Cooking up healthier kids

The Kids' Table introduces youngsters to making their own food

11/25/2009 10:00 PM

By KENDAHL LAUREN GARDNER
Medill News Service

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Charlie Carroll, 5, slices mushroom caps to put in spaghetti sauce at The Kids' Table's Friday night family cooking class.
REBECCA LOMAX/Staff



Activities for Kids

Even toddlers learn to make a tasty mint pea soup at the kids’ cooking school in Bucktown that tax attorney Elena Marre gave up her law practice to open.

“I realized I had to leave law when all the tax partners were reading tax journals in bed and I thought that was crazy. I was reading cooking magazines,” said Marre, 34, owner of The Kid’s Table school.

“I just knew I wanted to do something different with my life and found something that I was passionate about. I think it was probably that passion that gave me the faith,” Marre said.

The school has branched out from cooking classes, offering a small retail store and birthday parties for children of all ages.

With holidays on the horizon, The Kids’ Table features classes on how to make even cookie recipes nutritious.

“We find ways to make it healthy without sacrificing too much of the flavor. We only use all natural ingredients, as much fresh food as possible and reduce sugar when baking. We substitute often, using applesauce and canola oil for butter or Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream,” Marre said.

Instilling confidence and trust in kids is important. But introducing them to new foods through activities is of the utmost importance to Marre, she said.

“If you put food in front of kids they’re inclined to say no, but if you make it an activity then you’re distracting them and it ceases to be a battle in many cases. It’s about getting kids to be more adventurous eaters,” she said.

Marre was born on Long Island, moved around a lot as a child growing up before attending Georgetown University law school.

But her idea of The Kid’s Table evolved in London where she was living several years ago and raising her son Jacob, then a newborn. After inquiring about what brand of baby food to buy, she discovered people planned to make their own and she decided to try that herself.

As a toddler, Jacob, turned into a picky eater. But she noticed that when she involved him in cooking what he ate, he enjoyed it more. The same pattern worked for her second son, Aleksander.

“I noticed my kids were more excited to try things and be open to them if they had made them,” she said. “Getting them involved in the cooking process was a great way to help them be a little more adventurous.”

That alone helped create the mission for The Kid’s Table.

“Cooking is an adventure. I want to make things doable for parents and encourage them to get back into the kitchen with their kids,” Marre said.

Parents praise Marre for opening their minds on what to cook for their children, in addition to teaching the kids how to cook nutritiously.

“The kids get involved in washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, spraying and wiping the table, all aspects of making a meal, and then they eat the food that they made,” said Erin Rodriguez, 41, mother of 2-year-old Sofia.













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