Revitalize the Kitchen Heart with Your Child’s Food

Revitalize The Kitchen Heart With Your Child’s Food

Wed 16 May 2012

Story by Claire Jennings
 

Your Kitchen Heart



How is your kitchen heart? Is it strong? Do you eat as a family every day? Is the food you eat of high quality, nutritional, and inviting? Has it helped to bring culture into your house, or improve your child’s math skills? Could it be stronger? No matter how strong your kitchen heart is, revitalizing it can bring nothing but good things to your family.

Next time you sit down with your family to eat together, think about your kitchen heart. If you don’t regularly eat together, sit down with your family tonight, and enjoy a family meal. Want help to make this the richest experience you can? Join me and take the Your Child’s Food 1 Year Challenge.

The Beginnings of the Challenge



I was lucky. The kitchen heart lived strong and well in my parent’s house. I grew up among the apple orchards of central Washington. Not only did we cook most of our own food, but we grew and raised a good chunk of it. Each year, we would can the tomatoes and fruit. My dad still farms his organic farm.

Fifteen years ago, I moved to Seattle, WA, where I found my way into a Microsoft Development position. My hours were at times long – there have been a number of times I ate whatever my work brought in. I would have slowly lost touch with the kitchen heart, if I had not actively kept it in the forefront, even if that meant 10pm family dinners.

One year ago, my husband and I welcomed our daughter, Samantha, into our lives. With it came some changes. I realized the 10pm dinners had to go, but I was going to put real food on the table for Samantha. I am bound and determined to give Samantha the same kitchen heart my parents gave me.

Every Child Deserves A Strong, Enriching Relationship With Food



The more I thought about it, the more I felt that every child deserves the strong, enriching relationship with food my parents gave me. But how are they to get it? Many of today’s parents and grandparents do not cook. How will they teach today’s children?

I might have the childhood and knowledge needed to give this gift to my Samantha, but what about the parents out there who don’t? I believe everyone should have the ability to give this gift to their children. I believe I can help.

Launching Your Child’s Food 1 Year Challenge on Food Revolution Day



To help you revitalize your kitchen heart, I’ve created the Your Child’s Food 1 Year Challenge. Designed for children 6 months through to 18 years, it not only teaches healthy cooking, but life enriching experiences. From eating with your family every night to learning math through budgeting and measuring, the challenge is designed to revitalize the kitchen heart in your home. There is something to learn from it no matter the state of your kitchen heart.

Consisting of 52 weekly challenges, the challenge takes you through 13 themes:

Eating Together, Nutritional Eating, Food Etiquette, Buying Food, Kitchen Organization, Meals and Snacks, Cooking Together, Whole, Local, and Seasonal Eating, Variety in Foods, Food and Cultures, Special Occasions, Gardening, Kitchen as the Heart of the House.

The Your Child’s Food 1 Year Challenge is a journey to a healthier and more rewarding life. It is my gift to the children of today, my hope to make the world a better place. Together we can bring back the kitchen heart as a living, thriving, part of our culture. Take the Challenge and enrich your child’s life through food today.

Let’s change the world together!

About Claire: Claire is a cook, wife, and mother who cares deeply about the foods of today and their impact on our children. She is the founder and creator of the blog Your Child’s Food and the Your Child’s Food 1 Year Challenge.