I cannot wrap my head around wasting that amount of food. I read the post and had to go read something else for a bit. My anxiety went through the roof. I also can't wrap my hear around thinking going into the kitchen like that and doing any of that would be ok. I just wasn't that sort of child so I don't relate to the child here. When I learned to cook and bake it was helping my gran or my mum would tell me to follow a recipe and set out ingredients and sometimes tools I needed then supervise, only intervening to save a screw up.

The answer of her own cupboard of food and all this experimentation just....screams privilege for me. I fully admit I can't see past the waste in it as a kid whose gran fed her more often than not and who grew up on microwaved pasta with tuna and mayo because the lecky is ticking down again. Then I ate it in the dark.

I don't think it is too late for LW here. Why not ask child what they want to make at the weekend? Commit to making it together. Couple that with explaining that things cost a lot of money so it is important to try and avoid mistakes, though they do happen, but cooking is still cool.

Why not pick a recipe off one of the shows and try make it together? I'd especially pick one LW knows they can't do perfect (idk, something that means they need to drizzle a sauce over at the end) and show small child that it takes practice to learn those skills but hey, a puddle of sauce still tastes the same.

Idk this one gives me Emotions.