At Little Global Chefs, we have always held the belief that "if they make it, they will eat it." "They" being your kids. We've talked about the importance of getting your little ones involved in the kitchen with you as soon as you can and we've provided loads of recipes that are proven winners! Yo, it's a total myth that kids hate broccoli! We've also talked about the importance of bringing your howling kiddo with you to the grocery store to help pick out some produce. What are you looking at? You've never seen a crying kid before? All the elements from start to finish, right?
Well, it occurred to us the other day that there was an important aspect that we haven't touched upon yet. And that aspect is "where does this come from?" We're talking about FOOD, not babies! (By the way, if you have any tips on the birds and bees convo, please comment below!)
About a year ago, our kids became increasingly more and more curious about where food comes from. "Where do strawberries grow? What about these crackers? How do we get milk? What about butter?" When these questions started to pop up during meal time, I was THRILLED! I was oozing with delight at their curiosity and their desire to know where their food really comes from. They quickly began to realize that the strawberries that were carefully washed, quartered and lovingly placed into their bowls didn't simply come from a plastic box from the store. There was a lot more happening!
I'll be honest, things got a little ... or a lot, more interesting when we got to talking about meats - fish, ham, chicken, steak, etc. Now, we don't eat a ton of meat at home as we are moving more and more to a plant-based diet. But when we do, we always talk about where the said meat came from. Lucky for me, my kids are really into the details! But this also means I have to do some explaining on how the chicken we eat gets to our plates. Look, I don't go into every SINGLE detail, but I do make sure that I cover the important parts while ensuring it's all age appropriate.
But at the end of the day, what I'm saying is that our kids get it. They are aware of sacrifices that have to be made in order for us to eat the foods that are delicious and healthy for our family.
I had a bit of a proud moment the other day when our family was visiting a farm. Our kids were standing behind a fence watching a bunch of chickens peck at some feed, when my daughter turned to me and said - "Mom, those nuggets you make for us - those come from them, right?" Yes, little M, they do. And we are so thankful.