Why do some people hate cooking and are lazy to make even the simplest dishes for themselves? Most likely, they were simply not taught to cook as children! Children cook themselves, if everything is organized correctly.

If a child is lured into the kitchen and entrusted with preparing some basic dish, he will perceive the process as a game, imagine himself as a cook and get used to the idea that cooking is fun, easy and even interesting!

All you need is a mild knife, a microwave and suitable products. The little chef will be happy to prepare a treat not only for his family, but also for his friends - children's party It will definitely be a success with these dishes!

What can a child cook?

1. Canapes
   For this simple snack you need white bread and various products that will serve as filling. The child can cut pieces of bread into squares, triangles, circles (cut using a stack).

   Filling options: butter + cheese + ham/sausage/boiled chicken, butter + berry jam + soft mild cheese, peanut butter + honey + banana, cucumber + ham/boiled fish + ketchup, butter + egg white + pate. The finished sandwich is pierced with a skewer. For decoration you can use herbs, pieces of vegetables and fruits.

2. Rolls
   From soft sandwich bread you can make not only canapés, but also rolls! If you have bread with a crust in the kitchen, it is better to cut it off for a roll, leaving only a soft base square. Idea: the bread can be replaced with thin lavash; for convenience, the lavash is cut with scissors into even squares.

   Filling options: ham + soft cheese, ham + lettuce, butter + soft cheese, butter + pate, mayonnaise + sprats, peanut butter + honey, butter + jam, a mixture of grated cheese and tomato pulp + thin strips of cold beef. The filled bread is carefully rolled into a tube.

   Don't limit your child's imagination: sometimes children like to experiment and combine products that can hardly be called a harmonious pair. For example, add a piece of apple to a fish sandwich... Support your child's initiative, give free rein to his creativity - perhaps he will invent a completely new dish! Well, he will understand from his own experience what is tasty, and what ingredients should not be experimented with assiduously.



3. Cake in a cup

   Ingredients

   • milk
   • butter
   • vegetable oil
   • granulated sugar
   • a few highlights
   • jam/condensed milk/chocolate syrup

   In a regular cup you need to melt 3 tbsp. l. butter - 2 minutes in the microwave will be enough for this task. Add 4 tbsp to melted butter. l. flour, 2 tbsp. l. sugar and 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil. Beat in the egg here, stir everything, pour milk to half the mug.

   Add raisins or any other dried fruits to the mixture. A mug with well-mixed dough is placed in the microwave, the cake is cooked for 3 minutes at the highest power. The finished cake is easily shaken onto a plate and poured syrup or condensed milk on top. Mmm…



4. Stuffed eggs and stuffed tomatoes
   For this nutritious snack you will need eggs, tomatoes and toppings. The most difficult skill a child must master for this recipe is boiling eggs.

   You can teach your child to boil eggs in a ladle on the stove, or in the microwave. To prevent eggs boiled in the microwave from exploding, you need to place two eggs in a regular 300 ml cup, add 1 tsp. salt and pour boiling water.

   Cooking eggs in the microwave 10 minutes at 480 W power. Peel the eggs, cut in half and remove the yolks. Also cut the tomatoes into 2 parts and remove the pulp, mix it with the yolk.

   Add grated cheese and mayonnaise to this mixture, fill with eggs and tomatoes. Filling options: finely chopped ham + grated soft cheese, finely chopped ham + mayonnaise, butter + pate, finely chopped cucumbers, sprats + mayonnaise, green peas + mayonnaise, feta cheese + tomato pulp, pickled honey mushrooms, pitted olives cut into quarters.



5. Banana cookies

   Ingredients

   • bananas
   • coconut flakes
   • butter

   Cut the bananas and mash with a blender or fork until smooth, or alternatively, grate. Stir in coconut flakes. Grease a plate with a piece of butter and place the formed cookies on it. Dry the cookies in the microwave for 5 minutes.

After all, together it is much more fun and interesting!

1. Pizza on a baguette

Prepare the base and prepare the toppings, and let the little ones create their own pizza designs. All you need to do is cut the bread in half, place the pieces crumb side up on a baking sheet, brush them with sauce (red, white, pesto - whatever you want) and sprinkle generously with hard cheese. To prevent the pizza from falling apart, it is recommended to place the filling on top of the cheese. This is what the little assistant will do. Cheese lovers can sprinkle another layer of mozzarella on top a couple of minutes before removing the dish from the oven.

2. Vanilla cookies with sugar and colorful sprinkles

If children were paid for every cookie they decorated, they could become millionaires.

