This morning the boys requested French Toast for breakfast. My little helper and I got everything gathered and went to work. I am a firm believer in letting children help out in the kitchen. As long as you teach proper safety and cleanliness it can be a great learning experience for both you and your child. My son learns new skills each time we work together in the kitchen. Each age brings new abilities in the food prep process. Today Big M helped me with cracking the eggs. He does a much better job now than he did a year ago. Back then, eggs were cracked in some less fortunate places. Cooking with a helper definitely requires patience, but has created so many great memories for both of us.
This french toast is delicious. Here is how to make it. First mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and nutmeg in a shallow bowl.
- Place your whole wheat bread in the egg mixture.
- Coat it real good.
- Flip it to make sure both sides are covered evenly. Little helpers may need some assistance with this part. We probably wash our hands 10 times throughout the whole process.
- Once coated, place the bread on your skillet and top each piece with coconut oil (healthiest option), butter (tastiest option) or margarine (cheapest option).
- Then sprinkle on some cinnamon.
- Carefully flip the french toast so it can cook on both sides.
- It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. They won't learn if you don't let them try. I am really proud of how good Big M is at this.
- Now it is time to flip them onto the plate.
- The perfectionist in me wants so badly to rearrange the french toast in a beautiful pattern on the plate. But what kind of message would that send to my son? That it wasn't good enough! I would never say that to him! So I shouldn't say it with my actions either. Actions speak louder than words, especially to children.
- Besides, look how proud he is! Look at his beautiful accomplishment and creation. Little kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for.
- I have to refocus my perfectionism sometimes because my life isn't just about me anymore, it is about my family. Instead of perfecting things, I try to perfect myself. I can do this by being patient, loving my son unconditionally, and instilling confidence in him. This can be very hard at times, but I keep trying, and I like to think I am becoming a better person because of it.
- Today, I just want to soak up the fact that he is interested in spending time with me. They grow up too fast!
- Besides, I can make it look pretty on my own plate.
- Baby B wishing she could try some of this delicious french toast.
- Patience beautiful girl. One day you will eat solid food.
One day I will have all the time in the world to make my food perfect and beautiful. Today is not that day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The smiles on my children's faces are far more beautiful than any food will ever be, and I know I will look back on this time and wish I could relive it. So right now, I'm just going to soak it all in. Life is good!
What funny cooking experiences have you had with your kids? You know the ones where you are forced to laugh so you wouldn't cry? We have these canisters on the counter that I keep all our baking staples in, flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon etc. One afternoon, I came into the kitchen to find a chair pulled up to the counter, and Big M was no where to be found. I always get suspicious when there is a chair by the counter. I took a look at the canisters and all of them were empty, except for the large flour one. Yep, you guessed it! He dumped all the contents of all the canisters into the flour! When I asked him about it he said, "I Mixa Mixa it real fast!" No Shame for that little guy! He kills me! Tell us about your funny cooking stories!
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Originally posted on June 11, 2016
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