Cooking with the kids this Mother’s Day? Celebrity chef, Luke Hines shares how to avoid a dining disaster

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it is the time of year where kids decide to get creative in the kitchen and serve up breakfast in bed fit for a queen (or Mum). More important than ever this year, it is a wonderful way to introduce the kids to cooking and show them how easy it is to create a wholesome meal from home.

But kids and the kitchen usually mean only one thing – mess. To help ease the pressure and avoid a dining disaster, we spoke with The Healthy Chef, Luke Hines on his favourite ways to celebrate this Mother’s Day and ensure the kids can have fun in the kitchen, without leaving food all over the floor and walls.

Here are Luke Hines tips for cooking with kids – without all the stress and too much mess!

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Keep It Simple

The ability to keep it simple should never be overstated, particularly when it comes to cooking. While MasterChef might leave us wondering if we too should invest in a Hibachi grill, our meals do not need fancy appliances or hard-to-pronounce ingredients to impress.

Within Mediterranean culture, simplicity and authenticity has helped guide cooking for generations. To help share this philosophy, I’ve teamed up with Comvita for their live Wellness from Home sessions which focus on building healthy minds and bodies.

So, for this Mother’s Day brunch, take it back to basics with fresh ingredients that don’t require hours to make a tasty meal out of.

Focus on Whole Ingredients

As they take on the role of your temporary sous’ chef, it is an exciting time to start teaching your kids about wholefoods and the importance of good nutrition.

Try to base your meals around nutritious ingredients that are full of goodness, including leafy greens, like spinach, and fresh fruits like citrus and papaya, and try to add in tasty boosters like ginger and turmeric.

Not only will this make your creations taste great, but it will also ensure your delicious Mother’s Day meal is loaded with nutrients.

Don’t Forget Dessert

I’m of the opinion that a healthy lifestyle should always include dessert, and there’s even more of a reason on Mother’s Day for mum to treat herself.

To avoid that last-minute Sunday morning scramble, try to prepare the night before so you can enjoy quality time in the morning. If you’re needing inspiration, try these Snickers bites.

Mother’s Day is the time to celebrate Mum and champion her self-care. The Comvita Wellness From Home program is designed to help Australians to emerge from the ongoing situation more well than when it started. Check on their weekly sessions on Instagram.

Luke Hines is a trainer, best-selling author and clean-eating foodie. He is passionate about healthy cooking and was a finalist in the 2013 series of My Kitchen Rules.