To make cookies you will need the following ingredients:

• 3 cups flour;
• ¼ tsp. salt;
• ½ stick of soft butter;
• 1 cup of sugar;
• 1 large egg;
• 2 tsp. vanillin.

Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate container, use a blender to beat the butter with sugar, egg and vanilla. It is advisable to beat at low speed until the mixture is homogeneous. Combine the contents of two bowls, knead the dough and divide it into balls 2.5 - 3 cm in diameter. Roll out the balls and place on the mold. Bake cookies at 175 degrees for 15 minutes. You can top the sweets with whipped cream, protein cream, condensed milk, or melted chocolate. The powder will stick securely on all surfaces!

Cut out the middle of the pumpkin (or zucchini, if desired) and grate it on a fine grater. Salt and pepper the mixture, add a few tablespoons of butter and your favorite spices, place in pots and cover with cheese. If desired, you can put a little mozzarella inside. When a golden crust appears on the dish, it is ready!

4. Skewers of cookies and fruits

Didn’t you know that cookies on skewers are much tastier?

For this dish you will need soft cookies that can easily be put on a skewer, and any fruits or berries that are on sale.

5. Zucchini baked with Parmesan

The dish turns out to be very simple, but tasty. To prepare it, you just need to cut the zucchini into thin strips, place them on a baking sheet, brush with oil, sprinkle with a mixture of salt, pepper and seasonings to taste, and top with grated Parmesan. After 15 minutes, a golden crust should appear on the appetizer and you can take it out.

Many parents are familiar with the problem when children refuse to eat salads. It's actually easy to solve. All you need to do is give your child the opportunity to make his own salad...in a jar. The process of preparing such a dish is reminiscent of a game, which means your baby will certainly enjoy it. But the most important thing is that the child will choose the ingredients for his salad on his own. Parents only need to provide a decent range of products and not interfere, because the little chef will create.

7. Egg noodles with leeks and corn

Ingredients:

• ½ kg noodles;
• 2 leeks;
• ½ can of corn;
• 2 – 3 cloves of garlic;
• ½ cup Parmesan;
• ¼ cup cream cheese;
• basil;
• olive oil;
• salt;
• pepper.

While the noodles are cooking, cut the onion into rings and lightly fry it along with the corn. Season the pasta with olive oil and add vegetables to it. Mix everything with cream cheese. Add Parmesan, basil and garlic and stir again before eating.

8. Energy bars that don't require baking

Choose the ingredients you like: nuts, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, rice balls and others. Fry them all in a frying pan for 5 – 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix melted honey and butter. Pour the resulting mixture into the ingredients into the frying pan and mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, divide into portions and enjoy the deliciousness!

9. Watermelon and berry salad

There is hardly a child who will refuse fruit salad. Especially if it looks original (however, for this you will have to either hone your skills in cutting out figures or buy special molds for canapés).

Watermelon and berry salad is easy to prepare. Cut the watermelon into slices and cut out figures from the pulp. Add any berries to the bowl and top with honey or yogurt. This dessert is delicious and very healthy.

10. Homemade honey bread

All you need:

• 1 pack of dry yeast;
• 1.5 glasses of warm milk;
• ¼ cup honey;
• 1/8 cup melted butter;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• 4 cups flour.

Yeast dissolves in milk. Honey, butter and salt are also added there. Everything is mixed well. Add 3 cups of flour and knead the dough with your hands. Afterwards, put it in a warm place so that it rises. This will take about an hour. Then the dough needs to be transferred to a greased form and left for another 30 minutes. Bread should be baked at 190 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. It is recommended to brush the slices with butter before eating.

11. Chewable Oreos

Of course, Oreos themselves are quite tasty, and if you make chewy sweets out of them - which is not at all difficult - you will get a real delicacy. Grind a pack of cookies in a blender. In a separate container, melt a pack of marshmallows (chewy marshmallows) and 4 tbsp. l. butter. Mix everything in a blender bowl and place in a frying pan for 5 - 7 minutes. Now the sweetness is ready and can be cut into portions.

12. Cereal cookies with cranberries and raisins

Ingredients:

• 2 glasses of rolled oats;
• ½ cup raisins;
• 1/3 cup cranberries;
• 1 tsp. chopped marmalade or zest;
• 3 apples;
• ½ cup sugar.

Mix oatmeal, raisins, cranberries and marmalade in one container. Peel the apples, cut into cubes and cook. Add sugar to the pan and when the mixture thickens, you can remove it from the heat. Add the resulting apple sauce to a bowl with rolled oats, stir and form small balls from this mass. Bake cookies in the oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

This is a very simple, tasty and bright delicacy that all children adore. It’s good if you have special ice cream molds at home. But if necessary, they can be replaced with ordinary plastic cups. Prepare the jelly according to the directions on the package. The treat can be single-color or multi-layered. Place it in molds/cups, stick the sticks in and place in the freezer for 8 – 12 hours. To make the finished dessert easier to get out, you can pour boiling water over the mold.

