If you are looking for easy recipes for kids – then I have just the thing for you!
It is called The Do It Myself Kids Cookbook by Laurie Goldrich Wolf – and it is fabulous.
I received a copy of this book from Downtown Bookworks to review – and an amazing thing happened. Before I could even flip through it – my seven year old daughter had it in her hands and was eagerly examining each and every page with great interest.
“What should I make first? Everything looks so tempting!” Tempting – really, her exact words.
I totally understand her excitement. The illustrations are gorgeous. The ingredients and the directions are laid out so simply – that it actually empowers kids. They feel like they can do this – create something delicious – all by themselves.
No Grown Ups, Please
This kids cookbook is billed as a
“… grownup-free cookbook. With 45 ‘nothing sharp, nothing hot’ totally fantastic recipes …”
There are a variety of recipes for sandwiches, snacks, salads, dressings, dips, desserts, and drinks.
All of the recipes require nothing sharper than a plastic knife, and are made with cold ingredients.
While there is no cooking involved – some recipes call for things like cold pasta, hard boiled eggs, and cooked boneless chicken breasts. Obviously, these ingredients will need to be prepared by mom or dad ahead of time. But this is a good way to make use of leftovers that are cluttering up the fridge.
The Directions
Each recipe is divided into three sections. Tools. Ingredients. and Directions.
The tools section is key.
It is actually a list of utensils that little cooks will need to prepare the recipe. Each item on the list is accompanied by an illustration of what that tool looks like.
Kids can pull the items together in a snap – and ask parents to help them find the items that they are not familiar with.
My daughter just loved finding all of the tools in the kitchen and gathering them on the counter.
Ingredients are presented in the same manner. And gathering these up is equally fun.
When it came time to actually prepare the recipe – my daughter banished me from the kitchen.
“I will ask you if I need any help.”
An Awesome Salad
So as my daughter cut, and mixed, and stirred – I sat and read a magazine. A rare indulgence.
And then I was treated to a delicious Chopped Salad with homemade Vinaigrette Dressing. Heaven.
I could get used to this.
What’s Next?
Already, my lovely little chef is pulling together a list of recipes that she plans to make this weekend. She will then create a shopping list for me – so we will have all of the ingredients on hand.
So – this cookbook filled with easy recipes for kids – is actually teaching her a few life lessons as well.
- cooking
- planning
- organizing
- and some more “advanced” topics like ingredient substitution and note taking (I have told her to create notations in the book about recipes that are family favorites, etc.)
You can’t go wrong with that!
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