When I was in elementary and middle school my grandparents always picked me up. Both of my parents worked til 5 and since school was out at 3, my Pepaw would pick me up and take me to the flower shop they owned. I would help however I could around their shop until my Memaw was ready to leave. Their house was only a few blocks away and I couldn’t wait to get there. Once at home, Memaw and I would immediately start on making an afternoon snack together. Oh how I loved cooking with her! I definitely never left her house hungry! Making memories in the kitchen with Memaw was so near and dear to my heart. Those memories are something I remember so fondly and wish that she was still around for us to do together.
Because a love of cooking was instilled in me at such a young age, it’s something I’m incredibly passionate about now. I love to cook but I also love excuses for making memories in the kitchen together. Addie has learned how to bake, and I have started to teach Lawson how to cook meals. He’s only 2 1/2 but he knows that it’s a love of mine, so he enjoys doing it with me. Lawson is also obsessed with Disney’s Mickey Mouse, so I decided to make a special breakfast with his help using Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread, some Disney’s Mickey Mouse cookie cutters, and a little pixie dust.
Lawson and I have made a few meals together before and we always have a talk about safety before cooking. It’s always important to share with your kids where their hands need to be, if something is hot, and where you’ll put the ingredients as you’ve cooked them. I also like to put an apron on Lawson because kids are messy. I love this apron and chef’s hat our friends at Oroweat Organic sent him!
Top Tips for Making Memories in the Kitchen with Kids:
1| Use quality ingredients- Using quality ingredients is key when making memories in the kitchen with kids because they add to the flavor. Not only that, but when you use quality ingredients, you know that whatever you’re giving your child is good for them. For our breakfast sandwich, we usedOroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread, organic ground sausage, fresh organic eggs from our coop, and organic fruit. Oroweat Organic Bread for kids is plant-based, USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and provides a good source of vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. I am so happy that it’s not a bread with tons of fillers!
2| Incorporate something they love- Last year we went to Walt Disney World for Addie’s Make-A-Wish trip and Lawson has been hooked on Disney’s Mickey Mouse ever since. I love that Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread has Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on the bag, and thought it was perfect to add to the Disney’s Mickey Mouse love. We also added Disney’s Mickey Mouse cookie cutters to shape our breakfast sandwich and it made it all the more fun for Lawson.
3| Let them actually help- For this breakfast sandwich recipe I let Lawson cut the Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread out into Disney’s Mickey Mouse shapes, wash the fruit, and flip the sausage. He absolutely loved it! When you allow kids to help make their own meals, you’ll be surprised at how much more they eat. If you’ve got a picky eater, this may actually make them proud enough of their accomplishment to eat something new!
4| Make it fun- While making our breakfast sandwiches we wore matching pajamas, played fun music on our Echo Dot, and danced around as we waited for each ingredient to cook. It was so much fun! I hope one day Lawson remembers all the fun times we danced in the kitchen while cooking.
I sincerely hope that Lawson will forever want to make memories in the kitchen with me. Not only that, but I hope this encourages you to get out there and make memories in the kitchen with your children! With love, Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread, and some pixie dust from Disney’s Mickey Mouse, himself, I think it’s absolutely possible. Soak in every single moment of making memories together, mama. They grow up way too fast.
