Child Friendly Recipes

Kids like to help in the kitchen. Kids enjoy cooking. I think one of my favorite recipes for kids is Dump Cake. This is literally a cake where you dump everything into the baking dish and then bake.

Dump Cake

20 ounces crushed pineapple

16 ounces cherry pie filling

1 package yellow cake mix, dry

1 1/2 sticks butter, sliced

Dump all ingredients into baking pan and bake at 350 F until brown, approximately 1 hour.

Have fun with the kids. Try blueberry or strawberry instead of the cherry pie filling. If you like nuts or coconut, throw some of that in the dish also.

If you prefer a chocolate cake, try a chocolate cake mix instead of the yellow cake mix.

This is such a fun recipe and kids love that they made the cake.

Another of my favorite kid recipes is trail mix. The kids get to make their own trail mix. Buy a bag of nuts, a box of Chex cereal, a bag of chocolate chips, a bag of pretzels, a bag of raisins and any other goodies you want in the trail mix and then get out the snack size Ziplocs. The kids get to make the trail mix and bag it up for lunches and snacks. When they make it, they love eating it. This is a great healthy snack.

Have you ever had a waffle sandwich? Buy some Eggo waffles. Let the kids toast the waffles and then spread peanut butter and jelly on them. You can also let the kids cut up bananas and add them. They love this breakfast sandwich that they can make all by themselves.

Do your kids like burritos? Let them make their own burritos. Set out containers of tomatoes, cheese, olives, chopped chicken and anything else you might have in the fridge. Give the kids tortillas and let them add the ingredients they like and then wrap and eat.

My final suggestion is kabobs. Kids love to make their own kabobs. Chop up some apples, pineapple or melons. Cut some cheese squares and let the kids make their own fruit and cheese kabobs. Use a yellow cheese and a white cheese. Use a red melon and an orange melon. This lets the kids make colorful and delightful kabobs that they

Healthy Meals and Snacks Kids Can Prepare For Themselves

When your family is in a rush, and you need the kids to help prepare their own snacks or meal, it’s tempting to have prepared foods for them that are quick to eat, but don’t have as much nutritional value as you would like.

Instead of stocking up on expensive pre-packaged snacks (with unsuitable ingredients) that they can quickly grab, this is a good opportunity to teach your kids to prepare quick, healthy foods for themselves. The times your kids are busy is precisely when they need the most nutrients. If they’re old enough to use a stove on their own, they can learn to prepare healthy foods that will keep going them going a lot longer than a bag of chips or a handful of cookies.

Here are some quick healthy meals and snacks kids can prepare for themselves, or for the whole family.

Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs are a good choice for breakfast, hot lunch or dinner, or even an afterschool snack. Eggs are a health food that supply high quality protein and other nutrients kids need.

3 eggs
3 tablespoons of milk or water
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Break eggs into a small bowl. Add the milk, salt and pepper. Mix everything well with a fork. Make sure the egg yolks are broken up and the yolks and eggs are well mixed.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then tilt the skillet so the melted butter coats the bottom.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook over low heat. Stir continuously to keep the eggs “scrambled.” Cook until the eggs look firm.

Whole Grain French Toast

French toast is another quick healthy snack or meal. Your kids can eat it topped with pure maple syrup (not the fake stuff!), fruit syrup, or even peanut butter.

1 egg