Last week’s post, 10 Cooking Skills Every Kid Should Know, generated such interest, I thought I would keep the conversation going by sharing two new resources that have come across my radar recently. Both are useful tools to help children find passion and smarts when it comes to food, cooking, nutrition, and everything in between.
Cooking
First up is a playful cookbook by Deanna F Cook (how perfect is that for a last name?). Deanna is a seasoned author who specializes in cooking with children. She’s added to her impressive collection of books with this latest addition:
Cooking Class features 57 recipes with step-by-step visuals and loads of creative “cooking as craft” ideas. I like that the book features photos of kids using knives and standing behind the stove. Children’s cookbook often avoid such images, but if we truly want our offspring to learn their way around a kitchen, we need to hand over the reins (with reasonable supervision, of course).
The book also features a few fun extras, including adorable labels to paste on your child’s finished products (Perfect Pesto and Easy Peasy Applesauce, for example), recipe cards for recording original recipes, and “conversation starter” game cards for upping the dinner table chatter (ie, “What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten).
Nutrition
Not nearly as playful as teaching kids to cook, but no less important, is teaching them a thing or two about nutrition. A new book by fellow RD, Victoria Shanta Retelny, called Total Body Diet for Dummies is a good place to start.
A nutrition book for kids? Yes, but here I’m talking older kids — high school, college, and beyond. And I’m certainly not calling them dummies. The dummies are all of the “experts” clogging up the interweb with nutrition misinformation. Since the web is where so many teens and young adults get their data, it’s wise to arm them with the truth in an easy, understandable format. This book does just that
Do I expect my teen to put down her iphone and spend the evening with the Total Body Diet book? Not likely.
However, I do see the it as a resource for kids to have on hand when a question comes up, say if they’re wondering what to eat for energy in the morning, how to lose weight in a healthy way, or how to get more in touch with hunger and satiety through mindful eating.
What are your favorite cooking and nutrition resources for kids? Do tell!
Photo credit: Julie Bidwell, Cooking Class (Storey Publishing, 2016)
I received complimentary copies of these books. I wasn’t asked to write this post and received no compensation for doing so.
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