Customer Reviews

The Healthy Start Kids' Cookbook: Fun and Healthful Recipes That Kids Can Make Themselves

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

 

 

This kids' cookbook starts with a brief and easy-to-understand discussion of nutrition. Safety tips for kid-cooks are included, as well as a handy illustrated glossary of kitchen tools and cooking terms.

But the "meat" of the book is the recipes. They are simple, fun, tasty and (don't tell the kids) good for you. There are sections on breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert. Many of the recipes are assembly line cooking (take a banana, stick a clean popsicle stick in the end and freeze overnight for a frozen banana treat) that will be a snap for even the youngest cook. But don't get the idea that this is all "cooking for babies." There's a "Sunny Honey Banana Bread" recipe with sunflower seeds that I'm making for the family tonight.

My son has always been helpful in the kitchen, and usually enjoys it. When he turned 8, it was time for him to start making one meal each week on his own (...a lot of help anticipated). I borrowed this from the library to get us started.

It's a solid beginning. He's already tried about half a dozen recipes, with assistance. The recipes have turned out fairly well, with only small tweaks usually required from my more experienced kitchen hand.

But the book has a number of flaws. First of all, many of the recipes are definitely beyond the typical 8-10 year old of the book's target audience. They'd need to be future Jamie Olivers. So anticipate giving significant aid. Second, the variety could be better. Third, the clarity of the directions in some cases could use improvement. As stated, I'm a pretty good cook, and a few times even I stumbled. Illustrations wouldn't hurt for some of these.

Despite these flaws, it's a useful book. The good points outweigh the weaknesses. I agree with the only other previous review that I see here: a solid 4 stars. But with a good rewrite for simplicity, a few illustrations, and some new variety to the recipes, this could be a 5-star book. I'll cross my fingers and hope for a new edition.