Year: 2015

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

• Title: Mommy & Me Start Cooking: Cook and Learn Together
• Publisher: DK Childrens
• Pages: 80
• Pub Date: January 2014
  

Cook and learn together with Mommy and Me Start Cooking.
Full of fun activities such as experiencing food with all five senses, designing dishes, and performing kitchen experiments, plus an introduction to measurements associated with cooking, this is the perfect cookbook for children who want to join their parents in the kitchen.

Readers will learn about staple ingredients such as eggs, flour, and chocolate. They will find out what is inside an egg, where vegetables grow, how flour is made, and more.

Mommy and Me Start Cooking will educate and entertain, and is a fun way for families to spend time together.

In keeping with the baking theme I thought I would recommend Mommy & Me Start Cooking today.

This was one of Michael’s favorite books we got from DK last year so it was nice to pull this out again in honor of March Break.

The book is broke down into sections labelled Eggs, Flour, Pasta, Rice, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peas, Chocolate  and Strawberries. Within each section you will get  1 to 3 recipes pertaining to that subject and what you need to make it. As always you get a ton of photos and for Michael he appreciates that because he can see what its suppose to look like each step of the way.

As Michael is getting older I realized that now is the time to start introducing him to the kitchen and how to cook things as these will be life skills he will need when he is older and I want him to feel comfortable and confident in the kitchen.

I remember when we got this book last year, Michael literally spent hours going through it trying to decide what we should make and this time was no exception. We had made little notes in the book on what he tried the first time.

He wanted to make pancakes again and he said that he enjoyed the home made ones better then the other ones I made. He loved decorating the plates with various fruits and powdered sugar.

Another recipe Michael loved making was the Pasta bake but the only complaint he had was he didn’t want to touch the ground beef because he said it was cold and gross but other wise he had fun making this.

Something fun we did was switch up a recipe something Michael never realized you could do and I told him that cooking is different then baking and you can do so much more so instead of Chicken Risotto we made Chicken Rice and he loved that. It was so much fun when Michael realized that you can substitute things within a recipe. I even said you can switch out the chicken for beef or pork.

This would be the perfect book to add into your march break collection. I think kids would enjoy being able to learn to cook and you can walk away knowing you taught your child something important and hey you never know when they will decide to make you a home cook meal.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

• Title: Mommy & Me Bake: Bake & Learn Together
  Publisher: DK Childrens
• Pub Date: January 2015
• Pages: 80

Is your child a budding chef, always wanting to help in the kitchen? Do you want to encourage your child’s cooking aspirations, but need recipes that are safe for children and things that you can cook together? Look no further than Mommy & Me Bake, the cookbook designed to offer parent and child the opportunity to work together as a team while teaching basic baking skills.

From simple kneading and mixing to creating whimsical designs and decorations that can be customized according to the creativity of your little chef, Mommy & Me Bake is designed to encourage experimentation, build self-esteem in your child, incorporate the silliness of cooking with a child, and encourage bonding and the joy of working together as parent and child. Every single recipe in Mommy & Me Bake is designed to teach, to be fun for children, and to taste delicious, so your child can be proud to share finished recipes at the family table or with friends!

I was recently approached by DK Canada to help promote some Spring titles in honor of March break. I am thrilled to have been asked because there is a ton of great books for spring break that I am looking forward to sharing with you this week. Thank you DK for reaching out to me.

I am going to admit that I don’t know when everyone celebrates their spring break in Canada and the US. We celebrated our spring break from March 1st to  8th.

If your like me you were probably one of the families who stayed home during spring break but longed to be anywhere but home. I know I wished I was somewhere a little more warmer then it was here.

I always have a hard time trying to figure out what we are going to do because if I don’t plan anything then I can almost guarantee that Michael will end up in front of the tv either watching it or playing video games or on the iPad. Thankfully DK came to the rescue.

The first book I am going to show case is Mommy & Me Bake (Bake and Learn together). This is the perfect book for kids aged from 5 to about 9 and who love to bake or want to learn to bake.

I love DK books because they include a ton of photos to accompany each page and everything is laid out in basic English and its understandable directions.

The book is broken down into Baking Basics. Cookies. Cakes, Bread and Pastry. Then within category you will get recipes, what you will need to make it and how long it will take, (prepping and cooking) and how many it will serve.

This is the perfect book to introduce kids to baking. Michael had fun baking in the kitchen with me one weekend and he learned how important it was to follow a recipe, to measure, and what things were. These are skills he will need when he is older and it was fun spending time with him and helping he bake.

We made some cupcakes, a marble cake and some pizza. He told me the pizza making was the hardest (the dough part) but he had alot of fun and was so proud of himself for what he did. I wish I would have take pictures but we were having so much fun that it slipped my mind.

So if your looking for a great activity to do this spring break then let me suggest picking up this book and baking with your child.