Tech Tools for Family Holiday Cooking
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By The BridgingApps Team 
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Family Holiday Cooking
During the holiday season, families generally get to spend more time together, some travel to visit relatives, while others stay home and simply enjoy time off from school and work. Either way, it is a safe bet that there will be more food prepared (end enjoyed) than usual. How about getting our children, ALL of them, regardless of ability, involved in the preparation?
Including children in the food prep can have all kinds of benefits, such as encouraging them to explore and maybe even try out new foods, flavors, and (gasp!) even textures! Being involved in the prep could also give them a sense of ownership in the meal that might make them even more likely to want to try the dish. Following recipes is a great way to sneak in some reading and math skills and having the recipe read to your child via a device is good practice for listening/comprehension skills… “Now, what did they tell us to do?”, “How much did they say to use?” etc. Some apps have helpful video directions. Maybe your child helps by being in charge of playing the different parts of the video and helping to gather ingredients and supplies?
There are lots of ways that everyone can have a part in the fun. Check out these great recipe apps for your tablet or smartphone, a few fun apps that let children explore food preparation in an entertaining, virtual environment, and some helpful tablet stands to keep your tablet in sight and safe while using it in the kitchen.
RECIPE APPS
Mealime Meal Plans & Recipes
By Mealime Meal Plans Inc
Mealime is an app designed to help with meal planning and cooking. It has several features that make it a helpful meal preparation tool for people with disabilities. Mealime filters allow users to choose recipes that automatically take allergies, special dietary needs, etc. into account.
Price: FREE
Epicurious
By Conde Nast Digital Epicurious makes it easy to find
Epicurious makes it easy to find the world’s best recipes, incredible food videos, and cook delicious meals. The app includes weekly content to inspire you, along with videos of your favorite recipes. You can explore over 35,000 tested recipes from publishers like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, HarperCollins, and more, plus recipe reviews and ratings from home cooks.
Price: FREE
Having children enjoy the game-type apps such as Toca Kitchen Sushi can introduce the idea that cooking can be fun and adding different ingredients can make food taste sweeter or more savory. You can even use the games to teach kitchen rules… “They made a mess when they were chopping, what would we do after chopping veggies in our kitchen?”
Cake Doodle
By Shoe the Goose
Cake Doodle is an app for virtually baking and decorating a cake. The app can be used for free play and developing the skills of sequencing, following simple directions, classification, and attention.
Price: $0.99
Cooking Mama: Let’s Cook!
By Office Create Corp
Cooking Mama is a family-friendly cooking game enjoyed by users of all ages and abilities. Cook food by playing fun mini games. More than 30 kinds of recipes are waiting for you.
Price: FREE
Toca Boca Jr
By Piknik
Toca Kitchen 2 app is a fun way to explore food, cooking, and nutrition. Toca Boca apps are known for their engaging and interactive games that can be customized to fit the needs of all users. Toca Kitchen 2 is a sequel to the popular Toca Kitchen series. The app features three new characters, new ingredients, and new tools. Users choose foods from the left side of the screen and cooking utensils from the right side of the screen. At the bottom of the screen, the user is given seasonings to spice or add a citrus twist to foods. Toca Kitchen 2 can be used as a conversation starter for discussions about food groups, healthy choices, and ways to cook. After using the app, families can prepare items to show how the foods look in real life.
Price: FREE
If you do not have a case with a built-in stand, there are lots of tablet stands out there that will keep your tablet in position while you’re cooking. Below are a few examples, all with great reviews, ranging in price from around $6 to $35. We have also included an example of a simple adhesive screen protector that easily wipes clean (just in case those helping hands get your tablet a little sticky!) and protects your device’s screen from everyday scratches and bumps. These are sized to perfectly fit your tablet, so make sure to get the one made for your particular brand and model.
Tech Accessories for the holidays
Foldable desktop stand for devices 6-11”
Price $6.99
Adjustable stand for devices 4-10”
Price $13.99
Prepara iPrep Adjustable stand with stylus
Price $27.99
amFilm Glass Screen Protector (2 pack)
Price $9.99
Cristen Reat is co-founder of BridgingApps and a mother who found success when using a mobile device with her children who have special needs. Amy Barry is the Content Manager and Editor at BridgingApps and mother of five children. Amy Fuchs is the Program Coordinator at BridgingApps and a former special education teacher.
More Family Holiday Cooking
- GFCF Holiday Recipes and Hints on Eating Outside of the Home
- Fall Means Pumpkin GFCF Recipes to Enjoy this Cozy Autumn Season
- Recipes for the Holidays While on a Special Diet
- GFCF/Chemical Free Holiday Breakfast or Brunch
- Where to Purchase Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF) Foods and Some Favorite Brands
- Special Diets for a Variety of Disabilities & Disorders
- GFCF Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Holidays Require Candy
Cooking With Kids
- Cooking With Kids: Easy Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts)
- Cooking With Kids: Festive Holiday Pretzel Treats
- Grinch Popcorn Festive And Fun Perfect For The Holidays
- Cooking with Kids: Festive Pretzel Salad
- Cooking with Kids: Peanut & Apple Butter French Toast Bake
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- Surviving the Holidays
- 8 Tips to prepare your family members with special needs for the Holiday Season?
- Socialize Successfully: A Few Simple Tips to Help You During the Holiday Season
This post originally appeared on our November/December 2019 Magazine
