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If you are ready to turn over kitchen duty to the next generation, you’ll want to get the kids learning the tricks of the trade from an early age. These play kitchens for kids have all the pots, pans, cooktops and sinks to get the imaginations going. From personalized sets to those that are integrated with your Amazon Alexa, these play kitchens are sure to inspire the kids to whip up a feast!

Dusty Green Play Kitchen with Oven

Etsy

We are totally enamored by this handcrafted play kitchen with oven, cupboard, cooktop, sink, water tap and drawer. You little one will want to bake a cake in thanks for this gift and you'll love that the dusty green color blends in with your aesthetic. The seller can also customize a kitchen to your specifications and offers other colors like dusty pink and natural wood. 

Get yours here, $427. 

Natural Wood Play Kitchen

ChildUniverse via Etsy

This small, natural wood play kitchen will become a playroom favorite, we know it! Sink, oven and water tap will bring hours of pretend play for your little one. 

Get it here, $349. 

KidKraft Amazon Alexa-Enabled 2-in-1 Kitchen & Market

Amazon

Talk about getting a bang for your buck! This two-sided play kitchen is full of pretend play opportunities and it can also be integrated with Alexa. Kids can first take a trip to the market where they can shop and purchase a variety of items using the interactive scanner and register. Head right home to the kitchen (on the reverse side of the store) to put away your recent purchases and begin cooking using the RFID stovetop and cutting board! With two-sided 360° play, and realistic kitchen and market sounds, the fun is magical, inspirational and unlike anything seen before.

Get yours here, $257. 

Step2 Fun with Friends Kitchen Set

Wayfair

This kitchen features an upscale design to match today's home décor. With so many accessories and electronic features, multiple children can play together in this play kitchen set. Use the coffee pods to brew up a cup for mom and then pop some popcorn in the microwave. This kitchen comes with tons of accessories so your pretend play is ready to go. 

Get yours here, $114.50. 

Milton & Goose Essential Play Kitchen

Milton & Goose

Whether your little one is whipping up an original recipe or taking first place in an imaginary cooking competition, the Essential Play Kitchen is the perfect canvas for imaginative play. A beautifully solid piece to be enjoyed day after day, this little play kitchen is as gorgeous as it is safe—expertly crafted by Amish artisans in the US. Available in white, gray and natural. 

Get yours here, $649. 

KidKraft Uptown White Play Kitchen

Amazon

Time to cook up a little fun! The KidKraft Uptown White Play Kitchen has a hip, modern look that young chefs are sure to love. With tile-look backsplash and sleek countertops, the design is emulated from trendy real-life kitchens. Every appliance is interactive, including doors that open and close, knobs that turn and click and a working chalkboard on the freezer door. Kids will love taking calls on the cordless play phone that attaches to the side of the refrigerator. Keep all accessories neat and handy with the pegs for hanging utensils and the side towel rack.

Get yours here, $99. 

Play Kitchen That Doubles as a Mud Kitchen

Etsy

If your little one really wants to get down and dirty with their play kitchen, this is the one for you. It's very reasonably priced and sturdy enough to hold up to the elements as a backyard mud kitchen if you prefer. Parents find the assembly to be super quick and kids will love adding the day's menu to the chalkboard. 

Get yours here, $174. 

Wooden Kitchen

Etsy

This cutie pie play kitchen comes with cooktop, oven and warming drawer. It is handmade in whatever color you'd like. Add on the wooden washing machine and get the kids doing their own laundry as well. 

Get yours here, $117. 

 

KidKraft Garden Gourmet Play Kitchen

Walmart

From farm to plate, food is celebrated with the KidKraft Garden Gourmet Play Kitchen. Upscale elements, like the marble-esque countertops and wooden butcher-block style island, are showcased in a down-to-earth set-up that's reminiscent of today's farmhouse chic movement. Kids will love working with the "pickable" veggies and herbs and chopping them to add to the most creative meal they can make up. Knobs that really turn and click and an ice maker with pretend ice cubes make the cooking experience more real. A recycling bin helps enforce the importance of helping out the environment.

Get yours here, $226. 

Decals to Upgrade Your IKEA Play Kitchen

Etsy

The IKEA Duktig is a solid choice for a play kitchen as it comes in at only $89. If the style is a little too bare bones for you, head on over to this Etsy listing where you can purchase some cute woodland creatures decals that will totally upgrade your play kitchen. Don't forget some felt French bread and wooden dishes to go along with it. 

Get your decals here, $67.50. 

—Kate Loweth

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We love a good ALDI shopping sesh as much as anyone, and September will be no different. With autumn around the corner, the grocery is stocking up big on treats, seasonal items and must have fall foliage. We’ve rounded up our must-have items that hit ALDI stores starting Sept. 1, so keep scrolling to see them all.

