Cook with your Kids!

According to Instah.com:

   Child Obesity in America has increased 3 times in the last 30 years.  6.5% of Children between 6-11 years were  obese in 1980 whereas 19.8% of children were obese in 2008.  These figures are similar to that of adolescents aged 12-19 years where obesity increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.

My son and I have been cooking together since he was 3.  As a stay at home Mom, I felt it was a lot more productive to add my son the process rather than sit him in from of the t.v. or expect him to stay still as I cooked.  Our first cooking adventure was Spelt Biscuits.  We made them so much together that my son started making suggestions for variations.  We added almonds and bananas; used whole spelt flour or white spelt flour.  Needless to say it set the foundation for him to want to do more in the kitchen.  He makes his own dressings for salad, loves to help me chop veggies, and as I type is making me a smoothie.

I once read a survey that states that 87 percent of fourth through eighth graders either cook for themselves or make their own snacks, and eight out of then said they prepare their own breakfast.  With the busy lives of parents, some children have to become their own nutrition monitors relying on packaged and processed foods for quick snacks.  I would love to see after school programs add basic nutrition and cooking classes to their curriculum to help broaden the scope of what young people know about food.  Where I live there is a cooking school called Young Chefs Academy which introduces basic cooking concepts to kids and is also willing to work with vegetarians.  Programs like these are a wonderful introduction to cooking simple meals or snacks.  I know many folks say they don't have the money to buy certain foods, but now, more than ever, it is imperative that we stay healthy in mind, spirit, and body, especially our young people whose future can be affected by poor eating habits.  So to reiterate a question I asked before, "What is your food lifestyle?"  What kind of food lifestyle do you want your children to have?  With that said check out my newest video featuring my son and his Avocado Dip, the ingredients are posted at the end of the video.  Hope you like it, enjoy!
(statistics provided by California Department of Education)