Travel Without Leaving Home – International Recipes

Y’all I have a problem. I love to travel! I suffer from WANDERLUST! I would seriously love to sell my house with everything in it, pack a big suitcase, and travel full time with my family. Unfortunately we can’t pack it all up to explore new foods or destinations.  Since I can’t give in to my wanderlust and explore, we’ll have to do the next best thing. We’ll have to travel by taste and cook up delicious international recipes.

If you can’t pick up and go either, gather your family and experience the world from your home kitchen. We’ve got recipes ranging from Asian stir fry to North American barbecue to help you explore the world’s different flavors together.

This article contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

Cooking with Kids

Children learn by using all of their senses.  The kitchen is one of the best places for hands-on learning. It brings together ALL of their senses. When kids are involved with cooking a meal, they enjoy eating what they prepare.

Cooking is an essential life skill, but there is so much more to learn than just the skill of cooking. Children can study geography as they cook international recipes. Recently, I was reading Real Food for Healthy Kids by Tracey Seaman and Tanya Wenman Steel and I loved what they said about cooking and eating international recipes.

“Eating dishes from other countries enables learning about other cultures, foreign languages, and geography, and provides a culinary vocabulary.”  

Learn Geography Through Cooking

Cook up some learning fun with your family with these easy recipes. The recipes we’ve included below are easy enough for children of all ages to assist with. They are perfect for lunch or dinner and they can spark the desire to learn more about where food comes from.

Incorporate geography by:

• Reading stories from the region where the meal/recipe is from
  • Asia – The Story of Ping or Magic Treehouse: Day of the Dragon King
  • Africa – Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales
  • Europe – D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths or Paddington
• Learning more about where foods are grown or originated
  • Print a map and mark where foods are from
    • Look at product labels  and produce stickers

Recipes from Asia

Chicken Chow Mein – Rasa Malaysia

Chinese Creamy Corn Soup – All Recipes {by: William Anatooskin}

Cauliflower Fried “Rice” – Host the Toast

 Recipes from Africa

Ghanaian Groundnut {Peanut} Chicken Stew – Girl Cooks World

East African Mango & Cucumber Salad – The Wanderlust Kitchen

Coconut Oatmeal Pudding – All Done Monkey

Recipes from Australia

Smashed Avocado Chickpea Salad – Jenny Sugar, POPSUGAR Fitness

Anzac Bars – Best Recipes {by: Rahbear}

Pumpkin, leek & spinach quiche – Taste {by: Chrissy Freer}

Recipes from Europe

Samosas – Dear Kitchen 

Tomato Lunch Toasts – Food {by: WiGal}

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki – Recipe Tin Eats

Recipes from North America

BBQ Ribs and Baked Beans (Crock pot recipe) – Little Family Adventure

Zucchini Carrot Breakfast Muffins – Noshing with the Nolands

Vegetable Green Enchiladas – Little Family Adventure

Recipes from South America

Banana Licuado – Edamam

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread – Mel’s Kitchen

South American Avocado & Quinoa Salad – Organic Authority 

Learn more about the world around you with these international recipes. You and your family can enjoy the journey without ever having to leave home. You will discover new foods, new cultures, and so much more. Cooking with your kids provides an excellent opportunity to spend quality time together and have fun as a family. You may even discover a new food that even your pickest eater will enjoy. But you’ll never know until you try. So get out and explore the world with these delicious international recipes.

What continent will you start with?