I recently mentioned that I’ve become more intentional about giving my son independence in the kitchen. He and his sister have always been great helpers when I cook or bake, but I’ve started to introduce foods that he could prepare completely on his own. As I ease him into this new milestone of freedom, I’ve focused on snacks that require little more than gathering ingredients and layering them on top of each other. He’s capable of doing more, but for now, we’re just getting comfortable with the idea of kitchen autonomy.

It’s been a nice change! It not only takes some of the responsibility off of me, but it introduces a new dynamic of service by giving him the opportunity to make his sister’s food as well. In fact, The other day he made me a parfait after I exhaustedly flopped onto the couch post-house cleaning. It was such a sweet gesture.

So far these three ideas (along with the fruit taco we made a couple of weeks ago) have been our favorites. If you’re wanting to get your kiddo started in the kitchen, I recommend these simple but delicious snacks.

Pizza Bagel

My friend and I used to make these all the time as ravenous teenagers. Now it’s one of my go-to lunch ideas when we’re eating out of the car while road tripping. It’s simple enough for novice cooks, and if your child is ready for it they can even use the toaster to heat the bagel.

All they need to do is spread the pizza sauce (you can buy it in jars or a squeeze bottle), and top it with dried pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.

Fruit Parfait

The kids loved this one! It’s a sweet treat, but yogurt is a great source of nutrition. At the bottom of a small glass, bowl, or cup layer a spread of fruit-flavored jam. The important thing when talking your kids through the instructions is to specify a particular amount of jam so as to guide them away from overloading the parfait with sugar (I told my kids to use a tablespoon). Fill the glass with vanilla yogurt, leaving about a quarter of it empty for the granola topping.

It’s delicious!

Apple Pizzas

This is another sweet treat, but the variety has endless possibilities! To begin, show the kiddos how to slice up an apple. There are terrific kid-friendly knives out there that are safe for tiny and vulnerable fingers. I found mine through pampered chef, though I believe they’ve since discontinued those particular tools. You can find them in many
other places though! I highly recommend them if you want to get your kids involved in the kitchen.

On each apple slice, choose a spread as the base. We used peanut butter, but yogurt and other flavored butter are excellent choices as well. Sprinkle on embellishments such as fruits, nuts, raisins, and (if it’s a treat) chocolate chips.

Simple. Fun. And definitely yummy!

Originally posted August 2020