Children’s Books with Food Themes

We are a family of readers, and my boys love the time we spend every day reading stories together. When the boys were very young, I began choosing books about food, wanting to introduce them to a healthy, well-rounded diet as soon as possible These are some of our family’s favorite books with food themes. The books are geared toward ages 0 to 6 for reading aloud, though some older children could read these on their own. I read these books with all my boys together, and though Monkey Boy (age 2) doesn’t necessarily understand some of the story, he still enjoys looking at the pictures and laughing along with his brothers. If you have children in the 7 to 9 age range, they may still enjoy hearing these stories or may even want to read to their younger siblings.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

“In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.”

A caterpillar emerges from the egg and goes in search of food. My boys have fun counting all the things the caterpillar eats.

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Review: The Spatulatta Cookbook

When I was invited to review the recently released Spatulatta Cookbook, my answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!” and I couldn’t wait to see what the girls from Spatulatta had cooked up.

Spatulatta.com is a James Beard award-winning website with video cooking lessons for kids. The hosts are Isabella and Olivia Gerasole, sisters ages 11 and 9, and they do all the video demonstrations. If you have not seen the website, you must go and visit it because the videos are lively and fun. The girls, who are naturals in front of a camera, prepare foods while their mom and other guests help out with things like cutting, assembling the food processor, and working with the stove or oven. Spatulatta has webcasts demonstrating recipes and basic skills, such as separating eggs and chopping an onion.

The full-color cookbook, which was released this month, begins with a basic skills overview for such tasks as chopping, shredding and grating cheese, measuring, and food safety, and also includes information on essential cooking tools and measurements. Read more

Panko-crusted Crab Cake Bites with Roasted Pepper-Chive Aioli

Michael came home from work on Monday and sniffed as soon as he got in the door. “Smells like seafood!” he said, and he was right. This is another one of those dishes that I found in a magazine or online and made it the next day because 1) it sounded good, and 2) I had most of the ingredients on hand. I had some crab that I found on sale, and almost everything else are pantry or frig staples for us. The only thing I needed was the chives. I used to keep a pot of chives in my kitchen garden, but I haven’t started a pot in our new house yet, so I had to pick up some at the grocery store. The price reminded me to start some seeds soon!

The recipe is designed for party appetizers, but I made it for dinner because the little bites are just the right size for the kids, and they were very easy to make. Read more

Seven-Layer Cookies (aka Magic Bars, aka Junk Bars)

The holiday baking has begun. It kicked off last week with the Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Shortbread, baked gingerbread men earlier this week, and now we have the Magic Bars. These are on Michael’s list of desired Christmas cookies every year, and they are gooey and good and insanely easy. They are also a great cookie for making with little kids. My two oldest boys, ages 4 and 2, had a great time helping pat down the graham cracker crust and pouring on the coconut, marshmallows, nuts, and chips.

The recipe is very versatile, and you can choose any kind of chopped nuts and chocolate or other flavored chips. This batch has sliced almonds, milk chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Check out the Variations list below for some interesting combinations.

Many versions of this recipe call for 1-1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs Read more

Cooking for Kids with Luis

The whole cooking with kids theme has become really big, which I think is spot on. My husband and I both believe that cooking is an essential life skill, and we are teaching our children from an early age. Children learn about reading, math, science, and health and safety simply by cooking with you.

My little boys love to be in the kitchen with me, but I’m a little concerned about sharp knives and a hot stove with a preschooler and a toddler, Read more

Fruit Juice Finger Gelatin

A fruity, sugar-free twist on Finger Gelatin. Try mixing different juices together, like orange and pineapple, or white grape and cranberry.

Equipment

pot for heating juice
8″x8″ glass pan
large mixing bowl Read more

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