14. Mini lasagna

Children like miniature dishes, like themselves, much more. A smaller version of lasagna, for example, can be made in muffin tins. For this you will need:

• 0.5 kg minced meat (to taste);
• 0.5 kg sausage;
• 1 cup cream cheese;
• 1 cup grated cheese;
• salt;
• pepper;
• 1 package of lasagna dough;
• tomato sauce.

Fry the minced meat with sausage and season with tomato sauce to taste. Mix cream cheese with spices and form small balls from it. Grease the molds with olive oil and place the dough in them. Place cheese balls inside and distribute them according to the mold, then add minced meat and sausage. Finally, sprinkle with grated cheese. Mini lasagnas are baked for 10 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

15. Nutella cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of Nutella;
• 2 eggs;
• ½ cup flour.

Mix everything in a bowl, place on a baking sheet and bake for about a quarter of an hour in the oven at 175 degrees. Before serving, cut into portions.

16. Taco Pizza

You could make pizza or tacos separately. But “two in one” turns out to be much more interesting and tastes just as good! For preparation you will need the following components:

• 0.5 kg minced meat;
• 1 package of puff pastry;
• 1 packet taco seasoning;
• 1 can of green peas (or canned beans);
• 2 – 3 cups grated cheese;
• ½ cup crushed tomatoes;
• ¼ cup chopped olives;
• green onions.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Fry the minced meat and season with taco spices. Place the dough on a baking sheet, folding it over the edges. Place beans or peas as the bottom layer. On top - minced meat, cheese, tomatoes, olives, onions. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

17. Berry popsicle

To make popsicle you will need:

• 0.5 liters of natural yogurt;
• 3 tbsp. l. honey;
• 1 tsp. vanillin;
• 100 gr. blueberries;
• 100 gr. raspberries

Mix half of the yogurt with honey and vanilla and pour into ice cream molds (up to half). Add a few whole berries to each mold and place the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes. At the same time, mix the second half of the yogurt with the remaining fruit and beat with a blender. Remove the molds from the freezer and top each with the resulting mixture. Freeze for another 3-4 hours and you can enjoy the delicate taste.

18. Cauliflower steaks

There are no limits to the imagination of little chefs! For kids, cauliflower in this form seems especially attractive. Parents just need to get the hang of cutting it carefully. And then everything is simple - coat the steaks with salt and pepper and put them in a frying pan. Batter, of course, can also be added if desired, but this will additionally have to be negotiated with the mini-chef!

19. Shells with cheese

It's hard to say what exactly attracts kids to mac and cheese. But almost all kids love this dish. To prepare it you need the following ingredients:

• 2 cups shells;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese.

Boil milk and add pasta to it. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. When the shells are cooked, turn off the heat, add the cheese to the pan and stir until it melts.

20. Breakfast in a basket

The dish looks very beautiful and expensive, but in fact it is more than affordable and easy to prepare.

Ingredients needed (for 6 servings):

• 6 slices of fresh bread;
• spinach;
• ¼ cup grated cheese;
• 6 eggs;
• 6 slices of bacon;
• salt;
• pepper;
• 2 tbsp. l. butter.

Cut out a circle of crumb from the bread (you can do this with a glass or a cookie cutter) and roll it out. In each cake pan, place a small piece of bread on the bottom, and on top - a rolled out crumb, rolled into an “envelope”. Place spinach, cheese, bacon on the bottom of the future basket and beat in the egg at the end. Breakfast is baked at 190 degrees for 15 minutes (until the whites turn white).

21. Quesadilla with nut butter and bananas

Quesadillas can be made for breakfast with nut butter and bananas.

A child's skills develop gradually. This process is exciting and reminiscent of a game. And if the mother can and wants to set the desired vector, then the child will grow up to be an excellent and irreplaceable assistant. Therefore, teach your child culinary arts from an early age.

How are culinary skills useful?

Allow your baby to wash potatoes or carrots in a basin. Let him put the ingredients in the blender and press the button. Give a piece of dough, let him sculpt various figures or roll koloboks. The sooner you begin to reward your child's work in the kitchen and around the house, the more successful his development will be.