Emporium Selection Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Cheese

Available 9/1 for $2.99

Appetitos Pepper Jack Filled Pretzel Bites

Available 9/1 for $2.29

Coffee Plant

Available 9/8 for $5.99

Bake Shop Pumpkin Cake Roll

Available 9/10 for $4.29

Huntington Home Fall Reversible Wall Sign

Available 9/22 for $9.99

Crofton Harvest Chopping Block

Available 9/22 for $14.99

Benton’s Pumpkin Faced Sandwich Creme Cookies

Available 9/29 for $1.99

––Karly Wood

All photos: Courtesy of ALDI

 

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Give baby nutritious meals to meet her growth and development without any chopping, steaming or pureeing on your part. Gerber makes it easy. Their brand-new subscription service ships stage-based foods, carefully selected based on your baby’s developmental age, straight to your door. Simply set it and forget it—you’ll love the convenience and baby will devour the delicious food. Read on to find out more.

How it works:
Fill out Gerber’s uber quick form (we’re talking 5 easy fields to fill out) where you specify baby’s age, name and your contact info. Gerber will then provide you with your subscription box, outlining all the goodies that will arrive on your doorstep.

The goods:
Gerber’s organic box is carefully curated to fit baby’s developmental stage and it also includes educational and nutritional content, such as guided menus, hunger and fullness cues, recipes, and ingredient source content to help parents feel like feeding pros.

Our box included for our 9-month-old baby included an assortment of veggie/fruit grab-and-go pouches, glass jar containers, oatmeal, yogurt melts and puffs. Gerber nailed the picks as our baby is just beginning to eat a larger variety of food and flavors, and enjoys feeding himself and working on his hand-eye coordination.

The price:
The organic boxes start at $69.99 per box/month or just under $2 per serving.

Online: gerber.com/subscription-boxes

—Erin Lem

photos: Gerber

 

 

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Adult coloring books are a great stress reliever.  A fantasy-filled coloring book featuring Jason Momoa has  fans excited to get their hands on it since they can’t get their hands on his actual biceps. Crush and Color: Jason Momoa A Coloring Book of Fantasies With an Epic Dreamboat, featuring more than 35 “Momoa moments” for your enjoyment is now available on Amazon.

The book’s illustrations depict Momoa swimming with sharks, taking a bath, lounging on the bed, cooking a steak, walking his dogs, riding a horse, chopping down a tree, surfing, mowing the lawn and more.

Jason Momoa Coloring Book

According to the book’s description, “Escape to your very own rugged utopia with your favorite star! Crush and Color: Jason Momoa is a collection of daydreams come to life on incredible coloring pages. Immerse yourself in more than 35 completely unique, life-like drawings of the rugged dreamboat in the zone and on top of the world. Let him take the helm on a sunset sail, witness impressive physical strength as he scales a colossal cliffside, and take in the serenity of quieter moments through colorable works of art. Caught on every page is Jason’s breezy charm and irresistible vigor ready for coloring detail. Color your way to a dreamier day with enamoring reveries and stirring displays of masculinity on each page!”

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Featured photo: Amazon

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Truth: Big time memories that stick around for a lifetime are made when littles spend time in the kitchen. Kids love getting in there and learning the tricks of the trade — it’s like one big science experiment for them. Why not arm them with skills that’ll take their helper skills to the next level during this quality family time? Read on for our picks for classes that help kids build confidence and learn to just roll with it in the kitchen.

photo: The Kids’ Table

The Kids’ Table
Parents can sign kids up for weekly classes, each exploring new tastes and techniques that involve the season’s favorite ingredients. From the Babies Can Cook series starting at 18 months to the Teens Can Cook programming that takes them to age 14, kids will start with gaining an appreciation for good food by first smelling, touching and tasting as babies and walk out as pre-adults who have the confidence to work independently in the kitchen.

The whole gang can get in on the meal-time action with Family Dinners. Your crew will have hands-fun learning a new recipe and sitting down to enjoy a delicious and meal created together.

Good to know: Everyone deserves a night out every once in a while, especially the munchkins! Kids Nite Out gives parents a little free time in the no-kid zone while the instructors at The Kids’ Table help your little ones make dinner and enjoy a post-food-coma activity like food-themed crafts, games or a movie. Kids have a day off school? Sign them up for a Day-Off Camp and they’ll stay busy cooking, eating and playing from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

2337 W. North Ave., Wicker Park & 2864 N. Lincoln Ave., Lakeview. Online: kids-table.com

photo: Oui Chef

Oui Chef Chicago
Oui Chef’s owner, Laura Ragano, got her start teaching Pastry Chef wannabes at The French Pastry School in Chicago. She figured out a way to marry her professional life with her parenting life by creating a business that focuses on arming kids, ages 18 months to 18 years, with real culinary skills. Classes are broken into 2 groupings, one for 18 mos.-4 years and the other for ages 5 & up. The classes for the littlest chefs focus on teaching adults helpful methods to get kids interested in cooking time and teaching students about food and food preparation. Older kids participate in a 75-minute weekly class with a core topic that rotates every 10-15 weeks. For example, in the Tools of the Trade series, a specific tool will be demonstrated and a delicious recipe will be prepared. The goal is to teach proper use of kitchen equipment that will result in a better final product and a safer cooking environment . . . skills they can take into adulthood.

