This is a guest post by Emma from Mellow Mummy as part of her January Blog Swap. Emma blogs about mellow motherhood, kids apps and recipes for cookery with children.
I'm never happier than when I'm making a mess / causing chaos / creating culinary masterpieces with my two girls in the kitchen.
When I'm teaching them the joys of cooking, I hope that I'm passing down the skills and loves that were passed down to me by my own parents. Alongside a taste for the finest food your tastebuds can dream up, I've been brought up with the skills to cook great food on a small budget – I'm just as comfortable cooking a meal for £30 a head or 30p a head.
My own mellow brand of baby lead weaning means that I am now the proud parent of a 19 month old who has adventurous tastes that would put many adults to shame and a 4 year old who could eat for England. Both girls join me in the kitchen to cook, more or less daily. They are already learning when to splurge on food and, more importantly, when to scrimp... the lessons go a little like this.
Step One: Grow your own veg. One pot, or a whole garden of 'em. Taste them, love them. Eat runner beans until they come out of your ears. Then go to the supermarket and buy your everyday vegetables in bulk. P.S. Great tasting veg doesn't always come from the most expensive shops.
Step Two: Cheap doesn't mean boring. Soup can be fun, tasty, zingy, spicy, filling, exciting, varied and most importantly...scrumptious. Soup can cost you pennies. Enjoy soup.
Step Three: Eat lots! Try lots of different types of food. Try lots of different versions of the same food (my girls don't need a lot of encouragement for this one... they always eat as we cook). Work out where you can shop locally for the tastiest ingredients at the most reasonable price. And remember, value for money doesn't always mean cheap when it comes to mealtimes.
