Have fun cooking


with children Why not encourage healthy eating and a general interest in all kinds of food from an early age?


Tips for Success ... • expect spills & mess so cover your child with an apron!


• young children have short attention spans so give them quick simple jobs, one at a time


• allow your child to do as many of the cooking tasks as possible (but avoiding sharp knives, hot ovens and other potentially dangerous items of course)


• include the cleaning up as part of the activity


Cooking with your toddler or pre - school chiId can be a great bonding experience as well as a fun and a fantastic way to pass a rainy afternoon! It helps to encourage healthy eating and a general interest in all kinds of food from an early age and also provides many useful learning experiences.


Mathematics - counting out ingredients (eg 3 eggs), learning about “more than” or “less than”


Language & Logic Skills - learning lots of cooking vocabulary in a fun way, as well as following instructions in order


Science - learning where ingredients come from (eg eggs from chickens, milk from cows), and about changing materials (juice becomes ice lollies when frozen, liquid cake mixture becomes solid sponge when cooked)


Physical Skills - holding spoons, mixing, shaking and pouring all help to develop your child’s fine motor skills; and feeling ingredients helps improve their sense of touch


Social Development - in particular if the cooking is done with a sibling or friend, children can learn how to take turns and to enjoy sharing and eating what they have made too!


• share what you have cooked straight after or as a family at the next mealtime


Chocolate


Brownies An easy “must make” recipe that goes down well with toddlers and grown-ups alike!! They won’t last long in your cake tin!!


Total time : Ready in 1 hour, inc cooling Ingredients


300g / 10oz castor sugar, 4 eggs 240g / 8oz unsalted butter, 90g / 3oz cocoa powder 90g / 3oz plain flour, 120g / 4oz chocolate chunks


Method 1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4 / 180 C / 350 F


2. Line a shallow baking tin with slightly greased greaseproof paper.


3. Beat the sugar & eggs really well, until much thickened and the sugar has dissolved.


4. Melt the butter, pour it into the sugar & egg mixture and stir well. 5. Sieve the cocoa powder & flour together and add to the mixture. 6. Roughly cut up the chocolate chunks and add to the mixture.


7. Pour into the tin to approx 1.5 - 2cm thickness and bake for 20 - 25 minutes - a skewer inserted should not come out completely clean - you want a slightly gooey middle for extra yumminess!!


8. Leave in tin until just warm, then cut into small portions.


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Visit Small Steps Online for more tasty recipes and advice.


www.smallstepsonline.co.uk Small Steps 29


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