Cookbooks for Kids
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Cookbooks for Kids
March 2011
My niece would like to be a vegetarian for many reasons, and
while her largely carnivorous parents are open to it, they
don't know where to start, so have told her that if she
learns to cook vegetarian, they'll eat it.
I would like to help by sending her a good accessible
vegetarian cookbook for kids that uses easy to find
ingredients--meaning ingredients that can be found in a
supermarket in Kansas (most of mine have too many recipes
for quinoa and amaranth). All-American flavors would be
helpful, since this is a family that favors burgers and
fries, mac 'n cheese.
thank you,
cbw
How about 'Honest Pretzels' by Mollie Katzen? I don't
remember how old your niece was, but it's a good
introductory cookbook for kids (complete with illustrations
and step-by-step instructions) for simple dishes that kids
can cook. And they all happen to be vegetarian dishes. My
9-yr-old likes it. Cooking Mama
While not strictly for kids per se, the Moosewood cookbooks
by Mollie Katzen (particularly the first 2 - The 'Moosewood
Cookbook' & the 'Enchanted Broccoli Forest') are terrific.
Great hand-written recipes with charming pen-&-ink drawings
- generally pretty accessible, yummy food, and a nice range
of different types of recipes, and different degrees of
complicatedness to prepare. Fun! I guess you could skim
through it and see if there are any ingredients that might
be hard to find there (tho I don't think so, at this point)
and mail that with the book (tamari sauce, possibly?? But
standard soy sauce will work, too.) I LOVED those books
when I first started dabbling in vegetarianism/cooking in my
early teens (and still do.) Note they are NOT vegan -
they're vegetarian, so many recipes do use eggs, cheese,
etc. Cheers!
Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything Vegetarian' isn't
specifically for kids, but it's a great reference for novice
cooks. The instructions are clear, the recipes aren't fussy,
and most of them use pretty straightforward ingredients.
Also, it's food for the whole family... I got it because a
couple of my kids were requesting healthy meals with more
veggies, and it's been a great resource. Bittman really does
explain 'how to cook everything' -- there's a recipe for
every veggie and grain you can think of, and lots of helpful
hints for the kitchen. Jennifer
March 2007
my 5 year old has announced he wants to be a vegetarian and i'm
trying to find things which have protein but not too much salt
and/or fat (ie not too much cheese!) for him--is there a cookbook
out there for things that he or we can make with/for him that
take the place of the lean meats and fish that he doesn't want to
eat anymore? more generally a recommendation for a kids'
cookbook that isn't only for super salty/sweet/rich things
kids like to eat but also things that are good for them?
thanks!
jc
I don't think you really need a cookbook, Albertsons.com has
lots of recipes, for cooking with kids and vegetarian, just sort
of mix and match ingredients between the two sections and invent
your own family favorites. My daughter and I eat vegetarian most
days, mainly because I am too lazy to deal with meat. We just
throw together whatever vegetables are on sale that week with a
grain/starch and have beans or eggs or nuts on the side.
-- no stress dinner
I didn't see your original post so I don't know how old your daughter
is, but if she's
8 and up, try Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen (who wrote Moosewood
Cookbook). If
she's younger, check out Pretend Soup, as well as Salad People. Have fun
cooking
together!
Happy Cooker
Jan 2004
I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a
cookbook(s) with good recipes for kids (can be a cookbook for
kids palates exclusively or not) that is vegetarian friendly (in
other words, some meat recipes are OK, but has to have lots of
veg recipes too). Its been awhile since I've last looked and
maybe there are some new ones out there. Thanks.
Hilary
Check out ''Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes - A Cookbook for
Preschoolers & Up'' By Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson. It's a
great book to have in your kitchen and makes a great gift. There
are step by step instructions in text and pictures.
Jeanne
A lot depends on whether your kids are adventorous eaters or not. We have
had consistently good luck with the Moosewood cookbooks, in particular
the Moosewood Cooks at Home. Recipes that seem as though the kids would
like, they generally do. My kids particularly love the potato-cheese soup, which
you can "lighten" quite a bit.
Another cookbook that is fun for cooking WITH your kids is Honest Pretzel,
which is a cookbook for 8-12-ish age kids. It's vegi, the recipes are totally
kid friendly, and the recipes are not difficult.