As your baby grows, so do his skills. By the age of two, the child can already walk quite confidently. Participation in cooking will contribute to the development of fine motor skills of the hands, develop coordination of movement, and strengthen muscles. Allow him to help you sort out your shopping bag and put the groceries in their places. Let the dish be salted and sprinkled with herbs. Suggest stirring the thin dough in a bowl and brushing the pastry with a pastry brush. A child at this age will be able to independently peel tangerines, eggs and cut bananas with a non-sharp knife.

From three to five years old, children have already developed motor skills. Therefore, you can entrust more complex and detailed work. For example, roll out pizza dough, measure dry ingredients, peel cooked vegetables. You can give the task of peeling raw vegetables and fruits using a small knife. Show your child how to thread food onto wooden skewers, whip cream with a mixer, and form cutlets or meatballs.

How can a child over seven years old help?

From six to ten years old, for children, working in the kitchen is already an understandable and conscious process. A child at this age can already read. Encourage him to read recipes out loud to you while you cook. This way he will remember the standards applied to products and understand the measures of volume and weight. Under your supervision and control, he will be ready to use the stove and oven independently. My skills have already developed quite well when working with a knife. Therefore, it’s time to trust the work with large knives. But do not forget that at all stages that require precautions, be in complete control of the process. Never be lazy to once again remind about caution and attentiveness when working in the kitchen. Although cooking looks like a fun, interesting and exciting game, the kitchen is not a place for games.

Self-cooking skills will be useful for both boys and girls and will allow the child to feel independent.

What can an 11 year old child cook?

A simple vegetable or fruit salad does not require complex skills. For this dish, suggest chopping onions and greens, chopping cucumbers, carefully chopping tomatoes and bell peppers. Stir, add salt and season with sour cream, mayonnaise or butter. To prepare a fruit salad, ask your child to come up with his own personal recipe. It’s good if a dish that a child of 11 years old can prepare becomes his signature dish, with some secret ingredient.

Healthy breakfasts

A home-cooked breakfast is a great help for parents. Now we’ll tell you what to cook for your child for breakfast. 11 years is the age when the choice determines personal tastes. Instant porridge is suitable for breakfast. You need to boil water, add porridge, note the time - all this is not difficult. You can add various additives in the form of berries, dried fruits or jam.

What can an 11 year old child cook? Scrambled eggs or omelet. This is a light and nutritious breakfast. You can break the eggs, fry them and decorate them to look like a funny face or the face of an animal. There is another option. You can beat eggs, milk, cheese, add any vegetables and the omelette is ready. The process itself will arouse great interest in the child.

Lazy dumplings

What can you cook for the children themselves? 11 years old is the age when children can make them. They are made simply. It will not be difficult to beat 2 eggs with a fork, add half a kilogram of cottage cheese, add a glass of flour and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar.

All you have to do is roll out the sausage, cut it into small pieces, make sure the water boils, throw in the dumplings, and after three minutes you can take it out and pour sour cream on it.

Pizza

Offer a dish that an 11-year-old child can prepare for the whole family. Let's say make a pizza.

Cake in a cup

Creating desserts is probably the most exciting and creative process. What can a child cook himself at 11 years old? The simplest cake in a cup. In a container using a microwave oven, melt 4 tablespoons of butter, stir with four tablespoons of flour, two tablespoons of sugar. Beat the egg separately and pour it into the finished mass. Stirs carefully. Add half a mug of milk and mix thoroughly again. Raisins, dried apricots and nuts will not be superfluous. The mug is placed in the microwave at the highest power for 3 minutes. Freshly prepared cake is poured with condensed milk.

It is advisable to even make a small list of what dishes an 11-year-old child can prepare. For example, this could be: canapés, cottage cheese casserole cooked in the microwave, stuffed eggs, a variety of salads (no more than 7 ingredients), ice cream and fruit cocktails, marshmallow or shortbread cake without baking.

Other dishes

If parents work, then the little assistant can be given a task for the day. You already know your child’s capabilities. Choosing what to cook for an 11-year-old child yourself is not so difficult.

A boy or girl at this age can easily cope with frozen semi-finished products. What can an 11 year old child cook? He can boil dumplings or dumplings. The skills are already enough to prepare a simple vegetable soup, make a side dish by boiling pasta or buckwheat.

A fairly good reason for developing independence would be an offer to cook something for friends or to participate in the process with them. Don't be afraid to let your kids use the kitchen for a few hours. Just adjust the process. Offer a choice of what children aged 11 can cook for themselves, without your intervention. These can be pancakes or pancakes, simple no-bake cakes or simple pies made from ready-made dough.

Naturally, we must not forget to provide detailed instructions on the rules of behavior in the kitchen and compliance with safety precautions.

