Make Your Shopping Trip Fun for Your Kids!
Want to make your trip to the farmer’s market fun for your kids? Get them involved in grocery planning and shopping! Check out these essential tips from our friends at Cooking Matters for fun activities and ideas to make shopping a blast for the whole family! Also, be sure to try their easy recipe for Black Bean & Vegetable Quesadillas. Your kids will love them!
Before you go shopping:
- Let kids draw pictures of the foods on your shopping list.
- Ask kids to help you decide between healthy options (apples vs. pears).
- Give your child a small, healthy snack before shopping.
- Avoid shopping at naptime.
While shopping:
- Let your kids be “produce pickers.” Help them pick out fruits and veggies.
- Have your child help you search for the foods on your list. The child can cross them off as you add them to your basket.
- Ask your child to count the number of items you need.
- Talk about the color, shape, and size of items you must buy.
- Ask your child which plant or animal each food comes from, what sound the animal makes, and what the plant or animal looks like.
Back at home:
- Have your child help you put groceries away.
- Discuss why certain foods are stored in the freezer, refrigerator, or pantry.
- At mealtime, remind kids how they helped you find the foods you are eating.
- Ask kids what they like about the color, texture, or shape of the foods.
Looking for more awesome tips and resources from Cooking Matters? The new Cooking Matters app for Android makes it simple to feed your family healthy foods, on any budget! Visit CookingMatters.org/app to plan meals with the touch of a button. Exploring Food Together is a Cooking Matters toolkit of simple activities that adults can use to help kids learn about new foods and start building the skills to make healthy food choices.
