Annabel Woolmer - The Tickle Fingers Toddler Cookbook: Hands-on Fun in the Kitchen for 1 to 4s

Get your little ones involved in cooking theyll have fun mushing, squishing, painting, twisting and sculpting, while helping you get food on the table. Here, for the first time, is a great collection of family recipes that toddlers and pre-schoolers will love to make, and love to eat too. 60 mouth-watering recipes are labelled according to difficulty: Easy Peasy, Budding Cook and Confident Chef. As well as clearly explaining what youll need to prepare, the recipes also have guidance on what the main tasks and skills are, enabling you to match recipes to your childs abilities as well as their taste buds. Annabel Woolmer is a mum of 2 who stumbled on cooking as a way of entertaining her then 13-month-old one rainy afternoon. A large dollop of fun Several spoons of common sense A portion of imagination A dose of preparation A pinch of your inner child A sprinkling of order A large cup of love Combine the preparation and order in a large bowl until smooth. A large dollop of fun Several spoons of common sense A portion of imagination A dose of preparation A pinch of your inner child A sprinkling of order A large cup of love Combine the preparation and order in a large bowl until smooth.

Then, using little spoons, forks and fingers, whisk together the common sense, imagination and inner child until the mixture is colourful and full of enthusiasm. Mix the fun and love together in a separate bowl, then slowly fold into the colourful, enthusiastic batter. Pour the mixture into a beautiful, yet simple, mould and pop it in the oven. Refer to it regularly while your children are growing up, then hold onto it until you have grandchildren and refer to it again. Hannah Bennett

To my Mum for teaching me, and to John and my girls, with love. When my eldest was about 13 months old, we were living in a small, temporary flat with few toys and no transport.

I was rapidly running out of entertainment ideas when I decided to attempt baking with her. We sat together on the kitchen floor and made a childhood favourite of mine, chocolate fork biscuits (see ). She prodded the mixture, squished it in her hands and, of course, licked the bowl. It kept her happy for about half an hour and then even happier once the biscuits were ready to eat. There was mess to clean up (mainly on her), but remarkably little. Result? Happy mum, happy baby! It got me thinking that I should do more cooking with her.

To encourage them to use their fingertips, I tell them to pretend they are tickling the butter into the flour. We call this process tickle fingers. Over the coming months thats what I did, especially after her sister was born, as it gave us treasured one-on-one time together. She got increasingly involved and by age two, like it or not, I had a permanent helper whenever I was in the kitchen. However, being short of time, with a young baby, I needed to get on with feeding the family, not just making fun cakes and biscuits. I bought some childrens cookbooks and looked online, hoping to find dishes my daughter could make to serve at family meals.

What I found were either recipes for fun snacks and childrens food or ones that she couldnt do at her age without a lot of help. Most of the latter were too long and included steps that she couldnt carry out safely, such as handling raw meat, using sharp knives/graters or stirring pans at a hob. The recipes advised that an adult should step in to do these bits, but I found that unworkable. She either got bored while waiting, or frustrated, shouting I do it, I do it.

After buying childrens cookbook number five, I gave up and decided to create my own recipes. I put together dishes that only involved cooking tasks she could do easily herself sorting, mixing, squishing, bashing, pouring, covering, squeezing, tearing and avoided tasks she couldnt.

I kept the recipes short, limiting ingredients and steps. I was more relaxed because she was happily engaged doing fun tasks with minimal input from me. And the more independence and control over the cooking I gave her, the more enthusiastic and skilful she became. Then I realised she was developing a curiosity about food that I hadnt noticed before. Excited and proud about having cooked it all by herself, she was eating ingredients and dishes she had previously refused to taste.

I cant remember a time when I didnt know how to cook. I cant remember a time when I didnt know how to cook.

It was just something that was always going on at home. Im no expert cook and continue to learn every day, but my mum gave me the foundations to build on; something I will always be grateful for and want for my own children. Starting to cook with them aged 18 months might seem young and for that reason fool-hardy. It wasnt part of a grand plan; I fell into it. However, now that Ive seen the benefits, it doesnt seem so crazy. Its odd that few of us question doing art, crafts and play dough with toddlers and yet the idea of cooking with them, using identical skills, is often still seen as daunting.

This book aims to make cooking undaunting and approachable, particularly for those who dont feel confident in the kitchen themselves. The key to successfully cooking with very young children is to keep things simple. The key to successfully cooking with very young children is to keep things simple. Cooking with children can be stressful, but the stress largely comes from attempting over-ambitious recipes and not preparing enough beforehand. The simplicity of the recipes and layout in this book (e.g. Parent Prep) are intended to make things as straightforward and stress-free as possible, including the shopping.

Ive tried to stick to common, everyday ingredients that you can pick up in most local mini supermarkets. However, simplicity does not have to mean that the food is tasteless. As anyone with a brilliant home-cook for a mum, like me, will know, you can have both simplicity and yummy food at the same time. Why cook with tiny tots? I believe cooking at a very young age has enhanced my childrens lives in the following ways: Thanks for our food! A meal does not magically appear for them to accept or reject. Their direct involvement, or even just awareness of what goes into preparing a meal, gives them an interest in the outcome. Can I try that? I am convinced that cooking has increased their interest in food and therefore given them a willingness to try new things.