For foodies like myself, you might get bored of making the same foods over and over again and want to look for some variety. You might want to look into smoking your meat; here's some reasons why.
Prepping breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for young ones is admittedly a drag. Kids are notoriously finicky eaters, and no matter what you do to make them more open to different flavors and textures, they’ll still give you a hard time. It’s also difficult to keep troubleshooting and thinking of new foods to keep them nutritionally sated while also appealing to them. And, as many other parents will tell you, finding clever ways of sneaking broccoli into their foods gets tired after a while.
So, what’s the utilitarian food that will keep your kids interested and satisfy their taste buds while also making sure that they get enough protein? Smoked meat! Yep, you read that right, and it’s not as crazy as it sounds. No, you don’t have to spend hours curing and somehow “smoking” your meat and setting off all the fire alarms. Nor does it mean that you perpetually stick your kids with just bologna or chicken fingers for convenience’s sake. There’s a way to treat them to something new, healthier, and exciting.
Here are a couple of reasons why you should look into the unfairly neglected culinary delights of cured meats.
Convenience
This might seem a bit controversial, but preparing smoked meats at home is easier than you would think. If you look into the top rated electric smokers, you will find that electric digital ones help you control temperatures and easily prepare your meat in no time. While many purists find the idea of using an electric smoker appalling, the fact remains that if you want a tasty piece of meat ready in no time at all for your kids to devour, then this is pretty much the only way to go. If you research a bit, you can find a great electric smoker that is easy to use, clean, is durable, affordable, and most importantly, good at maintaining the perfect temperature.
Bite-Sized Fun
There’s a reason why manufacturers pre-cut their frozen potato treats into smiley faces or dinosaurs. Kids like food they can easily hold in their hands and pop into their mouths. A slice of a homemade cured meat is pretty small, so they can load up on that with cubes of cheese while playing with their friends, reading, or doing homework. Cured meats can be doled out in the form of bite-sized treats full of important nutrients that will also keep kids sated and less likely to dip their hands in the cookie jar for a power boost.
Nutrition on the Go
Just to reiterate our point above, cured meat represents an excellent source of protein and other important vitamins to sustain your young ones for long periods – far more than the usual sugar-filled power bars they make for kids these days. Or fried food that will do them no good in the long run. Again, preparing a lunch box of crudités, cheddar cheese, and slices of cured meats are the perfect meal for your growing child.
A Teaching Tool
One thing that is easy to forget is that making cured meats is surprisingly fun, and there’s a real art form to it. Subtract all the hard labor that goes into making them “smoky” – especially once you get a good electric smoker – and the prelude is actually an enjoyable process that can be shared with the resident kid chef in your home. Cooking and baking is a great activity to do with your kids that teaches them a lot of important skills, and curing meat shouldn’t be excluded from that. Just remember to keep all surfaces clean and ask your child to wear plastic gloves to protect their sensitive skin from the spices or any health hazards associated with handling the meat.
Make Cooking Easier
Of course, cured meats are great on their own, or as part of sandwiches. But, did you also know that you can create a variety of dishes to feed the whole family using cured meats? They can add flavor to all kinds of foods. For example, you can top them over soup for a rich, smoky flavor, or crumble a few pieces on a salad, or – if you are watching your diet and want to give the famed Paleo plan a try – use them to make omelets.
So, while curing meat might initially sound like an odd thing to do at home, trust us in saying that it is one of the foods that will be fun and delicious for everyone to make and eat. It’s a great way to stretch the flavor economically while ensuring that your kids also enjoy what they’re eating.
So, what’s the utilitarian food that will keep your kids interested and satisfy their taste buds while also making sure that they get enough protein? Smoked meat! Yep, you read that right, and it’s not as crazy as it sounds. No, you don’t have to spend hours curing and somehow “smoking” your meat and setting off all the fire alarms. Nor does it mean that you perpetually stick your kids with just bologna or chicken fingers for convenience’s sake. There’s a way to treat them to something new, healthier, and exciting.
Here are a couple of reasons why you should look into the unfairly neglected culinary delights of cured meats.
Convenience
This might seem a bit controversial, but preparing smoked meats at home is easier than you would think. If you look into the top rated electric smokers, you will find that electric digital ones help you control temperatures and easily prepare your meat in no time. While many purists find the idea of using an electric smoker appalling, the fact remains that if you want a tasty piece of meat ready in no time at all for your kids to devour, then this is pretty much the only way to go. If you research a bit, you can find a great electric smoker that is easy to use, clean, is durable, affordable, and most importantly, good at maintaining the perfect temperature.
Bite-Sized Fun
There’s a reason why manufacturers pre-cut their frozen potato treats into smiley faces or dinosaurs. Kids like food they can easily hold in their hands and pop into their mouths. A slice of a homemade cured meat is pretty small, so they can load up on that with cubes of cheese while playing with their friends, reading, or doing homework. Cured meats can be doled out in the form of bite-sized treats full of important nutrients that will also keep kids sated and less likely to dip their hands in the cookie jar for a power boost.
Nutrition on the Go
Just to reiterate our point above, cured meat represents an excellent source of protein and other important vitamins to sustain your young ones for long periods – far more than the usual sugar-filled power bars they make for kids these days. Or fried food that will do them no good in the long run. Again, preparing a lunch box of crudités, cheddar cheese, and slices of cured meats are the perfect meal for your growing child.
A Teaching Tool
One thing that is easy to forget is that making cured meats is surprisingly fun, and there’s a real art form to it. Subtract all the hard labor that goes into making them “smoky” – especially once you get a good electric smoker – and the prelude is actually an enjoyable process that can be shared with the resident kid chef in your home. Cooking and baking is a great activity to do with your kids that teaches them a lot of important skills, and curing meat shouldn’t be excluded from that. Just remember to keep all surfaces clean and ask your child to wear plastic gloves to protect their sensitive skin from the spices or any health hazards associated with handling the meat.
Make Cooking Easier
Of course, cured meats are great on their own, or as part of sandwiches. But, did you also know that you can create a variety of dishes to feed the whole family using cured meats? They can add flavor to all kinds of foods. For example, you can top them over soup for a rich, smoky flavor, or crumble a few pieces on a salad, or – if you are watching your diet and want to give the famed Paleo plan a try – use them to make omelets.
So, while curing meat might initially sound like an odd thing to do at home, trust us in saying that it is one of the foods that will be fun and delicious for everyone to make and eat. It’s a great way to stretch the flavor economically while ensuring that your kids also enjoy what they’re eating.