For those who can’t make recurring classes work in their schedule, there are one-off opportunities for ages 2-5 on Wednesdays (10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m.). These one-hour classes explore various culinary preparations and skills that span from the sweet to the savory.

Good to know: Kids ages 5 and under participating in a class must be accompanied by an adult. Although they can’t guarantee that the ingredients used are prepared in nut-free facilities, Oui Chef is a nut-free environment and their core curriculum is also meat-free to ensure they are as inclusive as possible.

2622 N. Halsted St., Lincoln Park. Online: ouichefchicago.com

photo: Sur la Table, credit Josh Grenier via Flickr

Sur la Table
While Sur la Table definitely focuses on classes for the grownups, they give kids a fair shake at opportunities to wash-up and dig into the culinary scene.

Good to know: Whenever a big holiday rolls around, be sure to check their online calendar for classes. They’re almost always hosting something special for the kids that coordinates with the day, like cupcake making or gingerbread building.

Locations in Naperville, Old Orchard Mall, Northbrook Court & 900 N. Michigan. Online: surlatable.com

Chopping Block
Class details: This is another one that caters to the adults, but sneaks in a class or two for the littles every now and again. Surrounding holidays they offer themed activities, as well as summer camps to combat boredom.  Be sure to check their calendar for opportunities.

Good to know: Looking for a unique birthday party idea? Search no more! The Chopping Block will host your 2- to 2.5-hour gig for kids ages 6 to 16. During that block of time, your group will make a meal together while learning about ingredients, kitchen safety and organization.

The Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. 107, River North & 4747 N. Lincoln, Lincoln Square. Online: thechoppingblock.com

— Maria Chambers

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My kids go to a school where there is no cafeteria, so we have to pack lunches. Every. Single. Day. And while my husband is in charge of school day breakfasts, I still have the task of overseeing school lunches. As someone who thinks about feeding families for a living you it would be expected that this wouldn’t bother me so much, but packing lunches is a job I find to be extremely tedious.

Last year, when they were in 2nd and 4th grades, I decided that it was time for the boys to start packing their own lunches. There were definitely days when it didn’t go as planned, days when I threw up my hands and just packed the lunches because otherwise the boys never would have left on time, but for much of the year, they successfully pulled their own lunches together every day. And it was awesome.

Now that we have done it for a year in my house, I wanted to share the lessons that I have learned and thoughts on what I will do differently this year.

#1. Be clear on expectations, then step back.

Before the school year started, we reviewed what makes up a healthy lunch: one main, one fruit, one vegetable, one optional extra, and water. Time after time, I would notice them referencing the sheet I posted on our pantry door as they made their choices. For the most part, they did a tremendous job sticking to the guidelines.

Part way through the year, though, I noticed an occasional reluctance to add a vegetable. I reminded, cajoled, and generally got pretty nag-y about it. Surprise, surprise I made no headway with that approach. So instead we talked about it. I learned that they had grown sick of many of their favorites because they had chosen them over and over again. So we decided that we would generate a list of vegetables they would be open to having in their lunches and would work to do a better job of rotating through them. We also agreed that the first choice was to include a vegetable, but that when there wasn’t a vegetable option that appealed to them, they could have two fruits instead.

This year I will work to have a variety of pre-approved vegetables on hand, so that they don’t go onto a food jag and get sick of a go-to, and will also be more flexible with the fruit.

#2. Pre-prep for easy grabbing.

At the beginning of the year I was gung-ho about pre-chopping veggie sticks and keeping the freezer stocked with quick main dish options such as muffins (to go with cheeses or another protein), English muffin pizzas, and baked chimichangas. As the year went on, though, I started to slip and the supplies weren’t as readily available. This meant that then there’d be a morning scramble to get lunches pulled together and I’d end up in the kitchen chopping up carrots, which then would somehow turn into my packing the whole lunch.

This year, I am going to be more disciplined about stocking up the fridge and freezer each weekend so that we don’t fall back into that pattern.

#3. Leftovers are key.

