Home cooking with a toddler underfoot

[AmblerGirl]

I am an avid home cook but ever since the birth of my daughter last summer, I have been really absent from the kitchen. I rarely have time to cook at all and when I do cook I find myself shortcutting every single recipe because with my daughter underfoot I feel like I am living on borrowed time! I really miss cooking and want to get back into the kitchen. My daughter is only one now so a little to young to "participate" in the cooking process - though I do plan to include her in cooking when she is old enough. Any advice on finding a way to cook with a crazy active toddler who is just learning the fun of walking, and getting into everything!!!

[wellfedred]

I totallly agree w/giving her utensils to play with. I would put my son in his highchair @ the counter & give him a little red whisk & a bowl-sometimes w/flour in it. Or sometimes just little cups of water to pour back & forth ...or a bit of dough. He used to love to help me in the kitchen but lately (@ 3 1/2) he has no interest--except in pushing the blender buttons. I keep trying to lure him back to cook with me.

[chowser]

Most of my drawers were child proofed but I kept on large one with things my kids could play with, tupperware, older pots and pans, etc. They could only play with things in there while I was cooking. Also, they loved that little jumpy thing that you attach to the tops of doors. I'd put them in it, where I could see them, and they'd jump like crazy.

The other thing I'd do is cook during their naptime, using the crockpot or making casseroles. That's probably the easiest option when their attention span is short.

[jeanmarieok]

I cooked a lot on Sunday for the week. My husband and I both worked full time for the years our kids were 0 - 4 (crazy, but it worked out just fine) . I'd shop on Saturday, and cook 4 meals worth on Sunday. Roast chicken, pasta and sauce, pot roast, pork roast - anything that would be good to eat twice, or that I could make into different dinners.

Then during assembly on the night of, I'd playpen them or stick them in the hi-chair. I'd also use nap time for any prep work. It would go like this - put kids down, grab load out of dryer, move load from washer to dryer, reload washer, fold clothes, hit the kitchen to finish dinner, clean up, unload DW......

[gansu girl]

It is so hard to cook with a toddler around - my daughter was SO demanding around dinnertime when she was that age. I got some kid-sized cooking tools (plastic measuring spoons, plastic measuring cups, wooden spoon, etc.) and kept them in a plastic tub in the cupboard. When it was cooking time, I'd take her special stuff out so she could play w/it (no space in our kitchen for her own play kitchen) and b/c the stuff only came out once/day at most, the novelty didn't wear off for a while. Add pans, bowls, whatever, and voila! Noise and pretend play, all in one.

GG
http://www.semisweetonline.com

[darklyglimmer]

My daughter is almost exactly the same age, and I started cooking again in January. It's hard, but worth it, since I was dead sick of eating greasy, fatty takeout. I'm lucky in that my husband and I both work from home, so I have a little more flexibility even on days when don't have child care, but here's what's worked for me.

Plan ahead. That's the biggie. It's near impossible to do a last-minute grocery store run, so I plan all of the week's dinners ahead and do a big grocery trip once a week. I actually get all dorked out about it and use an Excel spreadsheet that I downloaded from the Internet. There are tons of them, but here's the one I use:

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplate...

"Plan ahead" also comes into play during the actual cooking. For instance, this morning, while the kiddo had her breakfast in her high chair, I threw together a black bean and corn salad to eat with fish tacos tonight. While she had her snack, I put together the yogurt sauce for the tacos. Tonight, after she goes to bed, all I have to do is bread and cook the fish, and maybe cook some asparagus if I'm feeling really energetic. Normally while I cook she's in her high chair or playpen next to the table; if my husband isn't there to hang out with her, I tell her what I'm doing, and why, like others have said - keeps both of us entertained, and hopefully gives her the idea that I'm doing something interesting.

When you're choosing recipes, keep your time constraints in mind. Certain things that you used to do as a matter-of-course just aren't going to happen. I love risotto with a passion and used to make it all the time, but these days it's just not practical. I look for recipes -- like the fish tacos -- where I can make one or more parts ahead. Soup works well, if it's a recipe I can put together quickly while she has her dinner and that can simmer without attention while we put her to bed. Casseroles, oddly, seem like too much work (if you don't use canned soup, you have to make a sauce, cook the noodles, etc; all of which can be done ahead, but you need a larger block of time than your average one-year-old spends feeding herself Cheerios). Something that has to simmer for four hours is easier for me to do than something that has to simmer for one, so look for long-cooking things. Barbecued chicken sandwiches and Italian sausage and peppers from the slow-cooker are favorites in our house.