Take time to clean

Don't miss such an important moment in the cooking process as cleaning. You should be concerned not only with the question of what an 11-year-old child can cook, but also with how to instill in him the skills of cleanliness and accuracy. Get him his own separate apron. Explain to girls what hairstyle is unacceptable in the kitchen. Together with your child, come up with your own special hairstyle for cooking. Show what a chef's hat or hair band looks like. Naturally, this should not only be talk, but also stimulation by example. Explain why you need to clean your work area after cooking. Always encourage your child if he does it on his own.

Plan a menu for your child's birthday

The biggest holiday in the life of any child is his birthday. Creating a menu and distributing responsibilities is a pleasant chore before the celebration. Discuss with your child what an 11-year-old child can cook for his 12th birthday. Let him decide for himself.

Maybe he will think about making a few simple desserts with an interesting design. Or he will come up with an original decoration for the cake, which you will implement together.

Fantasize, create together with your little, but already such an irreplaceable assistant.

Recipes that children cook with should be simple, give maximum freedom and allow them to avoid possible mistakes.

It is important to remember that the menu of a young child should contain a minimum of sugar, fatty and fried foods. Give preference to natural products and dishes baked in the oven.

Cooking with children: 10 simple recipes

Here are recipes for healthy and tasty dishes that the youngest children can prepare. Parents offer ingredients to children on a tray. For a child over three years old, print out illustrated recipes so that he can cook on his own, referring to the list.

The oven is preheated to 140 degrees. Please remember that only adults can use the oven.

The baby peels, cuts into pieces and mashes bananas. In another bowl, mix oatmeal, nuts and dried fruits. Add banana and honey, mix everything well.

Place baking paper on a baking sheet and spread the mixture, carefully spreading it over the surface with a fork.

The mass is baked for 20–25 minutes, cooled and cut into bars.
Children separate broccoli into florets. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. The elders grate the cheese themselves, mix it with broccoli, salt and nutmeg. Use a ladle to distribute the mixture into muffin tins.

The omelette is baked for 10–12 minutes at 180 degrees.
An adult can prepare the pizza dough in advance together with the child or himself.

Add sugar and yeast to warm water, wait a few minutes, then add flour, butter and salt. Knead the dough, form it into a ball, which is transferred to a bowl and covered with cling film or a damp towel. Leave in a warm place for an hour.

While the mixture is rising, kids cut zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower or broccoli, onions, olives and other foods to taste.

All ingredients are laid out on small plates for convenience from right to left: tomato sauce, cheese, vegetables. The young cook takes out the dough, rolls it into a thin flatbread, spreads tomato sauce on it with a spoon, sprinkles with cheese and lays out vegetables.

The pizza is baked in a preheated oven at 230 degrees for 10–15 minutes.
Even kids can do this recipe. The dish will replace regular children's yogurt and cottage cheese, which contain sugar.

Little helpers in the kitchen cut any seasonal fruit into small pieces and mix with unsweetened yogurt. It's always better to add a little banana, it adds sweetness.
The banana is peeled and crushed, strawberries or other fruits are cut into pieces. Beat the egg with a whisk, add the remaining products to the container and mix well. The mixture is poured into muffin tins.

The cupcakes are baked in the oven for 15–20 minutes at 180 degrees.
This dish has several variations.

Fruit “kebab”: the child uses a small spoon to make balls of melon and watermelon and string them on wooden sticks, alternating with grapes and strawberries.

Vegetable “kebabs”: cucumber, cheese and cherry tomatoes are strung on sticks.
Peeled cucumber is grated on a fine grater. A cucumber is much softer than a carrot, but harder than cheese, so it is ideal for a child’s first experience using a grater. Garlic is crushed in a garlic press. Mix yogurt, garlic, salt, vinegar, olive oil in a bowl. Add grated cucumber. The mixture is mixed well.

Young chefs from three years old peel carrots themselves, cut cucumbers, peppers and carrots into small sticks and separate cauliflower into inflorescences. Cauliflower is served raw, but if you are not used to eating it raw, use more familiar vegetables.

You can dip pieces of bread into the sauce.
Children place all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add small pieces of butter, and then an egg, stirring the mixture each time. Knead the resulting dough and make a ball out of it. The dough is wrapped in transparent film and put in the refrigerator for 40 minutes. Afterwards it is rolled out with a rolling pin. Using cutters, the baby cuts out cookies of different shapes.

Bake for 8–10 minutes at 180 degrees.

You can make 2 cookies of the same shape, spread jam on one finished cookie and combine with the other.
Cool the vegetables well and offer the young helpers to peel them. Even kids can peel potatoes directly with their hands, and older children can peel carrots with a knife. They also peel the eggs and then cut all the vegetables into small pieces. Season the salad with sour cream, salt and mix well.