My eldest is not a big sandwich fan so for years, we have struggled to find good lunch box foods for him. Quesadillas are a staple, as are bread and cheese platters. But this past year we also started doing a lot more leftovers. Some he’d heat up and put in a thermos and others he’d happily eat at room temperature.

This year, I will work to take advantage of this further. I plan to double recipes that I know he’ll want leftovers of when I cook dinner so that there is enough for lunch the next day.

#4. Teach them about leaks.

After a few leakage incidents involving yogurt, I had to make sure to teach my youngest which containers could hold liquids and which might leak. After that, the lunch boxes came home much cleaner, but despite our best efforts there were some further leaking incidents and I am still traumatized by the disgusting mess that was his lunch box.

So this year I am planning on stocking up on more leak-proof containers.

On top of the excitement and gratification I felt when I saw them packing their own lunches, there were two other unexpected benefits that I observed that I think are important to highlight. 1). The lunches came back more completely eaten. I think this was because they felt more ownership (and excitement) about what was in their lunches and because they know their stomachs better and actually packed less than I did. 2). By packing their lunches and repeatedly referring to our healthy lunch cheat sheet, they learned more about eating a balanced meal.

I’m not going to lie, by setting up our lunch packing system like this does not mean I am not completely free of the burden of school lunches. At times it can still feel like a lot of think about. But the benefits are real. They are becoming increasingly independent when it comes to lunch packing, they are learning lessons about healthy eating, and my mornings are a little less miserable. And that makes it 100% worth it.

Jessica Braider is a mother of two playful boys. As the CEO of The Scramble, an online meal planning service committed to helping busy families get easy, and delicious meals on the table, she fulfills her passion for food and her love for working with parents to build happy families.

The European Union has officially said “Bye, Felicia!” to plastic straws, voting to implement a single-use plastic ban—and glitter could be next on the chopping block.

In a nearly unanimous decision, the European Parliament recently voted for the ban on plastic straws and other single-use plastics, such as plastic cutlery, stirrers, plastic plates and balloon sticks. E.U. Countries have until 2021 to comply with the new standards. The ban also requires countries in the European Union to ensure that 25 percent of the content used to make plastic bottles must be recycled by 2025.

photo: Alexis_Fotos via Pixabay

Other plastic items that won’t be banned—such as the packaging for wet wipes—must include a label warning consumers that the product contains plastic that can be harmful to the environment.

Environmental advocates are pushing for the ban to extend to other items including glitter, as most glitter is made with plastic. Scientists support this move by noting that glitter is a microplastic that not only ends up being ingested by marine animals, but it can in turn be consumed by humans eating seafood.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Amber Lamoreaux via Pexels

 

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We’re generally pretty good about keeping things tidy, but it’s the actually cleaning part of cleaning that does me in.

I’m all for saving the planet and being eco-responsible, but I haven’t quite taken the step toward making my own detergent and line drying my clothes yet. I did, however, purchase a set of six wool laundry dryer balls for 8 bucks, and immediately saw the benefits of doing away with single use dryer sheets.

Yes, I’m still hoping to save the planet, but the immediate benefit that was revealed to me was: my tween daughter suddenly ran to the dryer every time she heard it ding. Just like that, she was doing the chore on her own without being asked to do it.

Why, you ask? Because her humor still revolves around boobs and farts (so does my husband’s, now that I think of it) and those wool dryer balls became affectionately known as “booby balls” in our household. She does the same thing every time: 1) Pulls all the clothes out of the dryer. 2) Starts the scavenger hunt for the six balls. 3) Proceeds to stuff them into shirt. 4) Prances around laughing like a maniac. 5) Repeats with the next load.

So, any misogyny aside, we found the trick to making a boring chore fun. What else could we do?

In the kitchen, we bought matching $5 chefs hats, and we address each other as “chef” and “sous chef” while cooking. I also bought a pair of $9 kid-size cut-resistant gloves so my daughter could do her chopping with confidence.

For gardening, we bought a few pairs of cute kids’ gloves and gathered a basket of small tools from second hand stores. You can also find small versions of rakes and spades, often in bright colors.

Repairs around the house? Nearly every hand tool comes in a small, mini, or stubby version. You can put together a real toolkit with extras you have around the house or from secondhand stores, or buy a 32-piece set for $25.

And finally, we picked up a used sewing basket and I tossed in a few spools of thread and various sewing supplies. Now when we sit down to do a quick mending project, my daughter practices on scrap pieces of fabric.

So move over, Marie Kondo—Mary Poppins has it goin’ on over on Cherry Tree Lane: “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap! The job’s a game.”

Maggie and her family roost in the Pacific Northwest and share their travels, homeschool field trips, curriculum ideas and lifest‌yle tips from a city-based homestead. Maggie is a cooking enthusiast and avid student of history and science. She's also mother to an "old soul" tween daughter.