Creating Healthy Habits: Cooking Together as a Family

May 15

At Better Living Foster Care and Family Services, our goal is to build stronger families.

Whether guiding families through the child welfare system, providing support before families need intervention or reuniting families, Better Living is here for Nebraska families.

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where meals are prepared that fuel the mind and body, where cherished memories are made with loved ones, family recipes live on through generations, and laughter is shared. Cooking together as a family can be a fun and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Not only does it provide an opportunity to bond and create memories, but it also teaches children important life skills and promotes healthy eating habits.

However, with busy schedules and different preferences, it can be difficult to make cooking together a consistent weekly routine. For children in foster care, these experiences could be marked by trauma, inconsistency, or scarcity. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to create a weekly routine of cooking together as a family that can be enjoyed by children of all ages.

Have a set day for cooking as a family.

The first step in creating a weekly routine of cooking together as a family is to choose a day and time that works for everyone. Consider everyone’s schedules, including work, school, extracurricular activities, and other commitments. It’s important to choose a day and time that is convenient and consistent for everyone, as this will help ensure that the routine is maintained. If you read our previous blog post, Ideas for Your Next Family Night, we make suggestions for how to incorporate a family night into your week. Choose the night of the week that everyone can commit to and maintain consistency with sticking to this planned family evening.

Plan meals in advance.

Once you have chosen a day and time, it’s important to plan meals in advance. This will help ensure that you have all the necessary ingredients and equipment, and it will also help you avoid last-minute stress and frustration. Involve your children in the meal planning process by asking them for their input and suggestions. Have a couple of options on hand just in case you decide as a family to make a different meal, that way you won’t have to make a last-minute trip to the store. Getting the kids involved in the planning will help them feel more invested in the routine and may even encourage them to try new foods.

Assign age-appropriate tasks.

Assigning age-appropriate tasks to your children is an important part of cooking together as a family. This not only teaches them important life skills, but it also promotes a sense of responsibility and teamwork. Younger children can help with tasks such as measuring ingredients, stirring, pouring, and washing fruits and vegetables, while older children can take on more complex tasks such as chopping, sautéing, and baking.

Make it fun and interactive.

Cooking together as a family should be a fun and interactive experience. Consider playing music or games while you cook, or create a theme for each meal. For example, you could have a Mexican-themed night and make tacos, and homemade salsa or an Italian-themed night and make homemade pizza. Encourage your children to get creative and express themselves through their cooking. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to prepare food. Let them make mistakes, experiment with flavors, or assemble their own mini-pizza themselves. Spaghetti on a pizza?! Go for it! Pancakes and soup for dinner, why not? The goal is to connect, and have a good time.

Emphasize healthy eating habits.

One of the benefits of cooking together as a family is that it promotes healthy eating habits. Emphasize the importance of eating a balanced and nutritious diet, and involve your children in the process of choosing healthy ingredients and preparing healthy meals. Allowing children to explore food and feel comfortable and confident with new foods starts by letting them see how it’s prepared, or see the food in its raw form. This will help them develop a lifelong appreciation for healthy eating, be less picky, and may even help prevent future health problems.

Clean up together.

Cleaning up after cooking can be a daunting task, but it’s important to involve your children in this process as well. This not only teaches them important life skills such as responsibility and organization, but it also promotes a sense of teamwork and helps instill good habits. Encourage your children to help with tasks such as washing dishes, wiping down counters, and putting away leftovers. Make the clean-up less stressful by doing a small amount of cleaning while cooking or make it a challenge of who can finish their task first, the winner gets to choose the next meal or dessert for that night. (hint, YOU are the real winner with a clean house).

In the end, it’s all about sticking to the routine.

Creating a weekly routine of cooking together as a family is a great way to bond and create memories, but it’s important to stick to the routine in order to reap the benefits. Sure, healthy meals, a good conversation, and having fun are important but the most important thing is creating and sticking to the routine. Routine gives children security, it reinforces that they can trust the adults in their life and that activities together are a priority. Set aside the designated day and time each week, and make it a priority to cook together as a family. This will help ensure that the routine becomes a consistent part of your family’s lifestyle.

Cooking together as a family is a wonderful way to bond and create memories, but it can be challenging to make it a consistent weekly routine. By choosing a convenient day and time, planning meals in advance, assigning age-appropriate tasks, making it fun and interactive, emphasizing healthy eating habits, cleaning up together, and sticking to the routine, you can create a weekly routine of cooking together as a family that can be enjoyed by children of all ages.