Kid Favorites Made Healthy (Better Homes and Gardens): 150 Delicious Recipes Kids Can't Resist (Better Homes & Gardens Cooking) [Paperback]

Better Homes & Gardens (Author)

Book Description

Series: Better Homes & Gardens Cooking

• 150 nutrient-packed recipes:  Pizza, pasta, sandwiches, desserts, and dozens of other kid favorites. 
• Ask the experts: A special section for parents that includes hints for increasing—without objection—and for improving your child's physical fitness and self esteem.
• Quick recipes for main dishes, sides, snacks, salads, and desserts use off-the-shelf ingredients.
• Complete nutrition information with every recipe including carbohydrate guidelines and exchanges appropriate for diabetic meal planning.
• No-guilt party food for any occasion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696217503
• ISBN-13: 978-0696217500
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Healthy? Try healthier., April 23, 2006

By 

Bethany (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kid Favorites Made Healthy (Better Homes and Gardens): 150 Delicious Recipes Kids Can't Resist (Better Homes & Gardens Cooking) (Paperback)

I think a more appropriate name for this book would be, "Kid Favorites Made Healthier". I was a bit disappointed at the lack of vegetable dishes... or at least ones my family would eat. Having said that, I have actually used this book a lot. The recipes are simple and easily adaptable, for example, I'll use whole grain pastas and tortillas instead of the regular "white" ones called for in the recipes. There are pictures of most of the recipes which is always nice. Potential purchasers should be aware that many of the dishes use store-bought time-savers which was a plus for me but may be a turn-off for others. All in all, a good cookbook with good recipes... not great, but there are some real gems that make it worth the purchase.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just what the title says..., March 11, 2007

By 

Kristin Haws "Trying to be a healthy Mom" (Ephrata, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kid Favorites Made Healthy (Better Homes and Gardens): 150 Delicious Recipes Kids Can't Resist (Better Homes & Gardens Cooking) (Paperback)

This cookbook delivers what the title says: Kid Favorites Made Healthy. So if you want to make healthier chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, chili, tacos, banana bread, etc., then this cookbook is a great choice. I was looking more for full menu ideas that would appeal to my 7 and 4 year olds. There is one chapter for Dinner, and one for kid-friendly vegetables, but the rest are breakfast, snacks, lunch, desserts, and party ideas - not what I needed. If you have an overweight child, or are worried that one is heading in that direction, then you should get this. Tasty recipes made healthy, and exercise and nutrition info too!

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Kid's Cookbooks I've Found, May 14, 2006

By 

Susanne Koenig "mynewwritinglife.blogspot.com" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kid Favorites Made Healthy (Better Homes and Gardens): 150 Delicious Recipes Kids Can't Resist (Better Homes & Gardens Cooking) (Paperback)

In my quest to be a better cook (nothing burnt this week, folks, boo-yah!) I also wanted, of course, to cook healthier. Finding a children's cookbook that's healthy had has kid appeal is harder than you would think. After an evenings worth of searching at a bookstore through about a dozen "family" cookbooks, I finally came across this easy-to follow guide to making kid's favorites better for them without loosing the taste.

The other reviewer is dead on, however. There aren't a lot of veggie dishes, but it is well worth the purchase price if for nothing else it does break down the nutritional content for the recipes--this is lacking in almost every single kid's cookbook I perused. The Mac-n-cheese in this book, btw, more than halves the calories in normal homemade mac-n-cheese. From 660 to 310--that alone makes this book a good purchase.

It has a very friendly layout and you will find your kids enjoy reading it as well. There is the definite feel that busy moms wrote this cookbook as well... there's no funky ingredients and a lot of items come with simplified steps such as canned cresent rolls, etc.

Incidentally: if you're wanting to save on calories overall, I highly recommend the New Best LITE Recipe by Cook's Illustrated as well. But this little gem of a book lives up to it's title and this busy mom recommends it heartily. I highly recommend the onion rings.