Most of all, go easy on yourself. My barbecued chicken sandwiches are basically bottled barbecue sauce and chicken parts; they'd make a barbecue purist run screaming, but they feed us for multiple meals on sandwiches and pizzas, and everybody -- including the baby -- likes them. Two years ago I never would have dreamed of feeding my husband sloppy joe sandwiches with frozen oven fries from a bag, but that's exactly what we had a few nights ago; the sloppy joe sauce was homemade and the potatoes were organic, so I still feel like I'm a few steps above my mother's Manwich and greasy fries from the fry-baby. Some weeks, I can do a homemade bolognese, quiche or veggie burgers; other weeks, we have tuna melts and delivered pizza. The baby is happy and healthy and so are we, so I figure it'll all come out in the wash. In a few years I'll get back to the fancy stuff.

As a completely unrelated aside: isn't just-past-one the most awesome age ever?? My daughter is what joy would look like if joy wore a sundress and velcro sandals.

[Cherylptw]

I had three kids close in age so I'm well familiar with what you're dealing with; agree that the time goes by and before you know it, they'll be grown and gone (sorry...I'm still having empty nest syndrome (lol) but what I used to do when they were young was to do most of my cooking & chores when they went to bed or before they got up. I'd clean the house at 10 pm or got up to cook my dinner at 6 am then warmed it up later.

It may not have been the most ideal but it worked the best for me. On top of that the oldest of my children was about four years older than the next so he, being the big brother kept the other two (17 months apart) occupied, so that helped. Other posters have some good ideas as well. Good luck

[elfcook]

I had my 3 kids fairly close together - it is tough. You may be doing shortcuts for a while, but the time goes faster than you'll ever believe & she will be cooking with you in no time.

If you have a low drawer or cabinet, toss in old plastic utensils & tupperware-type containers that she can take out & play with ONLY when you are cooking. Restricting it makes it more attractive to her (a good lesson to learn early when it comes to kids - lol). My kids had a few small toys & bowls etc that they could pull out when we all had to be in the kitchen at the same time so I could cook.

[JerryMe]

Yep - the plastic utensils in the lower drawer were a hit - I'd change out what went in there and he'd be entertained but indeed 'underfoot'. I can remember more than one time having to wrestle a measuring cup or plastic spoon out of his hand and washing it so I could use it.

We also had one of those bouncy things that hung off a door jamb (don't think they make those anymore) but the 'hidden' treasures worked better.

Like SmTucker said tho - Interaction - I would talk to him about what I was doing and he seemed to 'get it'. Less crying, fussing, demanding.

He was 'ell on wheels. He could not be left to his own devices - too many things to destroy - I needed him to be where I could see him.

[smtucker]

When my daughter was this age, she would sit in a high chair in the kitchen at the "breakfast bar" I would line up some Oat rings and tell her a story of cooking. I suspect this was really silly to watch as I said "Now I need to find the perfect pan. Should we use a 6 inch or a 10 inch today?" Etc.....

When this didn't work anymore, I was able to put up a gate separating the kitchen from the eating area so I could see her, she could see me, but she could still move around and play with her toys. I still did a running commentary on what i was doing so she knew that I was there and always warned her before using the food processor by calling "machine gun machine gun"

Now, 23 years later, this young woman is in high demand as a room-mate since she is a wonderful cook.

[masha]

Do you have room in your kitchen for a play kitchen for her? When our son was that age, we had his play stove over on one side of the kitchen (near the eating area, away from the prep). He "cooked" at his stove, adding plastic ingredients into a pot, stirring, etc., while we were cooking.

[AmblerGirl]

I love the idea of a play kitchen! I actually already bought one for her, but she is still too small to use it so I need to wait a few months to set it up!

[goodhealthgourmet]

that's precisely what i was going to say. and if she's still too young for it, just put her in a playpen in the kitchen (if there's space) or at the doorway so you can see her, or use the gate method smtucker described, and give her a pot to bang on. she might make a bit of noise, but she'll be occupied and out of harm's way.

my mom used to do that with me, and she said i'd be happy like that with a pot & wooden spoon for hours. i was a happy baby anyway, but i wonder if the utensils had anything to do with it - perhaps an early indicator of my Chowism? ;)

[Val]

<give her a pot to bang on> LOLOLOL! I have 3 sons, all 2 years apart...I remember giving at least 2 of them some pots and wooden spoons one day when I was trying a new recipe that was a little involved....hilARious...my aluminum colander was DENTED but I left it that way for future "sessions"...place was a mess, but we were all happy and well-fed and spouse had a nice meal when he came in...too funny....I was *trying so hard to resist* regaling this but you got to me!