Cooking with Kids: English Muffin Pizzas
Welcome to Cooking with Kids, a new feature here on A Better Bag of Groceries. I once heard a story on National Public Radio about getting your children involved in the kitchen. The reporter said that one of the reasons that SpongeBob SquarePants is so popular is because it airs at 5 pm. And that is when parents need to cook. So the easiest thing to do is put your kids in front of the TV while you cook. And I am guilty of using that strategy! Fortunately, I’ve been able to turn my kids on to The Electric Company and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman instead of SpongeBob.
The NPR reporter went on to give tips on how to get your kids more involved in cooking. She suggested giving them fresh green beans and teaching them how to cut off the ends. I tried that. I gave my kids a colander full of freshly washed green beans and taught them how to snip off the ends with their little kids scissors. They lasted for about 2 minutes!
But you can teach your kids to love cooking. And some kids will love it more than others. That is probably why you see more pictures of my daughter than my son on this blog. She really loves to cook. My son is not as smitten.
But the real reason to teach your kids to cook is not to get them away from the TV or away from the Wii. It is because, as they begin to get good at it, it will save you time. As I’ve blogged before, I’m a big believer in Child Labor! Start small, with something fun, and they will learn the steps of a particular dish. Soon, you will have your own little sous chef at your side! Yes, it may take more time at first, but eventually your kids will be a help to you in the kitchen. Seriously, even when making a cupcake mix these days, I find it to goes more quickly because my daughter does the measuring (with help), adding and stirring while I start clean-up.
Probably one of the easiest dishes to teach your kids to cook is English Muffin Pizzas. When my daughter turned 4, we had a Cooking Party at our local YMCA and that is what we made. Easy for all ages!
English Muffin Pizzas can be fairly nutritious.
Check out the NuVal scores for English Muffins:
- Thomas’ Light MultiGrain English Muffins: 38
- Western Bagel Alternative English Muffins: 37
- Thomas’ Original English Muffins: 30
- Vermont Bread Six Original Spelt Bread Organic English Miffins: 29
- Wonder English Muffins: 21
- Pepperidge Farms English Muffins: 20
As for the mozzarella cheese, we used Sorrento’s Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Italian with a NuVal score of 23. Ragu Pizza Quick Sauce comes in at a very respectable 53. Although, tomato sauce works just fine, so I went with my favorite these days, Pastene’s “The Chateau” Marinara Sauce, which gets a NuVal score of 66.
The key is to put this simple meal together by assembling some nutritious ingredients. Don’t get caught in the trap of buying a Pizza Kit. The Chef Boy Ardee Pepperoni Pizza Kit (Pizza Sauce with Pepperoni, Crust Mix and Grated Cheese) gets a NuVal score of 4. Ouch!
Another key to cooking with kids is to let them do as much as possible, unless it’s unsafe. Go ahead, teach your 4 year old how to crack eggs, even if it is a little messy. Obviously, putting things into hot ovens should be done by people above 5 feet tall only.
Let your kids spread the sauce and sprinkle the cheese. Then, pop them the oven or toaster oven at 450 degrees until the cheese starts to bubble.
Round this out with some cucumbers (NuVal score of 93) and a glass of skim milk (NuVal score of 91) and you have a nutritious lunch that your kids will be proud and happy to eat.
Now you’ve made a meal and a memory. Yum!
Calling All Moms (and Dads)
I want to hear from you! Tell me about your experiences in teaching your kids to cook. Channel your inner blogger, take some pictures if you’d like and share your story with me. You could be featured on A Better Bag of Groceries. If you have a story, recipe or even just a little tip you’d like to share, email me at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com.
Question of the Day
What is one of the first meals you remember learning to cook?
Posted by: Melissa 11 comments
Posted in: Cooking with Kids, English Muffin Pizzas, English Muffins
Tags: Cooking with Kids, English Muffin Pizzas, English Muffins
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 7:47 am
Ahhhh! Cutie Pie Alert!
I remember making chocolate chip cookies with my grandmother. I can’t make a batch without thinking of her!
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Aww! My mom always made English Muffin Pizzas for us on snow days!! I love them!
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 9:20 am
We don’t have kids yet, but I just made these for my hubs last week. Sometimes he is like my kid..ha! I always baked cookies and cinnamon rolls with my dad.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 10:30 am
How to Thomas’ 100% Whole Wheat english muffins score on the NuVal scale?
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 11:45 am
My mom would always let me stir. I loved it!
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Thomas’ 100% Whole Wheat English muffins score a 25.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
This featured kid is truly adorable!!!
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Those look great. So cute! What a fun idea.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
One of the first items I every learned to prepare was buttermilk biscuits. They were my Grandmother’s receipe. Although they are not the healthiest item to prepare, they are still among my favorites.
on Feb 18th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
aw, i make those with my little sister! (7 yrs) and she loves them
my first cooking memory is making pumpkin pie with my mom. and yes, i WAS that child who tried pumpkin from the can, expecting it to taste like the spicy sweet pie filling…
on Jun 15th, 2010 at 7:28 am
my first cooking was Pirashki. it is a Russian food.so delicate!! on that time i was just 5 year old kid.