Being with your kids in the kitchen is a few things. Great fun, messy, frustrating, joyful, messy, educational, inspirational, useful and, did I say messy?

Children learn SO much in the first 7 years of their life. Everything is fascinating and the kitchen can be one of the most educational and informative places for a young child.

In most homes, the kitchen is the heartbeat of the house. At Caro & Co we believe there are many upsides for instilling a love of cooking in your children. Some of the obvious ones include:

• Affords an opportunity for children to learn about food sources
• Assists them with fine motor skills ie. chopping, grating, pouring etc
• Assists them with literacy and numeracy ie. reading labels, counting and measuring quantities and so on.
• Affords an opportunity for children to experience special, one on one time with you
• Teaches them about responsible risk
• Inspires a lasting love of food and cooking
• Teaches them about consequence and sometimes having to wait for a result
• Provides early lessons on basic hygiene and safety

Below, you’ll find posts on kitchen fun, some easy recipes, inspiring restaurants, healthy food options, leading providores and chefs and more...or you can check out my food blog "No Fuss Food"

Animals / Discovery / Family Life / Garden / Imagination / Kitchen / Outdoor Fun

Departing childhood – will your child pack the important stuff?

by Caro&Co on Jan 13, 2012 • 10 Comments

I recently had the misfortune of watching an advertorial about a product that promised to have your child reading fluently by the age of 1. Whilst I adore reading and would always encourage children to do so, the advertorial implied that young children should spend every waking moment engaged in some form of structured learning....

Family Life / Imagination / Kitchen / Uncategorized

Believers or not, they’ll still eat the cake thanks…

by Caro&Co on Dec 1, 2011 • 24 Comments

My children are on the cusp of not believing in Father Christmas.  They are torn between not wanting to appear to be baby-ish (their words) and desperately wanting to be absolutely certain that it is indeed possible for a fat man to squash himself down the chimney and reward them for being good throughout the year....

Family Life / Kitchen

Christmas pizza?

by Caro&Co on Nov 30, 2011 • 2 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for new ways with food, particularly when it comes to tempting fussy eaters.  So when I found this wonderful image of a Christmas Tree pizza, I just had to share it.  It comes from a great little blog out of Sweden called Livet Hemma.  Whilst the blog is written in...

Discovery / Family Life / Imagination / Kitchen

You want me to make and eat what?!

by Caro&Co on Nov 3, 2011 • 3 Comments

I credit my mother for instilling in me a love of food and a passion for experimentation in the kitchen.  She is a great cook and always insisted that we try the dishes she prepared at least three times (big mouthfuls, not just nibbles).  On the whole it was a positive experience as she had...

Family Life / Garden / Imagination / Kitchen / Outdoor Fun

1000 things to do with green tomatoes before you die…

by Caro&Co on Apr 28, 2011 • 1 Comment

GREEN TOMATO RELISH FOR DUMMIES With a glut of green tomatoes at our farm and the first frost threatening to turn them all to slush, we recently harvested the last of our heirloom tomatoes.  As is the way when you have a productive veggie patch and no real skill on managing your harvests, we got...

Kitchen

Sustainability in the city. Worth frocking up for…

by Caro&Co on Mar 18, 2011 • 8 Comments

Today I did something I don’t do often (enough). I applied lipstick, put on some heels and a frock and headed into the city to have lunch with some girlfriends. Those who know me well would agree that heels and I are not a natural mix and that I prefer lip balm to stick. I’ll...

Family Life / Imagination / Kitchen

Go play! In the kitchen with kids

by Caro&Co on Feb 1, 2011 • 5 Comments

I regularly contribute to a great Melbourne radio station, LightFM and this morning I chatted to Luke and Lucy about being in the kitchen with kids and how much fun and educational it can be for everyone. Here’s a little of what we spoke about, including some easy-to-do recipes to inspire your child using the...

Family Life / Kitchen

Summer joy – king prawn, nectarine and feta salad

by Caro&Co on Jan 30, 2011 • 5 Comments

With thanks to the Good Weekend supplement of the Sydney Morning Herald and one of their contributing chefs Neil Perry for publishing this on 29 January 2011. The flavours in this salad combine in a delightfully fresh, summery kind of way. It’s healthy, low fat, and perfect for children. In fact I’d suggest getting the...