Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog

With the start of the New Year I want to introduce some of the different ways our books help families. I started writing and publishing books to help families with their food choices and then added other books and resources to help promote family well-being through healthy living.

From the beginning, the goal was to prepare foods in season, such as what to do with all those apples. Now there are three cookbooks on ways to prepare apples. Healthy to the Core! All Natural Low Sugar/No Sugar Apple Recipes for Kids is the latest.

Learning effective listening skills is critical in building personal relationships. This point was clearly brought out in my recent interview with Dr. Robert Bohlken, Ph.D. in discussing his new book, Learning to Listen with Significant Others.

An expert in the field of listening, Dr. Bohlken provides guidance in understanding and improving listening behaviors. Listening is key to all effective communication. Without this ability to listen effectively, communication will break down and the message will be misunderstood or lost.

I asked Dr. Bohlken what inspired him to write the book.

Do you ever read the book reviews on Amazon before ordering a book? Many people want to view what others think about the book before buying it.

Earlier I requested reviews for our latest cookbook, Cooking in the Midwest – A Collection of Favorite Recipes from the Heartland. It is a new book in need of reviews. I reached out to you and you may be thinking, “OK, how do I write a review and do they even matter?”

Have you ever had a business cycle motivation problem? Wheels spin but not much forward progress? That’s the way I’m feeling as I’ve been in a writing slump lately. I’m wondering whether it is the rainy days, the sunny days, or just the fact it is summer. I’ve found it hard to motivate myself to get work done. That’s the problem with being in business as an entrepreneur. Nobody says what needs to get done nor when to do it.

Cooking terms used in recipes and methods of cooking have changed throughout history. Our American forefathers would marvel at foods heated and/or cooked in a matter of seconds. The term barbequing was still non-existent, but they knew about outdoor cooking and grilling.

One of the first lessons in the cooking course of the Fannie Farmer 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book was “The Making and Care of a Fire“. Many of the American cooking terms, methods, and recipes in this turn of the century standby may seem foreign to present day cooks.

Kids cooking and eating takes into account many sensory experiences that tend to remain in memory. These sensory experiences include taste, smell,  touch, sound, and sight.  All of the senses are utilized when eating, including experience and memory. These  combine to give children the sense of food being “yucky” or “mmm, mmm, good”.

You as a parent or caregiver can encourage and reinforce many of their sensory reactions by saying, “This apple sounds crunchy”,”Doesn’t the cinnamon smell spicy?” “This juice tastes very cold”. Help them use descriptive words such as wet, dry, crunchy, mushy, chewy, hot, cold, lumpy. You can ask: Can you taste the sugar? Isn’t this really hard and lumpy? You can also provide opportunities for them to be aware of the use of their senses.

Here is a book for the homeschool curriculum. Attention Homeschool Moms – and Dads::

The book I’ve been showcasing, Cooking Around the Country With Kids by Amy Houts, is not only a cookbook, but a treasure trove of historical facts and food history. It is a recommended book for the homeschool curriculum.

Along with recipes, Houts has included food facts, historical notes, and fun activities. For example, “When was ice cream “invented”? What are hush puppies and how did they get their name?  What are funnel cakes? Why doesn’t all corn “pop”?”

Many parents and teachers feel that kids do not always make healthy food choices. They feel that food choices are shaped only by what food and beverage marketers choose to promote. However, there are many ways parents and teachers can help children shape healthy food choices.

This is where cookbooks serve an important part in educating children. They can provide hands-on training in learning about the wide variety of healthy food choices.

Childrens cookbooks help kids learn how people in other cultures live. This expands their global cultural awareness. Food makes up the culture of every part of the world. Many kids have expanded their food knowledge by watching cooking shows and traveling to different parts of the country sampling their food. But not all children have these opportunities.

One way to help children learn about foods from different cultures is through childrens cookbooks. Amy Houts book, Cooking Around the Country with Kids: USA Regional Recipes and Fun Activities shows how this country is a unique melting pot. It captures the tastes of different regions of the country.

What a nice after-Christmas surprise when I opened my email this morning and read what one reviewer said about my book for children, The Littlest Kitten, the story of the Holy Night and the cat family.

(REVIEW) This is a book that children will want to read again and again. I liked this book so much that I will be checking out more books by this author. The cat family was so adorable. Mom cat loved her family. Just like Mary and Joseph loved their new son, Jesus.
More at:

http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-littlest-christmas-kitten.html

The book is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Littlest-Christmas-Kitten