5 Minutes For Books

Kids in the Kitchen

by

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

Comments

  2. This sounds great. It’s be nice to broaden the dinner spectrum to something that my daughter won’t grips about that the rest of us aren’t sick to death of eating.

  3. Great book, I’m always looking for new recipes and ideas of kid friendly yet healthy foods and my daughter loves to help me cook!

  6. My kids are ready to learn how to cook, we already decorated personalized aprons and now just need recipes that are easy and kid friendly. Thank you for the contest.

  8. Sounds like a great cookbook. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!
    mommyof3inva(at)yahoo(dot)com

  15. I’m sure each of us would like to have healthier meals and snacks for our children. It was great to hear that a ten-year-old found something she wanted to try to cook in this books as well. While my children are younger, I hope they will eventually want to make delicious/healthy meals as well! Thanks for a really great giveaway!

  18. My kids always try what they help make, so I want this book and we will follow a recipe and at least they will try each one we make, its a start.

  23. These sound like GREAT cookbooks! I could really use these to help rev up our dinners! THANKS!

  25. My two oldest kids are becoming more interested in cooking, so this would be great for us! Thanks for the chance to win!

  28. I would love a copy of this cookbook! I am trying to teach my daughter how important it is to eat healthy!

  30. Absolutely fantastic! This would be used all the time by my little chef in the making.

  32. This would be so great for my four-year-old. Maybe it would help us get her to eat something!!!!

  37. I really would like this. My daughter loves to cook and I am trying to get her to eat better.

  38. I would love to win one of these cookbooks. I would love some new, healthy recipes to feed my kids. It’s so hard to get them to eat sometimes. I think this book would come in handy for us. Thanks for the giveaway!!

  43. My 7 year old loves to cook and this book
    would be a great help we need all the healthy
    ways to eat and cook that we can get.

  44. WOW! This is just what I need. My son won’t ever eat ANYTHING! He loves to cook and is my little chef. If only he would help cook and EAT TOO!. please pick me so my 4 year old son will eat!

  48. Since I’m not such a great cook myself, I’d love to win this and be able to prepare meals for my family with my daughter.

  50. Proper eating habits that start in childhood will carry on through adulthood. This could help me in the quest to make sure my child is eating right.

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