We have gone through a handful of children’s food cookbooks and cookbooks full of recipes for kids to assemble themselves. Some have been terrible representations of the craft of cooking or baking and some, like the newly published My A to Z Recipe Box, are perfectly suited for the young chef who is willing and able to concoct mildly complex, diverse and imaginative foods from scratch.
The My A to Z Recipe Box contains 26 alphabetized kid-friendly recipes, 26 blank cards for brand new ideas and 50 stickers (with the words “favorite”, “yum” and more to help kids remember which recipes they liked the best and would want to make again).
The collection of recipes feature interesting ideas for creative and healthy foods but remain grounded in the basics. They are, in general, simple dishes to prepare and are ideal for timid and adventurous young eaters alike. Both the experienced kid chef and relative novice in the kitchen will find value and pleasure in the My A to Z Recipe Box. The recommended age for the product is 4-8, but I can personally attest to these recipes being fine for a toddler younger than 4. My just-turned-three year old is able to work with the recipes quite well (obviously requiring a little more supervision).
Each recipe is tied to a letter of the alphabet and starts with a Stop. That’s right, the first part of the recipe is to Stop – there is a stop sign on each card to remind kids (and their parents or guardians) to put on their apron(s), wash their hands and take care of any other pre-cooking items such as pre-heating the oven. This proves to be a very wise decision because as many adults know, getting kids to slow down and wash their hands ahead of something exciting (or at all!) can be a particularly pesky task that may, at any moment, result in a serious meltdown. Starting the recipe with this simple reminder makes delivering the message a bit easier, in my experience, because you simply are not allowed to advance to the next job on the recipe card until hands are clean – for the recipe says so, and everyone knows they must follow the recipe’s instructions precisely.
Next is the Look and Cook sections of the recipe. The Look lists the necessary ingredients and equipment, while the Cook itemizes the steps one must walk through to produce the desired result. On the inside of the recipe card (each is folded like a tent so it stands nicely while you work – nice touch!) are serving suggestions for the final product and fun facts about the star ingredient. For example, A’s recipe is Ants in my Applesauce. It is suggested that kids try warmed-applesauce over top of vanilla ice cream or swapping out the raisins (the ants) in favor of dried cranberries or apricots, or even chopped fresh strawberries. Flip the card around and learn that there are over 7,500 varieties of apples in the world and that while apples are grown in all 50 U.S. States, Washington State produces the most.
The My A to Z Recipe Box is a kitchen essential for any enthusiastic young cook or any parent who longs to instill a love of cooking and baking in their little ones.
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