Cooking With Kids and the Ben's Beginner Cooking Contest

I have never really loved cooking.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy making something special when I have lots of extra time and nothing else that I should be doing - but that's pretty much never.  I've found that the daily chore of making dinner is one of my less favorite ones on the list.


Now that LJ is a little older, he is not only able, but actually eager to help out in the kitchen.  That time together makes the chore of fixing dinner into a bonding time when I find out what's really going in his little head.  When he walks through the door after school and I ask how his day was, I get the standard first grade answer: "fine".  I ask what he did and get the "nothing" or "stuff" reply.  But when he is distracted by the challenge of cracking an egg into a bowl without getting any shell in it, the filter comes off and I hear all about who said what to whom and how things went down on the playground.

There are other added benefits to having LJ help me in the kitchen.  He is much more likely to eat something he helped cook and he is learning about what actually goes into his food.  His class has been learning about the food groups, so we can see how some foods have several food groups baked right in and others need a side to make them healthier.

One of my personal favorite sides is rice.  Jay got me a super fancy rice cooker for Christmas and it really does make the most incredible batch of rice you could imagine.  It was one of those appliances I just couldn't justify buying and storing in the already cramped cabinet, but now wish I had gotten one years ago!

Speaking of rice (and kids cooking in the kitchen), Uncle Ben's is holding the Ben's Beginners Contest to encourage kids aged 5 to 11 to get into the kitchen, create a rice based dish, and share it via an uploaded 2 - 3 minute video.  The winner will get $20,000 cash, an appearance on the Rachel Ray Show, and a $50,000 makeover for their school's cafeteria.  I can only imagine what $50,000 could do for LJ's cafeteria! 

The contest will run until February 26th, so you have lots of time to get in the kitchen, whip up something fantastic, and get it all on video!  Need some inspiration? Visit Uncle Ben's on Facebook, at www.UncleBens.com or go here for some recipe ideas.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program.. For more information on how you can participate, click here.