It’s back to school time and that means parents will begin
hearing their kids’ cries of “What’s for dinner??? and “When are we eating??? as
soon as they arrive home from work. With everyone in the household busy and
seemingly running on separate calendars, it’s important for parents to be able
to prepare dinner with as little stress as possible and even get the kids
involved in the cooking.

A recent article in U.S. News and World Reports provides
some good tips for parents to make their families healthy meals. Some of the
tips include:

• Encourage your kids to get down and dirty in the
  cooking process. It’s exciting for them to eat food they prepared themselves.
  If you have several children, cook with each of them individually to impart
  cooking skills and knowledge about healthy eating.

• Have a family cook-off where each member is
  challenged to come up with something delicious and healthy using only a limited
  number of ingredients. Award prizes for the most creative, most colorful, and
  most interesting dishes.

It’s also important to teach your children how to cook safely.
According to the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA), unattended cooking was by far the leading cause of
cooking fires in 2005-2009.  Here are a few safety tips from AHAM’s
“Recipe for Safer Cooking?? brochure:

• Wear short of close-fitting sleeves. Loose
  clothing can catch fire.
• Clean cooking surfaces to prevent food and
  grease build-up.
• Slide a pan lid over flames to smother a grease
  or oil fire, then turn off the heat and leave the lid in place until the pan
  cools. Never carry the pan outside.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Make
  sure you have the right type and training.
• Keep a working smoke detector in your home and
  test it monthly.

To download a copy of the entire brochure, click here. If
you wish to order 250 or more copies of “Recipe for Safer Cooking?? or “Protect
Against Range Tipping,?? click here.  Nominal
shipping charges apply.