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Fun Cooking Games for Kids

One of the best ways to get kids interested in eating healthy and trying new foods is to allow them to help you cook in the kitchen. Playing fun cooking games will get them interested in the kitchen, especially if they can do it with siblings, friends and parents. And kids will naturally want to taste whatever dish they&'ve put effort into creating.

Themed Dinner
- A themed dinner is always a great way to decide what to eat and have fun doing it. Let your kids decide the theme of the meal in advance, such as a meal from a foreign country, so that you&'ll have time to gather ingredients and supplies. Help the kids come up with what they&'d like to cook for dinner, but it has to go with the theme. Everyone should take roles that go with the theme and act them out while cooking and eating the meal. Preparing a meal specific to another country encourages kids to try food from different cultures. Or you could do something really fun like camping, preparing your meal over a campfire in the backyard. This also works great if you do it as a surprise for a dinner guest, like Dad.
Pizza Art
- Pretend to all be famous Italian artists. Give everyone enough dough for a personal-size pizza and a bunch of healthy pizza toppings. Putting time limits on this kind of game is a great way to keep the game moving. Try 15 or 20 minutes. You can separate all the artists using cereal boxes if you think they need to avoid being distracted by one another. Let the kids go wild and create a work of art with their pizza toppings. They can do something abstract, or make a more real-looking picture of something. No matter which toppings they choose, it will probably taste great. After they are done creating their masterpieces, bake them up and eat them.
Cooking Reality Show
- Play this game as if it were a reality-TV show, and the kids/contestants are competing to be the best chef in the country. Choose a "secret ingredient" that must be used in everyone&'s dish. Give the contestants a time limit of 30 minutes to make a delicious entree or dessert. The age of the kids can determine how much free reign they have over the kitchen. You may choose to be their sous chef and help them cook if necessary. You can also choose to have them make a whole meal with the "secret ingredient." At the end, be a critical and entertaining judge, and make sure you try each thing no matter how “interesting” it looks. If other adults are available, you can have a few judges and make one harsh and the other polite, just like on the "real" reality shows.

Kids Games