Cooking with Adolescents During Quarantine

Benefits of cooking with adolescents during quarantine

Changing habits and improving health

Most intervention programs that exist in different countries have obtained very positive results. First of all, they help improve eating habits. In general, adolescents tend to eat fast food, soft drinks, and junk food quite often.

What’s more, they hardly eat fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and fish. Therefore, your main objective should be to teach them to incorporate and enjoy these foods in their daily menu. At the same time, their health will improve.

By allowing your children to participate actively, they’ll discover new recipes to maximize the flavors of fruits and vegetables. When they discover how delicious these foods can be, your kids will enjoy them more often.

Furthermore, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to new foods and invite your kids to give them a try. You can even explain their properties and benefits so your children understand the impact of foods on how they feel.

The acquisition of culinary skills

Learning is a process through which we acquire new knowledge. There are all different ways to learn, but 70% of it comes from practice.

The simple act of experimenting on one’s own helps to consolidate information. This is because it helps us retain information for a longer period of time and makes assimilating that information much easier. Therefore, cooking is a key activity as it allows them to know which utensils to use and how to use them. What’s more, it shows them the wide variety of culinary techniques that exist.

Parents need to teach their children the different factors that influence flavor when you’re preparing dishes. For example, the way you cut foods, the way you cook the ingredients, and how you make use of different spices.

Cooking with adolescents during quarantine encourages good values

The most important values you encourage while cooking with adolescents are teamwork and relationship building. This is because you can divide the tasks and dialogue as you work. Ask your children how they’re doing and what they feel like cooking.

What’s more, you can use this time to discuss their favorite series, movies or books. That way, you’ll manage to break down some of the barriers that usually separate you. During adolescence, children tend to spend less time with their parents and get tired of incessant questions about their day-to-day activities. But this is a time where your kids may be more willing to open up, as long as you respect their privacy.

What’s more, you can set up a competition between siblings and judge their skills when they’re finished. Of course, it’s not about winning or losing, but learning and progressing while they have a good time. What’s more, your kids will improve their concentration skills as they focus on each step of making the food taste delicious.

Mood and well-being

Some studies have revealed that adolescents who possess culinary knowledge are less likely to suffer symptoms of depression. On the one hand, cooking is a fun, gratifying, and relaxing activity. At the same time, they can prepare recipes with their favorite ingredients or that they’ve enjoyed with friends or seen on social media.

On the other hand, eating produces pleasure, as it offers basic nutrients and energy. What’s more, it stimulates the secretion of serotonin, a hormone that’s directly related to emotional well-being.

So, now we want to suggest a pizza recipe that you can cook along with your adolescent children during quarantine. They’re sure to love it!

Pizza, the perfect recipe for cooking with adolescents during quarantine

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups of whole grain flour.
• 1 cup lukewarm water.
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
• 3 teaspoons of fresh yeast.
• Salt.
• Mushrooms.
• Canned tuna fish.
• Shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Tomato sauce.
• Oregano.

Instructions

Before getting started, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Now, mix the flour, water, oil, yeast and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl until well mixed. Then, kneed the dough with clean hands until it stops sticking to your skin. Set aside for a few minutes. Then, sprinkle your countertop with flour and stretch the dough out with a rolling pin. Last, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Once your pizza crust is ready, cover it with tomato sauce with the help of a spoon. Add sliced mushrooms, tuna fish, a layer of shredded cheese, and oregano. Finally, bake your pizza for 15 minutes.

As you’ve seen, cooking is a very stimulating activity for teenagers. As they have fun and learn, they’ll also gain confidence in themselves and build bonds with you and their siblings.