halved

1 medium apple, cored and chopped

3 Tablespoons crushed walnuts or peanuts

2-3 Tablespoons of orange juice, fresh or concentrated for a sweeter taste

Get the kids involved in washing, peeling, and safely cutting up the fruits. Butter knives can easily slice a banana, and they are safe for even the littlest cooks. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them well. If the kids can stand to wait you might want to cover the bowl and chill the salad in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes. If they can't wait go ahead and eat it right away. Who could blame them for being impatient when faced with such a treat?

Mini Vegan Pizzas

Because vegans love pizza too!

For a "dough" use 2-4 vegan English muffins, halved

Toppings:

Use your imagination for this part. Try spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, or a mild chunky salsa for a sauce base. My very favorite "pizza sauce" is avocado spread right onto the muffin. Help the kids choose the things for their own pizzas. Options they might love include sliced black or green olives, pineapple, mild green onions, tomato slices, bell pepper slices, and shredded carrot. Help them slice tomatoes and olives and spread the sauces on the muffins. They will love arranging the toppings onto their own special pizza. I like to sprinkle my pizzas with just a little bit of garlic salt or vegan chili seasoning before popping them into the oven.

Place the prepared muffins on a baking sheet and bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. These pizzas can also be baked in a toaster oven which may be easier for kid cooks to handle.

Feel free to alter these recipes to suit your needs or even create your own. The more you cook with the kids the easier and more fun it becomes!