Herb tea

This exercise is suitable for children from one and a half years old. Choose herbal tea or chamomile. The water in the kettle should not be hot.

The kid tears the wrapper and takes out a tea bag. He puts it in a kettle of water and turns the hourglass. This way he learns to wait patiently for 3 minutes for the tea to brew. Then he pours tea into a cup and throws the bag in the trash.

Download and print all illustrated recipes for your little one's convenience.

According to science, dinner should make up 20% of the daily diet. But children, especially small children, change their daily routine in their own way.

Dinner should be light. This fact does not depend on the age of the child, but it depends on the individual routine and the amount of food that enters the body during the day. If a child goes to bed late (after 22-23.00), he should have dinner at 19.30-20.00 - and a second dinner in the form of a glass of warm milk or kefir at night, before bed, is advisable. Children receiving breast milk or formula do not count, everything is fine with evening and night food, it is correct and easily digestible. In general, dinner at 20.00 is considered ideal for any person. If the child goes to bed at 21.00, dinner is shifted to 19.00 (plus or minus half an hour). And at night he can also drink kefir, bifidok or milk, this ritual prolongs the feeling of fullness and calms him down.

Night hunger: do you need a hearty dinner?

Many parents are worried when a child wakes up several times a night and asks for food. Scientists have long found that the feeling of hunger, which illogically (provided there is sufficient nutrition) torments us during the day and even at night, is actually a feeling of thirst. A person wants to drink, not eat. Our body gives signals: we need water. To dissolve and expel street toxins, tone yourself. Even an adult confuses thirst with hunger and grabs another piece instead of a glass of water. A child may also want to drink at night; for most children this is normal and is not associated with any abnormalities. But some children unconsciously transform the desire to “drink” into “eat.” Parents are people too, they want to rest at night, so they have to fight with constant night jumps and demands. But many children really need to drink water or kefir at night; this simple action is better to do than to deal with the consequences of weaning. Repeated requests (2-4 times a night) signal that the reason is not food or drink at all.

Everyone is familiar with the old grandmother's remedy: in order for the child to sleep soundly, he needs to be fed more thoroughly at night. In this case, the parents will get peace of mind, but not the child. His body will not rest; it will be busy digesting food. Often such excesses - semolina porridge or meat dishes at night - lead to gastrointestinal diseases. Drowsiness after eating is natural, but severe drowsiness caused by stomach “cementation” is not good for anyone. Yogis call this state “tamasic” - some food causes a state of “tamas”: lethargy, laziness, contamination with toxins. There are dozens of reasons why a child often wakes up at night, and hunger is just one of many. Without removing the main cause, feeding meat at night is pointless - one link will pull another, and the chain of problems will sooner or later close. Restless sleep is associated with a lack of attention (getting attention from parents whom the child has not seen most of the day), unconscious fear (something happened during the day, it caught your attention, haunts you), disturbed microclimate (dry air, heat, stuffiness), impaired breathing (slight nasal congestion). In all these cases, the child is free to wake up and demand something to drink and eat, in fact wanting to eliminate the real problem, without being able to formulate it, understand it, or calculate it on his own.

They often ask: is it harmful to feed porridge for dinner, is it too heavy food. Look at the child! The child will always give a signal which food is preferable for him. If sleep is restless, the child cannot fall asleep for a long time, try experimenting with dinner. Porridge is a normal living food, it is better than sandwiches, processed foods, cereals, cookies, and so on. Porridge can be harmful if a particular child does not digest it for some reason. In other cases, porridge may not be harmful. We found something to worry about - thousands of parents don’t know how to push anything into their child, while others are worried about the porridge - heavy, not heavy... normal! But if you still have doubts about the need for evening porridge, make it easier. Do not serve millet, semolina, or pearl barley porridge for dinner; if possible, do not use milk and sugar, replacing them with fruit puree, dried fruit, a spoonful of honey - or add milk mixture. “Light” porridge for the night is buckwheat, oatmeal and any “children’s” (powdered). Semolina porridge, among other stupefying properties, interferes with the absorption of vitamins and microelements accumulated during the day.

Even among pundits there is no agreement about food at night: what it should be, whether it is necessary, whether it is harmful. Some venerable nutritionists are of the following opinion: our body spends energy during the day and accumulates energy at night, food is fuel for accumulation, which means that eating at night is not forbidden. That is, the child can eat before bedtime - not at dinner, but right before going to bed. It happens. Some kids need it. It's OK. Children live by different laws than adults. If you find yourself in such a situation (when a child has dinner before bed), do not remember all the horrors of the world written by hardworking journalists about junk food at night. Everything requires an individual approach. The child sleeps well, he has no health problems, excess weight and excitability - this means that a plate of light porridge or omelet is not a problem that is worth attention and loss of nerve cells on both sides.

