Making pasta (and cooking with kids!)

I'm a huge believer in getting kids involved with food - from growing, to preparing, to cooking (and eating ) - it not only teaches them about where our food comes from and gives them vital life skills, it's also a great chance to talk about nutrition and how to feed and care for our bodies

We were super lucky in that both kids attended a preschool that placed a big emphasis on this - they learnt from age 3 to chop up veges safely with knives, cook and prepare simple dishes independently, be involved with creating meals and cleanup, as well as growing and caring for edible plants (one of their favourite activities was feeding them worm juice!)

Getting kids involved with cooking also means they're far more likely to eat the food they've helped prepare, a great way to get them eating veges

Growing as many of your own veges and herbs also really helps, as they learn where food comes from and how to care for the earth - also means they get to experience veges straight from the garden - yum!! We only have a small urban section, but you can still fit a lot in - leafy greens, brassica, herbs, carrots , tomatoes and strawberries all take up very little space and are so much better fresh and unsprayed

This was a Wholemeal fresh pasta we made with a simple basil and tomato sauce - the basil grown on the windowsill (still too cold to grow outside atm), and the tomatoes frozen from our harvest last summer The boys loved helping prepare the pasta - be warned though, it takes a lot longer with little people involved they were also really proud of the meal they'd help to make and gobbled it up!! Pasta sauce recipe : Finely chop 5-6 cloves of garlic Heat 2-3 Tbsp olive oil, fry garlic in a saucepan over a low heat until fragrant Add 2 cans tomatoes (or frozen pureed ones), and simmer at low heat, stirring regularly until thickens, ideally at least 20 min, the longer you simmer it the nicer the flavour About 5 min before serving, chop up some fresh basil and add to sauce then season as

desired with salt and pepper (plus chilli flakes if you want a spicier version!) #kidswhocook #kidsmeals #cookingwithkids

Get More Messages for The simplicity doctor You can add a Messenge