Here at Every Kid Can Cook, our recipe page is packed full of amazingly delicious and healthy recipes created by kids! If you’re a Boss in the kitchen, developing your own original recipe is easy. However, if you’re still learning how to cook, creating an original recipe can be a little overwhelming at first. Below, you’ll find some helpful tips that will spark your inner culinary genius. You’ll be creating your own unique recipes in no time!
Revamp A Traditional Recipe To Increase It’s Nutritional Value.
Have you ever thought about “healthifying” your favorite comfort foods? One way to do that is to swap out less nutritious ingredients and replace them with healthier ones! For example, when making macaroni and cheese, swap out half of the macaroni for cauliflower, like our 2017 Healthy Kids Cook-Off Winner, Kelsey Deleshaw’s Healthy Mac & Cheese. This is a great example of how a traditional (and not super healthy) recipe can be made into a nourishing and wholesome meal. Kelsey added veggies in place of some of the noodles, boosting the Vitamin C and Vitamin K content, but didn’t have to sacrifice great flavor!
Pick Three.
As a foodie, just choosing 3 ingredients for your recipe might be tough. But when you’re new to the kitchen, it’s a great way to get started. Choose 3 items that you think might go well together (like sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and olive oil). Then, turn these things into something original and fabulous, like cinnamon sprinkled sweet potato fries!
A great recipe doesn’t have to be complicated. When you’re making your first recipe, try to stick with no more than a few ingredients, and then build your way up to more complicated recipes over time.
Food Substitutions For Allergies.
Did you know that 1 in every 13 kids have a food allergy? We work with thousands of kids every year, and one thing we know for sure is that kids with food allergies still love to eat! And there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to enjoy delicious foods, too.
If a meal or snack you love contains an ingredient you’re allergic to, think of a substitute ingredient you can use in its place. Here’s an example: if you’re allergic to cows milk, but love smoothies, try using almond milk instead! By getting creative with ingredients, you’ll not only produce an original culinary masterpiece, you’ll probably inspire other kids with the same allergies to cook, too!
Celebrate Your Culture.
Think about how your recipe can celebrate your culture. Since cooking is something that people all over the world do, the possibilities are endless! Ask your parents or grandparents what kinds of foods your ancestors enjoyed, and try to recreate them with your own spin on it.
Experiment and Don’t Get Discouraged.
Cooking is meant to be fun. So if you start to get a little overwhelmed or frustrated with the process, take a break and come back to it later. We believe that love is one of the best ingredients you can add to any recipe. So try cooking with friends and family members! They might even bring a new idea to the table that you hadn’t thought of yet. Keep an open mind and don’t give up until you’re happy with the outcome!