A surprisingly fun hit in our house was popovers.
Good Luck.
The Whole Foods Cookbook has a chapter on kids' food, that has
been surprisingly well-received by my kids. It has a recipe for
home-made chicken ''nuggets'' with dipping sauces. All the things I
have made from this cookbook have been very tasty.
eve
I missed the original post, but you may like Whole Foods for
the Whole Family, by La Leche League. They also have Whole
Foods from the Whole World. Don't worry, none of the recipes
contain breastmilk!!! ;)
hope this helps
Dec 2003
I'm looking for recommendations for a good beginning
cookbook for a nine-year-old. She's very interested in
cooking but hasn't got much experience. She's also very
''crafty'' so would like something challenging but not too
advanced (does that make sense?). A good, well-written
and interesting cookbook would be great for her.
vs
Our now ten-year-old daughter was has used the the Better Homes
and Gardens ''New Junior Cookbook'' for a couple of years now,
and it remains her favorite. It's well organized, recipes
require relatively few ingredients, the instructions are clear
and the needed utensils are listed for each recipe; our chef
now makes almost everything in it on her own and it's taught
her some very useful fundamentals. She's moved on to more
complicated books, but this was a great beginning the one she
still turns to when she just wants to have some fun in the
kitchen. I'm always on the prowl for good cook books for her,
and this one is easy to find in stores and hard to beat for
ease and quality of recipes.
Deborah
One thing I discovered with kids cookbooks is the emphasis on
sugar laden recipes (and graphics) that do little to teach basic
cooking skills. Luckily, good cookbooks are out there and the
books below are favorites with kids I know.
Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen offers breakfast, lunch, dinner,
and snack recipes presented as step by step colorful
illustrations. Sometimes the directions are a bit lacking but
the illustrations seem to really engage kids and get them into
the idea of cooking.
Cooking with Children by Marion Cunningham is an excellent
introduction to cooking. The recipes are standard: cooking with
eggs, biscuits, vegetable soup, and the like. But her directions
are detailed; she offers suggestions on how to chop a carrot as
opposed to simply listing chopped carrots in one recipe and she
offers nice sidebars such as ''Learning to Use Your Stove''. This
book also has simple illustrations.
Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters starts with stories and
illustrations about life in the restaurant business. It then
goes on to offer recipes that are unusual for a kids cookbook.
These recipes teach simple yet versatile skills such as roasting
red peppers or preparing gremolata. Our family particularly
likes the pizza recipe!
Kristin
Take a look at ''Honest Pretzels'' by Mollie Katzen (of Moosewood
Fame). The recipes are illustrated and divided into very clear
steps and the results taste good, too.
Lauren
''Fanny at Chez Panisse'' is a great kids cookbook with simple,
easy recipes and great illustrations.
Rebecca Harrach
I love the book Elliot's Extraordinary Cookbook by Christina
Bjork and Lena Anderson. It's by the same authors who wrote the
Linnea books. This book not only has some fun kid friendly but
substantial recipes, it's also story about Elliot, talks about
food science (how cows ''make'' milk from grass), the history of
foods (the potato), nutrition and the digestive anatomy, etc...
It even has some food art history, food politics, and at least
one arts and crafts project thrown in. And all of this is
presented in a fun way that is accessible to the young reader. I
hope you take a look at it.
An Elliot (and Linnea) Fan
Two thoughts; I just bought three cookbooks for my husband, who
is a beginning cook (and that's putting it nicely...). They are
all ''easy'' and yummy, but they are all vegetarian. Student's
Vegetarian Cookbook (Raymond), Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
(Lemlin) and Better than Peanut Butter and Jelly (Muldawer and
Mattare). They have a broad variety of recipes and I think
would all be great. The other thought is to buy a classic
Pillsbury cookbook. I don't know if they sell them anymore, but
as a kid, I learned to cook from them. Easy easy recipes with
easy ingredients and lots of instruction (they were made for
housewives, I believe, who were not necessarily at the cutting
edge of culinary endeavors). I still use my Pillsbury cookbook
to make pies -- best recipes around.
Great you are teaching your kids to cook!!
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