'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Saturday 7 April 2018

Review: Eat your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples

Looking for a cookbook designed for young kids?

You need to check out Eat your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples.

Categorised by food colours, this book is filled with easy, kid-friendly recipes. They are recipes the kids can cook themselves (with some supervision), which create food the kids will want to eat.

Like green smoothies, very berry plum pie, fruity raisin granola and sunshine rice. 

There are foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, and the serving sizes are generous, so the kids can cook a meal for the whole family.

This is a cookbook designed specifically for young kids, and you'll realise this as soon as you open the cover!

At the beginning of the book is a fantastic cooking utensils guide, to help kids get ready in the kitchen, and there's a fantastic overview of different coloured foods and what they do for our bodies. 

There are tips on prepping ingredients, so kids can practice general preparation of common foods, and before each section of the book begins, there is a detailed introduction to all the foods that are green or red or yellow or purple or orange (yes, there's also a section for orange foods!).

When it comes to the actual recipes, things have been set out with kids in mind. The written instructions are super simple and easy to follow, and there are also step-by-step photos to show kids exactly what they need to do.

All the expected information is included — prep time, cooking time, serving size — and the ingredient lists are short and simple. 

And did I mention the food is super yummy? My kids loved the black bean and guacamole quesadillas, the red capsicum hummus and the lemon drizzle cake.

I should point out that all the recipes are vegetarian. This is fabulous if you're looking for a vegetarian cookbook in particular, but don't dismiss the book even if you're not. The benefit of the recipes being vegetarian is that the kids really can get behind the mixing bowl and be involved in the whole cooking process without you needing to worry about exposure to raw meat. 

This is a really great cookbook for children. Not only does it provide simple and yummy recipes for the kids to try, but it also tells them why different foods are good for them. 

Understanding food and what it actually does for our bodies is a great way to get kids interested in a wide range of colourful food. Team that information with cute characters that hang out on the pages and chat to the reader, and you’ve got both an information-packed and super-fun cookbook for the kids.

Title: Eat your Greens, Reds, Yellows and Purples
Publisher: DK Books, $24.99
Publication Date: 2 April 2018
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780143769804
For ages: 5+
Type: Non-Fiction, Activity Book