Also considered ideal dishes for dinner are:

• Cottage cheese, cottage cheese dishes (casseroles, cheesecakes), cottage cheese with fruit.
• Omelet, vegetables in an omelette, boiled eggs.
• Vegetable mixtures, purees, stews, casseroles, cutlets and zrazy from vegetables, vegetables with rice, buckwheat. Raw vegetables.
• Salads.
• Fruits – bananas and green apples. Banana soothes, increases the feeling of satiety, and green apples are rich in “night” elements - calcium and iron, magnesium, potassium.
• Baked fruits: apples, pears.
• Any fermented milk products - kefir, yogurt, bifidoc, acidophilus. Cheese.

Any child can learn one simple truth, if you don’t belittle his mental abilities in advance and don’t think “Oh my, never!” It is necessary to constantly convince the child that a hungry person will eat everything that is offered to him. Do you want to eat? - that means eat what they give you. A child demanding food often has a very specific cookie or hidden candy in mind. It kind of tests parental fortitude. The sooner you instill in your children the right attitude towards food, towards their own feelings, the sooner they will form their own food culture. Doesn't obey, runs away, throws a tantrum, cries? - anyway, repeat from time to time that a hungry person will eat what is offered, and sweet desserts and all kinds of sausages are not food for the hungry, but pampering for the well-fed. Of course, all this is not pronounced in the boring voice of an admirer of Leo Tolstoy, raising a finger over the curly head of a baby. In a positive, confident tone, carry your thought through the days and weeks - it will definitely be postponed.

Let’s not focus on the “harmful things”; each family has its own traditions on this matter, its own problems, its own worldview. You should not give chocolate rolls, sweets, ice cream, or hot sandwiches for dinner. Children are children, we love to pamper them, and no one has the right to blame parents for this. But still, for the sake of strengthening the immune system, for the sake of resistance to viruses and bacteria, for the sake of a healthy nervous system, you should gradually and in small ways change the quality of food, especially in the evening. In the evening and at night, the body gratefully accepts and digests clean food. At night it merges with space, and it would be nice not to spoil the feeling of flight and relaxation with food that spoils metabolism and specifically kills the “building blocks” of health (vitamins, microelements) received with daily food. Choose simpler sweets, avoid fried foods, cholesterol explosions in the form of melted cheese on bread, pasta and casseroles. In the evening, the child is not given meat dishes - the meat takes 4-6 hours to digest, and it does not bring any benefit. The exception is steamed fish, as well as canned meat for baby food; they are added in some quantities to dinner at any age. And, of course, it is extremely harmful to give a child sausages, sausages and other mixtures of chemicals and salts for dinner. Charlottes, pancakes and pancakes also cannot be called the right dish for dinner, but for variety they can be eaten in small quantities.

The most important thing is do not try to feed a hungry child in the evening if he is hungry only in your imagination. If he doesn’t want to eat, he can’t sit him down at the table - make jelly, fruit juice or compote, give him a healthy drink and calm down yourself.

Dinner recipes (ages: 1.5-6 years)

Risotto “Highlight”
200 g cauliflower, 2 carrots, 1 cup rice, 4 tbsp. pitted prunes, 2 tbsp. raisins, 2 tbsp. butter.
Grate the carrots, sauté in oil, add a little water, simmer for 10 minutes. Scald the cauliflower and separate into florets. Pour 2 cups of hot water over the rice, add salt and add prunes and raisins previously soaked in water. Add vegetables and simmer risotto for 40 minutes over low heat. Before serving, sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.

Carrot-apple soufflé
350 g carrots, 60 g sour cream or milk, 30 g semolina, 1 apple, ½ egg, ½ tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. butter, salt (to taste).
Grate the peeled apple and carrots. Grind the egg yolk with sugar, beat the white into a fluffy foam. Combine the apple and carrots, add sour cream or milk, yolk with sugar, semolina, salt, carefully add the beaten egg white, mix. Place the mixture in a greased baking dish, bake in the oven or steam for 30-35 minutes.

Omelette "Africa"
600 g carrots, 400 g milk, 4 eggs, 4 tbsp. grated hard cheese, 2 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. flour, 2 tbsp. orange juice, salt.
Boil and grate the carrots. Beat eggs, add milk and flour, cheese and juice, add salt and combine with carrot puree. Pour the mixture into a frying pan and fry the omelette until cooked - or bake.

