Winter is still here and the kids are home from school this week. What better way to keep them busy than by letting them help with food preparation? Including children in cooking has benefits for both parents and children. Parents reap the rewards of having help preparing a home-cooked meal instead of buying fast food, keeping a child occupied in a productive activity, and increasing the chance that a child will eat a healthy variety of foods because they are involved in the preparation.

When children learn to cook, they are developing skills that will help them both in school and in their life in general. Cooking together teaches planning, organization, math skills, decision making, problem solving, team work and communication skills. For instance, making minestrone soup requires reading the recipe, assembling the ingredients, measuring the ingredients, deciding who is responsible for preparing each vegetable, figuring out substitutions if an ingredient is missing and modifying the recipe to include favorite ingredients and seasonings.

When allowing children to work in the kitchen, you need to consider their developmental level and abilities.

The following are general guidelines for some age-appropriate food preparation activities for children and pre-teens:

3-5 years old

• Pour ingredients into a bowl

• Stir ingredients

• Wash fruits and vegetables

• Peel and slice fruit with a table knife

• Tear lettuce into pieces for a salad

• Use a cookie cutter

6-8 years old

• Read recipes

• Measure ingredients

• Peel vegetables with a vegetable peeler

• Spread frosting with a spatula

• Crack eggs

• Knead dough

9-12 years old

• Use mixer, food processor, blender

• Use microwave

• Cook on stovetop with supervision

• Use sharp knife with supervision (curl fingers under when holding food to be cut)

The time it takes to teach children to cook will not only help their development but also will make it more likely that you will have valuable help in the kitchen when you need it.

Reminder for a healthier new year: Add vegetables to soups and casseroles to boost the vitamins, minerals and fiber and reduce the calorie density.

Christine Gutelius, MA,RD,CDN, is a nutrition resource educator with the Eat Smart NY program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.

Minestrone Soup

Makes 8 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic)

1 tablespoon oil

4 tomatoes, finely chopped (or 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes)

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

3 cups fat free, reduced sodium vegetable or beef broth

1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced*

1/2 cup pasta, any shape

15 ounce can beans, such as kidney or Great Northern, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

*Note: 1 cup of any vegetable, such as green beans, broccoli or zucchini may be substituted for carrots.

Heat oil in a large pot.

Add onion, celery and garlic and cook over medium heat until onion is tender but not browned.

Add tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, pepper, bay leaf, broth and desired vegetables.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add pasta and beans. Cook about 10 minutes more or until pasta is done. Remove bay leaf.

Serve with grated cheese.