Recently I attended a luncheon sponsored by Stop and Shop/Giant. It was at Sarabeth’s restaurant in New York City, where my husband and I had eaten brunch several times (and enjoyed her delicious homemade scones and jam). The decision to attend a delicious lunch in one of my favorite cities with the chef/owner of a restaurant I loved was a no-brainer (I posted details about the luncheon on my blog along with a picture of Amanda and me with Chef Sarabeth).
After the Stop and Shop executives talked with us, chef Sarabeth Levine chatted with us while she made us chocolate chip cookies. She wanted to encourage us to cook and bake. She wanted to remove the fear from baking. “It’s not hard, you just have to measure,” she told us.
She also wanted to make sure that we were inviting our children into the kitchen with us. She said that otherwise a whole generation will grow up not knowing how to cook.
Both of my children have been stirring brownies since they were old enough to sit on the kitchen counter. This summer, Amanda (who will be 10 next month) has prepared several meals for us. Throughout the process she beams with pride as her brow furrows in concentration.
I recently received a copy of Real Food for Healthy Kids: 200+ Easy, Wholesome Recipes. I handed it over to Amanda, thinking that I would get the opinion of my “real kid.” I told her to select some recipes that looked good, and she did.
This week she prepared two recipes from this cookbook — “Quick Chick Parm” and “Chicken Enchilada Casserole” — by herself from start to finish. They were both good, and I would make them again. I mean, I would have her make either of them again. It probably tasted better because I didn’t cook it, right?
This is not a children’s cookbook, but the recipes are designed to appeal to adults and children alike. I was impressed that Amanda saw the recipes as accessible, even though there are no pictures. The short ingredient list contributed to this, and she also liked the sidebar that lets the chef know how much prep time and cook time the recipe takes.
If this book lacks pictures, it excels in information. The two recipes my daughter selected came from the “What’s for Dinner” chapter. There are also chapters devoted to breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The sweet stuff is not neglected either. Sweet drinks (hot and cold) get a chapter, as do “divine desserts” and the cookie jar. The final two chapters are devoted to special groups: an introduction to food sensitivities featuring gluten-casein-soy-free recipes, and “first foods,” which features recipes for 6- to 36-month old children.
If you’d like to win one of 2 of these cookbooks, please leave a comment here. I’ll announce the winners on Wednesday, August 27.
Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan is a contributing editor at 5 Minutes for Mom. She has been blogging at Snapshot for over two years. You’ll almost always find her holding either a book, a fork, a child’s hand, her laptop, or some combination therein.
Read all of the other posts in this series on food for your family and grocery shopping featured on our sister sites today:
Save Money (and enter to win) at 5 Minutes for Mom
Save Money and the Earth at 5 Minutes for Going Green
Stay Sane at the Supermarket at 5 Minutes for Parenting
Shop with Special Diets in Mind at 5 Minutes for Special Needs
This cookbook sounds awesome! I am very impressed that your 10 yr. old used it to make dinner! Maybe it can help me.
My daughter is having such problems feeding my granddaughter. this looks great.
My children are pretty picky eaters. This book would be wonderful to help me feed them better. Thanks for the great giveaway!
Sounds so good – I have one kid that is a vegetarian and the other one is picky – I could use all the help I can get.
Great book! would love to win it!
i would love to win this cookbook-count me in
Nice prize. Count me in!
Wooo Hooo Make me a winner!
I could use this cookbook to get new recipe ideas for the kids.
wow
They love “working” in the kitchen and helping.
Looks like a good book
I can always use some more ideas for food!
With the school year beginning and my want of the kids to become more involved in the process of choosing meals and helping to make them, this would be right up our alley! Please include us in this drawing! Thank you!
Ooh! This sounds great!
This would be great. My daughter is a vegetarian and it’s hard for my other two kids to always have to eat veggie dogs, veggie burgers and salads. Not that there is anything wrong with those (I myself don’t eat meat) but I would love some new ideas with something we ALL can enjoy!!
That sounds like the COOLEST book. My kids are just entering the cooking age. They would love this.
This sounds great, My son loves to help me cook.
This is such a great contest. My 10 year old loves to cook and is learning a little bit more everyday. She would love to have her very own cookbook.
I could use new recipe ideas
What a fantastic cookbook, I would love to win this!!
I love cookbooks. My kids also enjoy helping me cook.
This cookbook sounds great. Thanks!
This book looks great. I would love for my kids to start helping me in the kitchen.
what a great cookbook this would be for the whole family
as school starts, this is a great idea!
enter me
please count grandpa in
I am a recipe junkie, especially healthy recipes. Please enter me!!
This definately sounds much better than “Mom, can I have an easy bake oven!!” I would love my kids to try out some recipes, I know they would be so proud of themselves!
i love cookbooks and this sounds like a fabulous, healthy addition
Looks great…I would love to trying cooking with my son! thanks, [email protected]
My daughter loves cooking, this would be great for her.
I love cooking with my granddaughter, this would give us new ideas.
I would love to try this book. Thanks!
the kids would love to help out
I love any and all cookbooks but I really love the ones devoted to kids.
This is a great book. Anything to encourage the picky eaters to try new foods.
it is so important to be cognizant of what we feed our families. it’s frightening if you know about how we process the vitamins out of our food
This looks great. I could definitely use some new ideas for healthy recipes.
My daughter would love this cookbook! She is always looking for good and healthy recipes to fix for her little one!
My daughter is really trying to give my grandkids healthy foods so this would be wonderful for her and them.
Thanks
I would love to have this. I try so hard to make sure my kids eat healthy. This would be so helpful.
My toddler doesn’t even like pasta unless it’s mixed in with something else.
I would like to get my kids to help me more in the kitchen.
My two kids are so picky and I’m always trying to find new healthy foods that they will eat. Thank you!
This sounds like a cookbook that I could really use. Thank you so much for the chance.
I would love a copy of this cookbook! Count me in!
This cookbook is a great idea, I’d love to have it!