Fave Item: The Wavy Chopper

Forget the pea protein and the mocktail trends predicted for 2020. Quarantine Cuisine is having its moment now, and if you’re like most during this dark and surreal moment in history, you’re probably getting creative with handfuls of elbow macaroni, canned salmon, frozen artichokes, and an errant tube of tomato paste right about now.

While one downside to all this quarantining-with-kids is the time spent in the kitchen (the dishes, OMG THE DISHES), the upside is…more time in the kitchen! Making food as a family can be rewarding and memorable — even if it ends in an epic brawl over who peels a better carrot. There are important fine motor skills to be had, as well as patience, care, and sensory stimulation.

SO — although the tendency these days might be to escape to your kitchen away from the small people roaming your house bleating, “what do we do now?” — you might just find that inviting them INTO the kitchen and giving them a task is the best answer of all.

But what about the knives?

Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to knives and children. Also, every kid is different. I’m personally all for teaching proper use of real tools at a young age. It’s also important to have family meal prep where all are welcome. Luckily, there are options that make this possible. Like this thing here: The Wavy Chopper. I got mine on Amazon, but you can also get them on Montessori sites like this one.

Our kids started using these at around age 3. These ripply knives cut anything from onions to potatoes, but most importantly, fingers remain far away from the blade. AND THEY CUT CRINKLES.

The rules when using them are: 1) Flat side of the food on the board 2) both hands on top of the cutter 2) and cut straight down.

The best way to teach a skill is to work alongside your child. Kids are amazing mimickers. Stub your toe on the couch and shout the first word that comes to mind. You’ll see what I mean.

Other tips include:

• Start with softer foods.
• Cut round objects so that they’re flat on one side and don’t roll around, making them hard to cut.
• Don’t over-instruct. Unless your kid is doing something truly dangerous, try to keep adult intervention down to a minimum.

It’s also a great time to chat to your older ones about things you wouldn’t normally talk about. You’d be surprised what they tell you when you’re chopping rutabaga together.

Why cook as a family? Because taking part in meal preparation helps picky eaters eat more of it. Plus, there’s the pride of creating something with your bare hands, and the satisfaction of nourishing others. Finally, as a society, we all need to be more connected to our food, and learning the life skill of cooking for oneself is a great way to do this.

As for those of you who would STILL like some alone time, chances are, your kids will chop next to you for a while, see you bring out that second bowl of broccoli to be done…and POOF. They’ll vanish. And just like that, you’ll have the kitchen to yourself again.

Eat, be well and stay healthy, everyone.