Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I cook for a daycare each day and this book is amazing. The recipes are simple, use every day ingredients, and are kid-tested recipes that are winners at the Lunch table. Thanks Better Homes and Gardens. I can't wait for the next addition!

In my quest to find great, tasy, but HEALTHY food for my 6 year-olds' lunch box I have bought many books. I usually dont do this but, i was moved to make a comment. As busy single mother, I was very satisfied to find that this book was filled with items that even my picky daughter would eat and love, that were not complicated or time consuming to make. Plus alot of them were wonderful portable ideas that i felt that my daughter would not trade or throw away and i loved the fact that they were items that had nutrients in them to help her throughout the day while at school. It is filled with different ideas that deviate from the normal brown bag sandwich.

Who are they trying to kid? The "Wake-Up Cocoa Mix" may have nonfat dry milk powder in it instead of higher-fat milk, but no kid needs miniature marshmallows first thing in the morning (if ever). Their idea of healthy is certainly not mine! Some of the other recipes are a bit healthier than this one, but even so, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

This book has very nice pictures of the food and fun recipe names but it is not useful. With recipes like Pineapple Coleslaw (ewww) and Sparkling Stars (make just like Jello wigglers) I was not impressed. The "made healthy" part is mostly using low fat or non fat ingredients, not really substituting healthier things while still tasting good. I am returning and getting the Sneaky Chef. I gave Sneaky Chef as a Christmas present and my friend calls everyday telling me about the great recipes she has made for her family how they "ate it up!"

If you like pretty pictures of everyday foods with a slight twist this is for you. If you want creativity, lower calories, foods that use purees then get the Sneaky Chef books. I returned this book.

Modern families with kids are always pressed for time and it is too easy to reach for fast food or packaged processed foods. Here is a book with 150 creative yet simple recipes that will help you put together meals for your kids. These are the kinds of recipes you can even put together with them and teaching kids to cook and prepare their own food is a very valuable life skill. You need to know that although these meals are healthier than the standard versions of these meals, the book is not full of recipes your kids will find strange and not want to eat. By using more fruit, lowering some fat, substituting turkey for higher fat meats where you can, watching the amount of sodium you use, and controlling portion size, you can do a lot to help your kids and teach them to take control of their meals and take responsibility for their health.

I like the fact that all the recipes have nutritional information. As I read them I was still surprised at how high some of the recipes are in sodium. Of course, if you look on packaged and canned foods, the amount of sodium they contain is mind boggling.

The authors have also including a quick description of the dish, timing for preparing the whole dish, how many servings it makes, a clear ingredients list, and the few steps it will take you to put it together. Most of the dishes also include a beautifully shot photo of the meal so you can have a clear vision of what you are trying to create.

The recipes are organized into eight chapters. 1) breakfasts, 2) quick snacks, 3) brown bag lunches, 4) quick salads, 5) dinners, 6) vegetable side dishes, 7) desserts, 8) party ideas.

You don't need to be a master cook to put these recipes together. In fact, you can be a beginner. Many of them as simply assembling items you can purchase and put together. There is some use of the stove, oven, and microwave, but nothing complex. Again, I think one of the great uses of the book is to use these recipes with your kids to teach them how to cook.

Have fun with this delightful collection of simple kid-friendly recipes.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

I love this book's recipes: they are easy (even for the kids to prepare), healthy and delicious.
All the recipes I've tried so far turned out perfect and became family favorites.
I totally recommend it. Try the banana bread and the turkey burgers: they are absolutely FANTASTIC!!!