Someone’s in the kitchen and cooking!
I have been using Molly Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest Cookbook since I got married, some 21 years ago. Naturally I was delighted to be able to review her latest cookbook, Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Kids Who Love to Cook now in paperback. What a great name for a cookbook for kids, huh? And the cover is darling! Molly does her own cheerful illustrations, and I love them! She starts her book with two special messages: one to kids and one to the parents and then gets into basic cooking techniques and safety issues. How does a Giant Baked Pancake Puff sound for breakfast? Or a Grilled Cheese and Broccoli Sandwich for lunch? All the recipes you’ll find in here are vegetarian and are nutritious and delicious. Mysterious Dipping Sauce for Vegetables and Tofu caught my attention, as did Peanut Butter Do Dads and Purple Passion Power Shakes. Yum!
What makes this 178-page book perfect for kids to use is the fact that the author simplifies the cooking/baking process by breaking each recipe down into steps with basic illustrations. Before the recipes are listed, she also writes a beautiful introduction to the dish, explaining what the food is and why it tastes so good. Honest Pretzels is a beautiful cookbook that teaches kids the basics of cooking healthy vegetarian dishes and how to have fun while doing it. What a great gift for the child in your life.
Ready for more mouthwatering recipes?
The Junior League has published over 200 popular cookbooks since 1940. Their latest, In the Kitchen with Kids: Every Day Recipes & Activities for Healthy Living, is an essential cookbook that was published to not only get children interested in cooking, but to teach them all about healthy eating. I love the fact that, although cooking or baking these recipes requires adult assistance, this book was written for children.
Beautiful illustrations, easy to follow recipes and complete nutritional information ensure that this cookbook will not just sit on the shelf. The recipes look delicious, and are essentially foods that children love, prepared in creative, healthy and appealing ways. How do Never-Fail Banana Muffins or a Make-a-Meal Sunrise Smoothie sound for breakfast? What about a Bunny Salad or Gobble-Up Turkey Burgers for a power lunch? And Porcupine Meatballs or Meat Loaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato and Carrot Icing for Supper? There are some beautiful desserts too, like Strawberry Yogurt Pops and Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon-Sugar Crisps.
In the back of the book you’ll find a food pyramid and nutritional guidelines that teach children about healthy eating in a most easy to understand way. If kids can learn to cook their own delicious food from an early age, they’ll be more likely to make healthy choices for life. In the Kitchen with Kids is a perfect way to get them started.