Kids cook lasagne

Arizona Kids Can Cook

If you like to cook and are trying to get your kids to participate more in the kitchen as well as eat more healthy foods, check out the website, AZ Kids Can Cook.

The videos are educational, frequently funny and, oh, so darn cute.

I interviewed Charmaine Thomas (via email) to find out the inspiration for AZ Kids Can Cook.

How long have your children been cooking?

Haile began helping in the kitchen when she was six, cracking eggs, mixing, dicing herbs, etc. She started cooking things like breakfast and lunch at 8 and now she can make full 3-course meals at 9 years old. She is very careful around the stove and with knives and understands that she has to always pay attention, and keep everything sanitary. She takes a lot of pride in her cooking and constantly surprises me with just how well seasoned and flavorful her creations are. She just made me a spice mixture for my birthday and I was really pleasantly surprised at just how good it was. I told her I want to market her mix.

Nia is 5 and because of her competitive nature and wanting to be just like her sister she is progressing a lot faster than even Haile did. She knows a lot about spices and herbs in particular because we let her cut up the herbs and add the spices all the time. She can name most herbs by not only sight, but smell, and can taste a meal and tell what it’s seasoned with. She wants to taste everything and is always asking if she can eat everything raw. Nia is not allowed to deal with the stove or sharp knives as yet.

What are their favorite dishes to make?

Nia: Lasagna    (Mom’s comment: It’s labor intensive and she loves that..more things for her to help with.)
Haile:  Lobster mac & cheese  (Mom’s comment: She is a huge seafood and cheese fan..together, this meal is ridiculous.)

Favorite vegetables?

Nia: broccoli & asparagus

Haile: spinach & carrots

(Mom’s comment: They both had a really hard time choosing a favorite.)

Did you cook as a child?

I did cook as a child. I am Jamaican and my grandmother was adamant that we girls learned how to cook, clean and sew…she was really old school, LOL. She would tell us if we didn’t learn we’d be bad wives and mothers. As kids, my cousins and I would have to alternate cooking dinner on Sundays, cooking for our grandmother and two aunts and they were very harsh critiques, LOL.

In my family, I always encourage my girls and compliment all their efforts. But back in Jamaica as children the adults would let us know very clearly if what we made wasn’t good, or lacked flavor, or whatever. At the time it was tough, but I definitely learned many valuable lessons, and I think I am a better cook having had those experiences.

Where do you shop?

For the most part we shop at the Oro Valley, Marana, and Broadway Village Farmers Market and at Sunflower Market at the River & Orange Grove location. We even taped a part of one of our videos at the store. I also get fresh seafood and international spices at Lee Lee Oriental Market at La Cholla & Orange Grove. We eat about a 90 percent organic diet and these markets have a wonderful variety of organic produce.

What do you hope to accomplish from your website and videos?

So, the idea for this whole thing initially came from my oldest daughter Haile. She was always telling me that my food was so good and that I should be on the Food Network, which we watch A LOT! Her idea was a show, “Cooking With Mommy.” I would just kind of agree that would be cool but didn’t really think much of it, of course.

Then this past February Haile participated in the program, Girls Making Media. In this program, girls learn digital media skills and she had the opportunity to help put together a video for her school’s family reading night under the direction of a teenage participant and the organization’s director, Quynn Elizabeth. At the end of the session while brainstorming about what Haile’s next media project should be, the idea of Cooking With Mommy resurfaced. Quynn loved the idea and suggested that Haile take it on as a project, shooting, and editing the videos and such.

Quynn loved the idea because it promoted mommies bonding with their kids, and kids learning to cook. But I switched things and decided to showcase my girls doing even more than just helping. They loved it because all they ever want to do is to cook on their own. So I decided to supervise while taping them in the kitchen. Kids Can Cook was born and things are progressing nicely with people watching and trying the recipes. We just love it!

Do you have a plan for the greater good?

For me, as it relates to my immediate family, it’s important that my girls know how to handle themselves in the kitchen, have an appreciation for different kinds of foods, be open to trying new foods, know the difference between good and bad foods, and understand and appreciate the connection between eating healthy whole organic foods, and keeping their bodies and mind healthy and strong.

I know this understanding, as well as the skills and knowledge they acquire in the kitchen will stay with them always.

As it relates to our viewers, I love the idea of my girls being positive role models and an inspiration for others, showing families and children in particular, that they CAN COOK, and that it’s so much fun and much healthier to prepare and eat home cooked meals than relying on fast foods or other unhealthy or expensive options. We also tend to do meals that aren’t typically considered simple for kids to make. We love showing that kids can do it and that all they need is some direction and help with prepping and handling steps that require adult supervision or intervention.

In terms of the future, I plan to keep going, keep teaching, keep the kids cooking especially as long as they are enjoying it, and keep inspiring others with an interest to do the same. We are also working on more informative videos dealing with kitchen safety, preparation techniques, tools and tricks, and a section of the website that outlines the recipes. I want to be more interactive with viewers as well by accepting suggestions for recipes that the girls will then make. We have plans to visit local farms and highlight the benefits of eating locally grown, in season fruits and veggies…Stay tuned!

Also, I recently signed on to be a local Tucson organizer for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative and I am in the initial stage of planning a Kids Health & Wellness Fair that will be a lot of fun and hosted by AZ Kids Can Cook . Please sign up to get updates as this event comes together. They can also become a facebook fan from the link on our website.

What tips do you recommend for parents to get their kids involved in food prep?

Honestly in my experience, kids naturally want to help in the kitchen and likely don’t need a whole lot of prodding to get them excited about participating in the family’s meal preparation. Unfortunately, in too many households, I think parents are too busy, too tired, or just want to get in and get out, and I totally understand because I have had those moments. And when you have kids helping in the kitchen, of course, everything takes a little longer and you have to answer a million questions, but I find that once you embrace the process it’s so much fun and the kids end up really appreciating and valuing home cooked meals. And more importantly, they learn how to make better food choices and about good nutrition. If really done right, teaching younger kids to cook can also be quite educational in terms of academics as well reinforcing mathematical concepts.

With all that said, when we engage and include kids in deciding what to eat, and during shopping and food prep, they will feel more connected, or invested and will ultimately be more likely or willing to try new and healthier foods.

(Photos provided by Charmaine Thomas)

Haile and Nia love to cook