Yes I know it’s a busy world, and we all have a lot going on. It’s all too easy to throw a frozen pizza in the oven, hit the drive thru or open a meal-in-a-box. But with childhood obesity rates at 20%, it a problem we can’t ignore. So how do we help our children become strong, healthy adults? Teach them to cook. Here are just a few ideas for getting your kids into the kitchen.

Meal planning
Get your kids involved with planning the weekly meals. Let them pick out new recipes, write the shopping list and selecting items at the grocery store. Teach them how to choose a balanced meal, what a serving size looks like, use leftovers to make new dishes and how to read an ingredient label. This builds valuable skills like organization and how to plan ahead.

Basic cooking techniques
When I was growing up, Home Ec was a requirement and a place where we learned the basics. These days we’re lucky if it’s an elective. Due to budget cuts, schools have had to cut cooking from the curriculum. So instead, make cooking one of the after school activities you do at home. It’s a great way to spend time with your kids and teach them skills they’ll use their entire life.

Don’t sweat it if you’re not a trained chef. Teach your kids what you know: how to hold a knife, make your favorite recipe, grill a steak or basic kitchen safety. If they really love mac and cheese, skip the stuff in a box and ask them to grate the cheese, boil the pasta and stir the sauce.

Include vegetables
I’ve read the cookbooks that show parents how to hide vegetables in their kids’ food. To me, this feels deceptive. How is a child supposed to learn how to eat vegetables if they don’t know they’re in his or her food in the first place? Instead, teach your kids how to properly cook vegetables. Instead of boiling or steaming, try roasting, searing or grilling. This makes vegetables more flavorful and prevents them from getting too mushy.

Eat seasonally
Fruits and vegetables taste better when they’re in season. Period. I don’t find green beans or strawberries in the middle of winter to have any flavor. That’s because they’re grown in warmer climates like Mexico, Chile and Argentina, picked green (because ripe produce doesn’t travel well) and shipped long distances. But fruits and vegetables that are grown locally and picked ripe are full of flavor, vitamins and nutrients.

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