Customer Reviews

The Disney The Magic Kitchen Cookbook

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 10-year-old daughter received the Disney Magic Kitchen Cookbook for Christmas. A picky eater by nature, she actually loves this book and is trying new and healthy recipes. Though the cover states these are "Great Recipes Just for Kids," the food will be enjoyed by the whole family, including parents! Disney characters appear on nearly every page and provide that added Disney-Magic appeal. The book offers a cooking basics section plus 49 recipes, such as Jungle French Toast Sticks, Lightning-Fast Wraps, Pit Stop Portable Pizza, Power Up Pasta and Meatballs, and Disappearing Chocolate Chip Cookies. There are a few recipes that my picky eater may not ever try (Body Shop Black Bean Salad, Pirate Island Tuna Boats), but I would say the vast majority she might try and that is saying something. Each recipe is spread out over two colorful pages and provides an ingredient list, a utensil list, detailed instructions (younger kids will need help reading), nutrition facts, a "Check This Out" fact, and a big picture of the food along with Disney characters. This is a great gift for kids!

My son wanted this book, but I have actually been amazed at the edibility of the recipes we've tried. Not that there is anything terribly unique, but when your kid chooses the recipe and stands next to you helping to cook it, he eats the final product. And maybe even learns something in the bargain. Lightning-Fast Wraps and Sloppy Dogs are two of his favorites. This book is a product of Disney's attempt to make itself over as a healthy influence rather than pushing junk food. Note that our copy has characters from Cars on the cover, I don't know if it is a different edition.

I will admit up front that we are big Disney fans so this book has an immediate appeal to our family. If you want to get your kids excited about cooking, using characters they already know and love will keep their attention. A boring old book with nothing but text isn't going to encourage a young kid to want to cook. My son at age 9 can do most of the cooking on his own (though I still supervise all knife and oven use) and my 6 year old daughter can do most of the steps with help.

PART 1 - COOKING BASICS
Not only are there recipes, but also "Cooking Basics" taught by none other than Rattatouille himself. It tells kids what to do before, during and after cooking - to include cleaning up and taking out the trash if it is full! It teaches the proper way to measure dry and liquid ingredients, food and cooking safety, and basic cooking terms - all in a way that is fun and easy to understand. It also shows how to make a shopping list and then how to find foods in the supermarket. There is a section that explains portions and how to get the right amounts of each food based on the child's age, and WHY you need each of those types of food. Finally in this section are a couple of pages that talk about exercising your body.

PART 2 - INCREDIBLE BREAKFASTS
Genie's As You wish Muffins and Sully's Not Too Scary Berry Pancakes are our favorites!

PART 3 - SCHOOL LUNCH
Several recipes that are great for home or to pack in a lunch box! Our favorites include Chicken Little's The Sky is Falling Apple Wraps and Rex's Don't Be a Chicken Cups.

PART 4 - AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS
Cars' Pit Stop Portable Pizza is super easy and one of the kids' favorites. And we love making the Tinkerbell Magic Fairy Wands!

PART 5 - MISSION: DINNER
My 8 year old son was so proud when he made Pizza Planet Calzones! And one of my favorites is Buzz's Blast Off Burritos.

PART 6 - TO SCREAM FOR DESSERTS
Princess Pretzel Parfaits were very pretty and impressive looking - layers of pretzels, strawberries and creamed cheese. (Though we decided that whipped cream would taste better than the cream cheese!) My son made these especially for his little sister. Timon and Pumba's Chocolate Mud Pie is to die for!

PART 7 - SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS
This section has mostly desserts like Be Cool Peppermint Parfaits and Simba's Gooey, Sticky Caramel Sundaes but also a cucumber appetizer and pumpkin pancakes.

On the final pages is a fitness log and a Fruits and Veggies Log that you can copy and have your kids' fill out throughout the week, and a page where the kids can write notes about their favorite recipes.

In addition to all these recipes (each of which has complete nutrition info), scattered throughout the book are fun food facts, health and exercise tips, games and puzzles, and beautifully illustrated pictures.

I cannot recommend this cookbook highly enough. We just love it!

My eight year old son loves this book! He has spent a lot of time reading it to me and is very excited about starting to cook. It also contains games and puzzles just right for his age. I bought it on a whim, and it may be one of his favorite Yule presents...

My three-year-old son loves this book. I bought it because he's a picky eater and I thought it would help if he saw his favorite characters suggesting different things. Well, that didn't work too well, but this is still his favorite book and he looks through it every night before bed. My only major complaint is that it fell apart within a week. The whole thing fell out of the cover, then all the pages fell out of the ring. I sat there for half an hour lining them up and putting the tabs back in the pages, but I can't get the cover back on, and the pages are ripping out. I'm going to have to use a hole-puncher and put it in a binder or something. He wasn't even rough with it, he's gentle with his books. It just isn't bound very well at all.

This product was great. It has nutritional information and well worth the buy. Uses normal ingredients and puts them together in a way kids will love. I have a two and a half year old and a one year old. This is great. Also uses quality ingredients. I bought mine at lowes and a subscription to parenting magazine was included.

I bought this book at our school's book fair. My daughters always want to cook with me and I knew they would have fun making these recipes with me. My eight year old was so excited she started planning what she would make for lunch and what we could have for dinner. They enjoyed the "lightin' fast wraps" which include spinach and tomatoes two things they have not eaten in the past and the jungle french toast, which my husband and I also enjoyed. Also very yummy were the Buenos Nachos, which are made with apples, peanut butter and yogurt. This book not only has them excited about making somewhat healthier food choices, but it gets us spending time together in the kitchen!

Received the cook book quickly but it was in worse shape than expected. The description made it seem like it was in great condition but when I got it in the mail there were a few of the pages missing or torn. Luckily they weren't recipes that I would of made anyway so I just kept the book instead of going through the hassle of returning it.

My daughter LOVES this cookbook. She is 5 yeas old and loves to cook. This book has helped me give her appropriate meals to cook.

I purchased this cookbook for my granddaughters, ages 13 and 11, from a church bookfair. They tried many of the recipes and were pleased with everything they made. The recipes were easy to make with no fancy ingredients and best of all they tasted good. I purchased another cookbook through Amazon for my other grandchildren so they can learn to cook not only easy meals but taste good and are nourishing.