Cooking with Kids

PDF downloads of new cooking lessons are available through our store for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-6 in English & Spanish. These individual curriculum units include lesson plans, classroom recipes, food information, student activities, and take-home recipes. The lessons are designed to be printed double-sided.

Recipes for Schools was developed to connect classroom learning with school meals. In partnership with the women who work in the kitchens of the Santa Fe Public Schools, we adapted Cooking with Kids classroom recipes for quantity food preparation. Our goal was to create appealing and healthful school lunches that children will enjoy and eat.

These recipes are designed to be used for reimbursable school lunches and include nutritional analysis. The 50-page booklet is available as a PDF download.

Cooking with Kids curriculum is designed for grades K-1, grades 2-3, and grades 4-6. Student materials are bilingual in Spanish and English. Lessons are aligned with educational standards in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, visual arts, career readiness, and health education. Curriculum Guide comes with a master copy of student materials, which may be copied for up to 30 students.

Cooking with Kids is an excellent resource for nutrition educators and elementary school teachers. The program was selected as a 2007 Innovation in Prevention Award winner by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its efforts in promoting healthful lifestyles in communities. The integrated curriculum guides for grades K-6 and corresponding student materials provide children, teachers, and parents with opportunities to develop an appreciation and love of fresh, healthful, great-tasting food.

The materials could be integrated into elementary school classroom curricula or an after-school program setting. According to one parent, “The Cooking with Kids program brought another voice to the table, a voice that encouraged trying new and different foods, a voice in support of nutrition and healthy families.”

Download a sample cooking lesson: Chinese American Fried Rice: Grades 2-3

Curriculum Guides include:

• Teacher Information plus Introductory lesson
• Lesson plans for five 1-hour fruit and vegetable tastings: Tomatoes, Root Vegetables, Citrus, Pears, and Salad Greens
• Lesson plans with activities for five 2-hour cooking classes: Stovetop Pizza with Tri-color Salad, Potato Pancakes with Applesauce, Black Bean Tostadas with Salsa Fresca, Ethiopian Lentils, Injera, Couscous, and Cucumber Salad, and Asian Noodles with Coconut Rice Balls

The first Cooking with Kids DVD features an 18-minute overview of the Cooking with Kids program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. See fruit and vegetable tasting classes, cooking classes, and cafeteria meals in action.

Our second in-depth video, Fruit & Vegetable Tastings (Length: 49 minutes), documents a Cooking with Kids Salad Tasting class with fourth graders from start to finish. It is designed to train educators who plan to teach tasting lessons, including classroom teachers and others. A voiceover commentary provides teaching tips.

Research suggests that repeated exposure to healthy foods in a non-coercive environment can increase acceptance of those foods. The Cooking with Kids Fruit and Vegetable Tasting lessons are a simple way to provide these hands-on experiences to elementary school-aged children.

In each tasting class, students explore four different foods with all their senses while practicing language and math skills. Download the free bilingual Tasting lessons to enhance your use of the DVDs.

Free bilingual fruit and vegetable tasting lessons provide opportunities for children to explore, learn about, and taste varieties of fruits and vegetables. Tasting lessons require no cooking and minimal food preparation. Students learn to use descriptive language, expand vocabulary, exercise choice, and articulate personal preferences.

All lessons are available for grades K-1, 2-3, 4-6 in English & Spanish with lesson plans, food information, and activities for elementary school children. These lessons are designed to be printed double-sided.

To access more free tasting lessons, you will be asked to enter your email address to be added to our mailing list. You may opt-out of our list if you like. Your email address will not be shared with any other organizations. Cooking with Kids may contact you in the future for feedback about how the curriculum worked for you.