Children love to help, especially in the kitchen, and a child who helps you prepare a dish is much more likely to try it. Make an adventure out of trying new foods, and enjoy these ideas that will take your young chef from breakfast to bedtime.

  1. Teddy Bear Pancake Faces: Pouring directly from the Vitamix container onto the griddle or pan, cook one large Buttermilk Pancakes with two smaller ones on top to create ears. Your child can use fruit to make a face for the teddy bear. Try banana slices and berries for eyes, nose, and smile.
  2. Mini “Watermelons”: What could be more fun than tiny “watermelons” filled with frozen yogurt? Preparing your own yogurt freeze ensures that your child will have a healthful snack that is low in sugar—and really cute! Help your child hollow out six lime halves, leaving the rind intact. (You can save the flesh for later use in a smoothie.) Next, use your Vitamix machine to prepare Strawberry Yogurt Freeze. You and your child can fill the empty lime halves with the frozen yogurt, smooth the top flat, and sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels or diced blueberries to represent seeds. Place in the freezer for eight hours before enjoying.
  3. Edible Insects: Create an updated version of the classic snack Ants on a Log. Cut celery stalks into quarters and fill with Peanut Butter or Almond Butter, then let your child march the “ants” across the log. The traditional ant is a raisin, but you could also try raspberries, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, or animal crackers. Likewise, you can vary the filling according to your child’s taste, filling the celery logs with Hummus, for example.
  4. Poppy Seed Dressing: Most kids shy away from salads and vegetables, but a sweet Poppy Seed Dressing can make them more enticing, whether topping greens or used as a dip. Like many other kitchen appliances, the Vitamix blender is for adult use, but your child will be happy to help you measure ingredients into the container.
  5. Snickerdoodles Cookie Construction: After you prepare the cookie dough according to the Vitamix recipe, your child can help you turn it into Snickerdoodles. First, have your child roll the dough into balls, and then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Next, flatten them for baking. This project is doable even for very young children, who take justifiable pride in seeing their creations emerge hot and delicious from the oven.