Eat fresh food! Freshly prepared fruits, vegetables, and grains will help your child to thrive. Packaged foods, frozen foods, and canned foods have lost their prana, or life-force energy. When a vegetable is as close to being freshly picked as possible, it delivers the maximum amount of nutrients, energy, and just plain goodness. 

What is Ayurveda? Ayu means “life” and Veda means “science”, so Ayurveda is the “science of life.” Ojas is the primary vital life force that leads to health and vitality. When we eat fresh food, we build up our Ojas.

You may be thinking, ‘I barely have time to cook as it is. There’s no way I’ll ever find time to cook with my kids.’ Well I have news for you. Children love to be involved in meal prep, especially chopping fruits and vegetables, and anything you’ll let them!

Have a picky eater? Research shows that kids are more likely to eat something they’ve been involved in preparing. So let’s get our hands dirty!

These are child-safe knives which fit perfectly into small hands. They are zigzag, to avoid cuts, but still sharp enough to chop potatoes and carrots. Parents around the world are enjoying the help of their kids with meal prep! 

If you’ve gotten this far, you may be thinking, “That’s great, but my kids will make a big mess and I’ll be the one cleaning it up!”  My friend I hear you. Getting kids to clean up takes organization and training. We have resources for you too! For now, make clean up fun and teach them that it is part of cooking. They’ll be so excited to cook with you again, that you can use your next cooking session as an incentive to make sure the clean up process happens! 

With a little organization and training, your children can be your assistants in the kitchen and grow into full Yogi Chefs themselves! I have students who are cooking dinner for their families once a week or more, making sesame kale noodles, carrot ginger soup, and even apple pie!  Creating the time and space to train a child in the kitchen takes work, but the results are worth it, both long term and short term. 

Lastly, you may be worried about running into a few spills, or even cuts and burns in the kitchen. These are valid concerns. I have found a solution that works surprisingly well: breathing! When the kids practice breathing, we create awareness, and this mindful practice becomes our safety insurance. 

We like to call it sharp knives, sharp minds.

You may have heard that it is dangerous to work with a dull knife in the kitchen. The extra effort to chop can actually cause accidents. Well, I ask you, what about a dull mind? How would that affect the results you’re creating in the kitchen? Have you cooked when your mind is distracted or you’re in a bad mood? It usually doesn’t turn out so well. That’s why we practice breathing before each cooking class, so our minds are clear and we can be the best chefs possible. And you can do that at home, too! (More on this in Tip 2!)