Broccoli and yogurt soup
125 g plain yogurt, 1 cup broccoli, 2 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 tbsp. grated hard cheese, 1 tsp. olive oil.
Pour boiling water over the broccoli so that the water barely covers them, cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Grate the potatoes and carrots, sauté in olive oil with constant stirring. Add the sauté to the soup, cook for another 10 minutes, cool slightly. Pour yogurt into the soup, stirring constantly. You can add cheese.

Millet-curd porridge
2/3 cup milk or water, ½ cup cottage cheese, 1/3 cup millet, 2 tbsp. yogurt or sour cream, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. butter, salt.
Scald the millet and pour boiling milk over it. Add sugar, salt and cook the porridge, cool. Add cottage cheese, butter, yogurt to the prepared porridge, mix.

Buckwheat porridge with prunes and dried apricots
250 g buckwheat, 100 g pitted prunes, 100 g dried apricots, salt (to taste), 600 g water.
Soak prunes and dried apricots to swell, then boil them separately, chop some finely. Combine cereals and dried fruits, pour boiling water, add salt and cook until half cooked, stirring constantly. Bring the porridge to readiness in the oven.
Before serving, add melted butter to the porridge and decorate it with the remaining prunes and dried apricots.

Baby apricot puree with rice
Dried apricots – 100g, water – 375g, baby rice porridge powder – 2 tbsp. breast milk or warmed formula – 80 ml.
Combine dried apricots and water in a small saucepan and cook until soft for 20 minutes. Make apricot puree by adding water. Mix breast milk or formula with rice powder. Serve with 1 tbsp. apricot puree. Can be stored for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Also, the puree can be frozen into cubes.

Curd pancakes
Wheat flour – 160 g, cottage cheese – 100 g, egg – 1 pc., sugar – 10 g, soda – 1/4 tsp.
Vegetable oil – 20 ml.
Beat the egg, grind with cottage cheese, add flour, sugar and soda. Mix everything thoroughly. Grease a hot frying pan with oil and bake pancakes in it.

Scrambled eggs with vegetables “Quail egg”
2 quail eggs, 1 carrot, 0.5 stalk of celery, 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.
Cut the carrots into small cubes and lightly fry them in oil. Add celery cut into small pieces to the carrots. Add water to the vegetables so that it slightly covers the vegetables and simmer until tender over low heat. Beat the eggs, add them to the vegetables, mix. Cover with a lid and leave for 2 minutes.

Children's salad "Coral Reef"
200g cauliflower, 1 tomato, 1 apple, one and a half cucumbers, 2 leaves of green lettuce, 2 tbsp. sour cream, salt.
We disassemble the cabbage into inflorescences, boil it in salted water, and cool. Cut a tomato, an apple and 1 cucumber into small cubes, combine them with chopped lettuce leaves. Salt the prepared salad, season it with sour cream, mix and place cauliflower on top. We cut out a crab figurine from half a cucumber and decorate our salad with it.

Curd and fish meatballs
Cod (fillet) – 60 g, cottage cheese – 30 g, milk – 160 ml, egg – 0.5 pcs., sour cream 10% – 2 tbsp. l., white bread – 30 g, vegetable oil – 15 ml, herbs, salt.
Soak the bread in milk. Grind the fish fillet in a meat grinder, mix with cottage cheese and finely chopped onion. Mix the bread with the resulting minced meat and grind it through the meat grinder again. Beat in the egg and mix. Form the meatballs, place them in a pre-greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Then pour in sour cream and cook for another 3 minutes. Sprinkle with herbs.

Fish with vegetables and rice
90 g of any red fish, stewed in lemon juice with fresh parsley, 100 g of stewed vegetable mixture with carrots and onions. Garnish: 40 g boiled rice.

Frozen vegetables in batter
Frozen vegetables: cauliflower or broccoli, green beans separately or in a mixture - whatever the child likes. We make a batter (egg, sour cream, a spoonful of flour, salt), pour it over the vegetables - or dip them in individual inflorescences, if it is cabbage. A little breadcrumbs on top and into the oven until golden brown.

Vegetable hedgehogs with a surprise
Boil various vegetables until half cooked: potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, maybe beets. Cool, grate on a coarse grater. Add egg, salt, a little semolina or corn (buckwheat) flour, form small balls. Hide a quail egg in the middle of each ball. You can roll the hedgehogs in breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are ready.

Potato cutlets with cheese
Boil 4 medium potatoes in their jackets, peel and grate. Finely chop 2 handfuls of spinach and mix with potatoes. Add 1 egg, cheese, green onions, parsley, and salt to taste to the mixture. Form cutlets, roll them in breadcrumbs and fry or bake in the oven.