Other Resources for Kids Cooking

Magazines

There are a ton of cooking magazines available, and we often see them at yard sales and flea markets.  Buy one or two and really look through them.  You’ll get great ideas with virtually no expense.  If you have a little money to devote to cooking resources, here’s some other ideas.

Martha Stewart Living

I have been trying for years to quit my Martha Stewart Living subscription.  At times there is less cash flow in our house, and Living is somewhat expensive so it’s often on the chopping block.

Then the next issue comes and my daughter (16 years old) and I are both drawn in with a magnetic pull. She immediately bookmarks all the recipes that she wants to make.  I start looking at the gardening tips, explanations of how to cut back shrubs, decorating tips, ways to make stupid things much less stupid (when you’re stuck with them anyway), etc.  I’m sucked in and, before long, so is my daughter, making Martha crafts

So I’ve decided: If I just put one back issue on the kitchen counter every other week, we will enjoy five new recipes, fix up an old lamp like new, and rearrange our closets to a more efficient design.  Isn’t that worth $30 bucks/year?

Martha’s recipes are often simple enough for a teenager to get wonderful, dramatic results.  The photographs (half the battle) are so descriptive of the process that they do make the preparation much easier.  The beautiful pictures of the food make it impossible not to cook that dish, and, I think, stimulate my daughter’s imagination, both to cook this food, but they also teach her how to present it.

Vegetarian Times

Throughout middle school, I subscribed to one serial publication for each of my two kids on some school promotion, so it’s inexpensive for the starter year.  Then if they don’t read it, we drop it.  That’s how I found Vegetarian Times.

Vegetarian Times is just the right feeder publication for a budding vegetarian.  Vegetables are hard to make exciting when you’re getting started after a life of meat, meat, and more meat.  So this little publication feeds us ideas that nine out of ten times come out great, and the 10th time we know how to fix it for subsequent meals.

Vegetables should comprise one half of every plate you eat, say the new US food pyramid people.  So why not give yourself a kick start for ideas on how to prepare them, and in the process, come to love a few new ones!  See our page on what we should have on our plate.

Everyday Food

This is a small booklet-like recipe magazine that comes once a month.  (It’s also a Martha publication, and I don’t want to overdo Martha Stewart, but this is the right mix for adults and kids to learn new everyday recipes.) You won’t find fois gras, sushi, or caviar hors d’oeuvres in this little pub, but you will find wholesome and healthy foods that don’t take forever to make and whose ingredients are easy to find at the store.

It’s easier to put on a shelf than the large magazines and is full of great cooking ideas, many of which are suitable for kids. A kid who’s interested in cooking will love it.