Food for Families

I love cookbooks and I always have.

I probably own more than any one person needs.

So, in light of this love of mine, I thought I’d round up some of my favorite kid’s cookbooks I’ve read lately.

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Best for the Youngest Chefs

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up by Molly Katzen and Ann Henderson. Katzen is the author of the Moosewood Cookbook and she brings the same healthy recipes to kids. This cookbook is designed to help your child be the head chef and you, the parent, her sous chef. The recipes are all designed as snacks and are made from fresh, wholesome ingredients. Some examples are: Bagel Faces, Zucchini Moons, and Chocolate-Banana Shakes. Each recipe appears twice, once in the conventional form for the adult helpers and also in a pictorial format for the kids to follow. It empowers kids and helps them feel comfortable in the kitchen and is perfect for preschool-aged kids.

 

Best for the Older Chefs

Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book  This is the updated version of my first cookbook. You’ll find recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between with such fun names as Brainiac Blueberry Parfaits, Jurassic Juice, and Wheels-on-the-Bus Pasta Salad. Each recipe is pictured which makes it easy for your young cook to pick their favorite recipe. The recipes are simple (despite the fun names) and are full of good-for-you ingredients. It’s a perfect first cookbook for your elementary-aged kids.

 

 

 

Tour the United States Through Food

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States by Joan D’Amico and Karen Eich Drummond. I love this cookbook for its concept; you can cook your way through all 50 states. The book is divided regionally from New England to the Pacific States. Each state is introduced with facts, a brief history, a list of food products that are produced there, and a reason why each recipe was selected. You can make Key Lime Pie from Florida, Swedish Meatballs from Minnesota, or Taco Soup from New Mexico. This is a fun addition to a geography curriculum or just a great way to learn about the United States.

 

 

Explore the World Through Food

The Kids’ Multicultural Cookbook by Deanna F. Cook Travel to 41 different countries around the world through such recipes as Chicken Curry from India, Apfelpfannekuchen (Apple Pancakes) from Germany, and Peanut Butter Soup from Ghana. This book is also peppered with facts, stories about real kids from around the world, and simple cultural activities. It also includes fun party ideas such as an Around the World Ice Cream Sundae party with suggestions for toppings from 26 different countries, or an International Cook-Out with ideas for foods and games from around the world. This is a fun cookbook to use to introduce your kids to many different countries.

 

 

Learn About Math in the Kitchen

The Math Chef: Over 60 Math Activities and Recipes for Kids by Joan D’Amico and Karen Eich Drummond We all know that cooking is a great way to reinforce math concepts, but this cookbook takes it one step further. Each chapter begins by introducing a math concept, then follows with math activities involving cooking and yummy recipes. Learn about math concepts such as measuring, fractions, geometry and more. Answer such questions as “How much does a handful of fettuccine weigh?” by making Fantastic Fettuccine or “What’s the diameter of a cupcake?” by making Nutty Carrot-Top Cupcakes. The recipes are healthy and use easy-to-find ingredients. This is a fun book to help reinforce math concepts at home. No worksheets required!

 

What is your favorite cookbook for kids?

Our daily snacks are usually quite simple: fruit, apple sauce, cheese sticks, or crackers.

I had been trying to come up with a few more interesting choices when the thought occurred to me that I could let the girls make their own snacks with a DIY Trail Mix Bar.

Trail mix can be quite yummy and is a perfect snack choice. It’s healthy, fun to make, and fun to eat.

But this time, instead of making it myself, I let each girl control the ingredients in her trail mix.

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I purchased dried fruit and cereal that I knew the girls would love.

We used golden raisins, raisins, dried pineapple, mini chocolate chips, coconut, and Cheerios.

You can add whatever your kids would enjoy.

Trail Mix Ingredients

Raisins
Golden Raisins
Dried Pineapple
Dried Cranberries
Dried Papaya
Banana Chips
Coconut
Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
Nuts
Cheerios
Any dried cereal
Mini chocolate chips
Mini M&M’s
Granola
Pretzels

Select 5 to 6 ingredients that you know your child enjoys.

Place each in a separate bowl with a spoon.

Give each child a separate storage container and let them mix up their own custom trail mix.

My girls love having control of their own snack and they mixed up enough to enjoy for several days.

I know this is not going to be a one-time only activity for us.

It was easy to put together and their girls had fun.

Plus, they’re not going to complain at snack time when they’re presented with their own kid-made snack!

Do you have any other ideas for trail mix ingredients? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list!

We’ve been a bit addicted to ice pops this summer.

We’ve tried recipes from magazines, cook books, and Pinterest.

We discovered what we liked and what we didn’t like.

Then we started making our own concoctions.

These Raspberry White Chocolate Ice Pops are one of our recent creations. They are easy to make, drip free, and are very yummy.

This is the perfect recipe for your kids to try. My girls are able to make them from start to finish with just a little bit of instruction from me.

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Ingredients:

1 package White Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups milk
1 (6 oz). container of raspberry yogurt
6 ice pop molds (or 6 paper cups with wooden sticks)

1. Combine your pudding mix and milk in a bowl. Whisk together until smooth and thick.

2. Fill your molds 1/3 full of your pudding mix. Add about 2 Tablespoons yogurt to the mold, then top off with your pudding mix again.

3. Run a table knife up and down in each mold to swirl and mix the flavors. Add the sticks. Freeze overnight or until completely frozen.

4. Remove from molds and enjoy!

*Special note on our ice pop molds: I’ve tried many different ice pop molds over the years and these Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds are my favorites. They’re BPA free, the stick stays put, and the shape is awesome. Ours were purchased through Amazon.

You can mix up the pudding and yogurt flavors to come up with fun combinations of your own. Try chocolate pudding and vanilla yogurt, vanilla pudding and strawberry yogurt, or white chocolate pudding and blueberry yogurt. All would be delicious!

What is your favorite ice pop combination?