5 basic dishes to teach your kids

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Practical cooking knowledge is a great gift to give your teens — especially if you want them to be able to look after themselves when they leave home. Many teens develop an interest in nutrition and a desire to learn to cook. Foster it if it happens!

Teach these 5 basic dishes to them and they’ll always be able to feed themselves:

1 Scrambled eggs/omelette

Eggs are a perfect meal in a hurry, and a scramble or omelette is a fantastic quick and healthy meal.

Try our recipe: Ham and tomato soufflé omelette

2 Stir-fry

Some vegetables, some protein and a pan: it’s all you need for an easy meal. Master this and you have an almost infinite array of dinner solutions at your fingertips.

Try our recipe: Prawn laksa stir-fry

3 Tray bake

Letting the oven do the work is smart and a tray bake is a great way to enjoy a meal that includes lots of healthy vegies. Again, it can include almost anything.

Try our recipe: Cheesy roast pumpkin ‘nachos’

4 Salad

Done right, salads are a full meal, not just a pile of leaves. Knowing how to make a good dressing and the ideal components to make a salad satisfying will set you up for a lifetime of lunches.

Try our recipe: Fish sushi bowl

5 Soup

Soup is a warming vehicle for lots of goodness, from beans to broccoli. Learning a couple of basic techniques — a broth-based soup and a pureed version — means you always have something to do with whatever’s in the fridge.

Try our recipe: Chilli pumpkin and coconut soup with bread crisps