All the benefits of involving your kids in meal prep – with recipe ideas! Yes, it can get messy and create more work for you to clean up. However, if you can get over than one disadvantage, meal prepping with your kids can be a game changer!
We know there are so many advantages to meal prep in general, and adding kids into the mix creates even more. It helps them nurture healthy habits, keeps them occupied for awhile, and helps YOU prioritize your health as well.
Whether it’s prepping dinner, making portable lunches for the week, or batch prepping snacks for you or your kids – it can help alleviate stress and create a bonding experience with your child.
My youngest is just 3 years old, and she loves to get involved in the kitchen! Now that my oldest is in kindergarten, I was trying to come up with ways to keep her occupied on the days she is at home with me.
The recipes listed are what I think would be appropriate for even a toddler to assist with. Of course, if you have older kids, I hope this post inspires you to try just about any recipe you want.
Benefits of Involving Your Kids in Meal Prep
Prioritize Your Health While Keeping Your Kids Occupied: Moms are the ultimate multi-taskers. Prep healthy meals and snacks for yourself or for your child’s lunches. One things I’ve been doing is meal prepping my kindergartener’s lunches with my 3-year-old!
Reduces Stress. Having already prepared lunches or dinners can save you money. You’re also less likely to turn to convenience foods. It’s a great option if you’ve been wanting to meal prep, but just don’t feel like you have the time.
Nurtures Healthy Habits. Cooking with kids can increase their exposure to fruits and vegetables, which can lead to increased selection of these foods. Talk to your child about each fruit or vegetable and explain the importance of healthy eating habits.
You Kids Will Think It’s Fun. I know from personal experience my kids LOVE to get involved in the kitchen. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or even a working parent, preparing meals or snacks with your children is a great bonding experience.
Easy Meal Prep Recipes with Kids Involved
This post does contain Amazon affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I receive a small compensation if a purchase is made.
Start with these simple ideas, and work your way towards more recipes YOU want. These are what I like to call “level 1 ideas”: they’re easy to make with toddlers. If you have a tiny master chef, get creative and find more fun recipes to try with them!
There are even Toddler Knife Sets on Amazon, appropriate for kids as young as two! Scroll down for my list of easy snack recipes, too!
Soups or Chili
Carefully watch as your child adds ingredients into a pot. With a kid-friendly knife, they can even assist with cutting up vegetables.
Try something like my Easy Mexican Chili, which utilizes both fresh and canned ingredients. It’s high in protein and fiber- and is a delicious dinner that makes great leftovers!
Pizza
Your child will have so much fun rolling dough, spreading out pizza sauce, and adding the toppings to create a delicious pizza. Pizza is so easy to customize and throw together, so I am not adding any recipes here. Just have fun and make it your own based on your preferences.
Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal makes for a delicious and easy breakfast on busy mornings. Most recipes make about 8 servings, so you can store individual servings in the fridge and quickly reheat in the microwave. The whole family might even love it!
Recipes to Try:
Pancakes and Waffles
I haven’t met a kid who doesn’t love making pancakes! Plus, you can freeze all the leftovers and reheat on busy mornings. Pro-Tip: Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes. This can help increase acceptance, too!
Try something like these Easy Protein Pancakes Without Protein Powder (Carrots and Cookies), using Greek yogurt to boost the protein content. Or, Sheet Pan Pancakes (Feel Good Foodie) – which you could then let your little one use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of.
Egg Bites
Egg bites are the perfect portable breakfast. They’re filling, easy to make and can be frozen for up to 3 months. Help your child crack the eggs, make the mixture, and spoon into a muffin pan.
These High Protein Egg Bites by Simple and Fraiche (shown above) combine eggs and cottage cheese, to provide 5 grams of protein per serving (one bite). Or, these Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites (The Healthy Epicurean).
Sheet Pan Dinners
Sheet pan dinners are the ideal “meal prep” recipe as they are easy to throw together for healthy lunches. This can allow your child to practice their knife skills with their kid-friendly knife set. Your child also might have fun assembling each meal prep container with items.
Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes:
Casseroles
I love an easy casserole recipe because the servings are large enough for dinner and lunch the next day!
Recipe Ideas:
Dips, Sauces, and Dressings
You could start with something as simple as a homemade sauce or dressing. The sky is the limit here, and most of these recipes are very kid-friendly. Prep a healthy ranch dressing for your kids to snack on, a basil pesto for pasta, or a fresh salad dressing to keep in your fridge for the week.
Recipe Ideas:
Sandwiches
Meal prep sandwiches for your older child’s lunches, or for you to grab out of the fridge for busy days. Make it more fun by using cookie cutters of various shapes.
Fun Snack Recipes
Set yourself up for success by having some healthier, already prepped snacks available. This can be beneficial for both your and your children!
As you know, kids love snacks – and there are so many kid-friendly snack recipes that are more nutrient-dense than store-bought snacks. I also like to prep high protein snacks for myself to have on hand all week long.
Kodiak Cakes Protein Donuts
These super easy Kodiak Cakes protein donuts are a healthier donut alternative – like a pancake donut. I even let my kids decorate them. Each donut has 7 grams of protein. They’re both adult and kid-approved!
Also Try:
— Healthy Peach Whole Wheat Donuts (Bucket List Tummy)
— Chocolate Avocado Donuts (The Healthy Epicurean)
Lemon Berry Protein Popsicles
Making homemade popsicles is a messy but fun process that will occupy your child for a good 15-30 minutes. Above is my lemon berry “adult popsicles” with protein. However, you can make kid-friendly popsicles as well. Popsicles are a kid-favorite, all-year round!
Kid-Friendly Popsicle Recipes:
— Healthy, Homemade Strawberry Popsicles (Brownies N Buttercream)
— Funfetti Cake Batter Popsicles (A Cozy Kitchen)
Healthy Muffins
Kids can mix ingredients, fill muffin tins, and enjoy the baking process. This Kodiak Cakes Banana Muffin Recipe (Summer Yule) is higher in protein and lower in sugar as compared to many other muffin recipes.
Smoothies
Smoothies are one of my kids’ favorites! There’s something about throwing things in a blender that is so fun for kids. I have found that my kids will actually drink the smoothie after making it, too.
Black Bean Brownies (Chocolate Covered Katie)
A dark, rich, ultra fudgy healthier brownie packed with fiber from the black beans.
Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars (Erhardts Eats)
I’ve made this super easy, kid-friendly cheerio bar recipe with my kids. They make for great after-school snacks or for on-the-go snack boxes.
Healthy No Bake Carrot Bars (Bucket List Tummy)
Homemade granola bar recipes are great snack options for both your and your child! This recipe is a no bake bar with carrot cake flavors. Also try these Homemade Protein Bars from Tastes Better from Scratch.
Fruit and Veggie Kabobs
Kids can help thread the fruit and veggies onto skewers for a fun and healthy snack. A creative idea to try around Christmas are these Banana Snowmen (Little Healthy Bites).
Yogurt Parfaits
Prep a bunch of yogurt parfaits for easy snacks throughout the week. Let your child layer yogurt, fruit, granola in jars or cups, and drizzle honey on top.
Ninja Creami Ice Cream
Since blenders are a huge hit with kids, I can only imagine that a Ninja Creami would be as well. Create your own ice cream and experiment with different flavors and ingredients!
Recipes to Try:
Ninja Creami Dairy-Free Chocolate Ice Cream (Zest)
The Best Ninja Creami Protein Ice Cream (The Protein Chef)
High Protein Snacks for Moms
If you’re looking to increase your overall protein consumption, here are some recipes to prep that prioritize protein. I have actually made most of these with my daughters, and like to keep them in the fridge for easy, healthy snacking!
Related Posts:
— Adult and Kid-Friendly Snack Boxes
— Easy Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
Try Component Cooking
While your child is decorating or stirring a batch of muffins, you could multi-task by cooking a large pot of rice to have on hand for the week. Component cooking is a meal prep strategy that can make your life a little easier by focusing on one component at a time.
For more component cooking ideas, read Component Cooking: A Convenient Meal Prep Alternative.
