This post is sponsored by Blue Apron
Mazen and I have been getting busy in the kitchen together a lot more often these days. I am thrilled that he wants to help it – it sure makes cooking more fun! When our latest Blue Apron box came, we decided to make the two recipes together for the post. Our recipes were Chicken Bolognese & Rigatoni Pasta with Mascarpone Cheese & Summer Squash-Arugula Salad and Seared Salmon & Roasted Potatoes with Sautéed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes. If these sound as delicious to you as they did for me, check down below to get two free meals on your first Blue Apron order!
Here are five ways Mazen has been helping out in the kitchen!
First, wash hands!!
1. Rinsing. This one is easy and fun – he loves this job.
2. Counting. Since anything to do with knives or heat are out of the question, I task Mazen with counting things while I’m chopping a few feet away. While I sliced squash, tomatoes and lemon, he counted them for me as they came out. (There was a lot of starting over with 1,2,3!)
3. Tearing. When we’re making salad or using herbs, I let him tear the leaves or take them off the stem like he did her with thyme and basil.
4. Sprinkling. His favorite kitchen activities are sprinkling and stirring. While we made these Blue Apron recipes, he was in charge of adding the pinches of salt and sprinkling the herbs in.
5. Tossing. The messiest but the most fun!! We drizzled in some olive oil and then gave the potatoes a good toss with clean hands and then he helped me spread them on the pan.
The recipes turned out great, and Mazen did a good job tasting them. He loves salmon and potatoes, so he gobbled those down! Here’s the toddler plate version:
If you’re a regular reader you’ve read about Blue Apron here before. Choose between a 2-person or Family Plan, and get gourmet meals and ingredients delivered to your doorstep each week in proportions perfect for your family. Shipping is always free, and you can cancel anytime. I think the meals have gotten better and better with time! Check out the selection of them here.
For those of you interested in giving Blue Apron a try, I have another special offer to share: the first 100 readers to sign up will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order! Just click through here to sign up.
Thanks to Blue Apron for sponsoring this post!
Tell me some of your kids’ favorite kitchen sous chef jobs?
[email protected] says
Looks so fun and delicious!
Samantha says
I’ve worked with kid’s in the kitchen before and I’ve found that anything they get to put their hands in (mixing dough, mashing chickpeas, etc.) is their favorite! Love to see Mazen having fun and enjoying being in the kitchen!
Caley says
The last time I baked with kids, it was twin 5 years old, they’d never helped in the kitchen before, and we tried baking brownies in my grandmother’s pristine white condo. I still have flashbacks to cocoa powder flying everywhere when I use that recipe, ha.
KathEats says
Haha!
Tierney says
We totally have the same faucet (I LOVE it). We went with one big sink instead of two separate ones- our kitchens are really similar!
KathEats says
I miss my big one compartment sink SO MUCH!! We thought about swapping this one out, but it seemed wasteful so we’re dealing. We never use the right side!
kim says
I think it is great that Mazen helps out in the kitchen. You are such a great mom Kath- I love how well you can balance being a mom, a wife, a fitness enthusiast, a hardworking blogger- just to name a few! you can do it all!!!
KathEats says
<3
Kelsey @ SoMuchLifeToLive says
Such cute little hands! I don’t have kids, so I’ve never realized how difficult it coul actually be to find things they can do in the kitchen….I’ve always thought, “of COURSE my kids will help me in the kitchen some day!” Haha.
I’m curious….is the cost of blue apron worth it if you’re cooking for 2 people?
KathEats says
You can get the 2 person which is once a week delivery of 3 meals. Ideal for 2 people!
Sagan says
It is so good to get kids involved in the kitchen at an early age! You two look like you’re having so much fun 🙂
Elyse says
Toddlers remind you that even everyday tasks can be fun and a time for learning! Thanks for the reminder.
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
Yum! I love Blue Apron!
Grace says
Fun post! And for what it’s worth, kids Mazen’s age can totally cut veggies for meal prep! Get him a Montessori crinkle-cut chopper. My daughter’s been using hers since she was two, and loves it. In fact, if you Google Montessori cooking, you’ll see kids much younger than Mazen doing all sorts of awesome things in the kitchen. Cooking with my daughter is one of my greatest joys, it’s so much fun. Have you thought about investing in a learning tower? I love ours, our daughter (who is three) can push it around the kitchen and do so much by herself now – wash her hands, get food from the counter, etc. She loves the independence.
And Mazen must be a great eater, too! I thought my daughter had a healthy appetite but she would barely be able to put a dent in that plate of food. Growing boy!
Hannah @ Eat, Drink and Save Money says
How cute! My toddler is just now starting to help more. He loves to make his own peanut butter sandwiches. I never thought about having him help with the herbs. He enjoys helping me water them everyday so I’m sure he’d love to help cook with them too. Thanks for the great tips!
Ellen @ Wannabe Health Nut says
Love this post! I also love the fact that Mazen gobbled down salmon. I hope my girl is a good eater. This might sound silly, but one of things I’m most looking forward to about having a child is introducing her to new foods and seeing her reactions. I know it won’t always be easy, but I’m up for the challenge! I think it will be (mostly) fun.
Amanda says
What a great idea to have Mazen help you cook! You’re setting great examples for him when it comes to staying healthy.
Cassie says
I love it when parents let children cook in the kitchen–my parents never did that for me because they thought I’d burn something XD
Anne @fANNEtasticfood says
Love this post – so great to get kids involved in the kitchen. I taught some kids’ cooking classes a few years ago and found the kids were way more willing to eat healthy food/veggies if they’d had a hand in making them!
Kim says
It is so wonderful you have Mazen help with the meal prep – I found it really makes the kids want to try the food THEY helped prepare ! A budding young chef !
I hope you don’t mind be asking – where did you get your striped top – cute !
KathEats says
Thanks it’s from Stitch Fix!
jen says
My daughter’s favorite cooking task from age 3 was cutting. It’s amazing how many things she can cut with a plastic butter knife or regular butter knife: mushrooms, bananas and cheese are favorites. Uing a mini cookie cutter to cut shapes from cheese or fruit is a big hit too. And kneading dough is another job she’ll never pass up on, loves it!
Kelsey @ Chatterbox Blog says
Both of those recipes look delicious!! Cooking with kiddos is great — I do feeding therapy as a speech pathologist and one of the first things I do with them is have them help make a recipe – hands in and all!
Julia says
My son, who is 11, has always enjoyed helping in the kitchen. He loves to roll out the dough for chicken pot pie On the topic of toddlers in the kitchen another task they can do is use a watermelon baller to scoop out the watermelon. Even at 11 this is a task my son loves!!! Of course there is a lot of snacking on the juicy goodness during the process!!!