edible reads
KIDS IN THE KITCHEN
Children’s cookbooks offer culinary coaching.
WRITTEN BY HEIDI BETHEL
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PUBLISHERS
Cooking for children can be tricky. You have to consider taste, texture, allergies, color, and the general “ewww” factor. Instead of playing the guessing game, why not spend a bit of time planning and preparing meals with your children? There are a slew of great cookbooks with recipes and ingredients geared toward pleasing those little palates. Here are a few of our faves:
A First Cookbook for Children by Evelyne Johnson
A great introduction to the adventures of cooking, A First Cookbook for Children starts with the basics, using ingredients and equipment that can be found in almost any kitchen. Children are taught how to plan a full meal using the recipes in this cookbook, including an oven-fried chicken dinner with carrot and raisin salad, biscuits, and chocolate cake; or a teen party with assorted crudités and dips, mini-pizzas, desserts, and homemade candies.
Little Cooks by Erin and Tatum Quon
This culinary guide presents a collection of easy-to-prepare dishes. With its Rise and Shine, Snacktime, Supper, and Sweets sections, families can plan their daily meals from one resource. According to the authors, “Kids won’t need much encouragement to eat a nutritious dinner when they help make the supper themselves. In a kid’s kitchen, pride of ownership can do more to inspire a big appetite than any amount of bargaining.”
One World Kids Cookbook: Easy, Healthy, and Affordable Family Meals by Sean Mendez
Full of child-friendly international recipes, One World Kids Cookbook features healthy dishes inspired by culinary classics from around the world. Each section is prefaced with educational blurbs about the dietary customs of individual countries, followed by recipe highlights and step-by-step photo instructions featuring children from the region preparing the dish. You’ll enjoy dishes such as fish parcel with damper bread from Australia, jollof rice from Ghana, and, macaroni pie with mixed salad from Trinidad and Tobago.
ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family by Sally Sampson and Carl Tremblay
The publisher of ChopChop compiled more than 100 family-favorite recipes in a hardcover print edition. Proceeds from the sales of this cookbook benefit ChopChopKids, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire and teach children to cook real food with their families. The fresh, wholesome recipes align with the publisher’s belief that cooking and eating together as a family are vital to resolving obesity and hunger.
My First Baking Book by Becky Johnson
Have a sweets eater in the family? This is the perfect cookbook for you. With general baking tips for children and 50 recipes for pint-sized bakers, the house will be stuffed with tasty treats. A few of the delectable creations include mud pies, queen of hearts’ tarts, polka-dot brownies, and cheesy twists.
A proud auntie of nine nieces and nephews, Heidi Bethel spends a fair amount of time cooking meals with the little ones in her life. Her 8-year-old niece, Shelby, has already honed her baking skills and is well on her way to achieving chef status.
