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HEALTH, SAFETY, AND NUTRITION * 4 HOURS * LEVEL 2

Cooking Up Fun!

Cooking for Life

Page 14
According to many food and nutrition experts, getting kids involved with cooking develops life skills and healthy nutrition habits that will last a lifetime. Generations ago, all children were taught to cook. Recipes were handed down from generation to generation often from grandmothers and mothers. Boys and girls alike were involved in the preparing, cooking, and serving of a meal. This tradition taught children how to cook, use various kitchen tools, make nutritious food choices, understand what ingredients make what foods, and connect to their culture and families in a way that was real and authentic. Today’s society tends to favor the fast and convenient meal options which do not allow for as much time to pass these important elements down to the next generations. If children gain experience in the kitchen in various ways they are moving into adulthood with a wider skill base to help them in many areas.
There are inherent life skills in learning to cook and in a world where childhood obesity is increasingly common, this becomes a very important tool to teach nutrition. Involving children in not only learning about but being very familiar with vegetables, fruits, and grains makes them more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity is the number one cause of premature death in the United States (CDC) and is absolutely preventable by doing things such as this. 
Children are bombarded with advertising for sugary, high fat foods any time they turn the TV on. Many channels and shows designed for children contain multiple ads for very unhealthy food options. Then, when the children visit their local supermarkets they are drawn to these same foods that offer little nutritional benefit. Kids who have experience cooking with adults will have an easier time looking past these temptations and favoring healthy home cooked options. Whether the children are cooking at home or at school, they are learning about these healthy and nutritional food options and will be more likely to continue to make these good choices.
​Imagine that you have never tasted a ripe peach or crunched a fresh green salad. You aren’t familiar with the crisp, vibrant, bright flavors that combine to make a delicious snack. Believe it or not, there are many children who have never had fresh vegetables. Some are limited in their meals in general, having meals at school and nowhere else. Others have just never been introduced to anything other than processed and convenience foods. Still, others are accustomed to foods cooked using unhealthy ingredients, sometimes fried and battered to unrecognizable forms. Food knowledge is important to support healthy food choices in children throughout their entire lives. Even some adults can benefit from this!