Bean Appetit: Hip and Healthy Ways to Happy Tummies

Who says kid's food is all mac and cheese or chicken nuggets? Not the authors of //Bean Appetit//, that's for sure! Kid's food can be both healthy and fun, and every recipe in this book is both, and visually appealing to boot. Exciting sandwiches, pizzas, pasta, salsas and dips, desserts, and even the makings of a cooking-themed birthday party or a children's tea party are all here. And every recipe is designed to be made by the kids themselves, and the few things that need parental assistance are clearly marked. But //Bean Appetit// is more than just a cookbook. It's also full of games, conversation starters, etiquette tips, and challenges to help children grown their own kitchen confidence. The recipes are fun, simple, and delicious, and the book is written in a manner that will engage kids of all ages and make them want to cook. This book would be a fantastic gift for any child. Reviewed by Holly Scudero

Bean Appetit: Hip and Healthy Ways to Have Fun with Food is more than just a bean and pea cookbook - it's packed cover to cover with whimsical, creative, and fun ways to style one's food, especially as a way to get children interested in the kitchen (or even entice a sick child to eat). Full-color photography illustrates fun projects ranging from a pear and chocolate treat designed to look like a penguin, to a tomato half with Parmesan cheese and spaghetti arranged to look like a face ("Mama Mato!"), to delicious domino cookies and much more. A great way to stimulate creativity as well as promote nutritious foods (virtually every dish is vegetarian, and many are vegan), Bean Appetit is highly recommended especially for parents and child-care providers interested in getting children involved in the preparation of a healthy diet.

Bean Appétit is packed with creative ways to make healthy foods not only delicious but fun. The dishes are so bright, colorful, and creative, they're more like art than meals. Like the "High Note Nibbles" sandwiches, for example, that look like a piano keyboard. Or the "Bug Bites"--dragonfly-shaped pitas sandwiches made with fruit, turkey, and a pickle. The almost florescent-purple "Starry Night Bites" are made from berries and sticky rice and adorned with cheese stars. But my favorite was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" which looks like the character from the book by Eric Carle. Chicken-and-vegetable-stuffed spring rolls form the body with a big tomato as a head and pretzel sticks as legs. It's so cute and sounds really tasty. There are many more fun creations for parents and children to make together--with lots that don't even require any cooking. The recipes and language in Bean Appétit are appropriate for the preschool crowd. Directions to "Shake your hips and get ready to mix:" or "Roll around on the floor while chanting `Go bananas' will be fun for young children, but may turn off older kids. Interspersed between the recipes are silly conversation starters, such as "Who do you know has the silliest singing voice?" or "Would you rather share your sleeping bag with a bat or a bear?" There are games like "Flash Dance" (a flashlight dancing game) and food related trivia like "Table Manners from Other Countries." The book is bright and appealing with whimsical illustrations and colorful photographs. This would be great for parents of preschoolers and preschool or kindergarten teachers.

Basing their collection on favorites from Bean Sprouts, the acclaimed café and cooking school for kids, these authors have filled 192 pages with irresistible, healthy yet fun recipes plus food-themed games, crafts, and activities. So, Moms and Dads invite the small ones into the kitchen and have a ball! Breakfast time is more than special with Stick Stacks - mini pancakes, strawberries, kiwis, and blueberries on a skewer then dipped in maple syrup. Along with this yummy way to start the day comes a suggestion to begin each morning by saying something positive to your family, such as "Today is going to be the best day ever!" And there's a "Pea Brain" hint: how do you tell a hard-boiled egg from a raw egg without cracking them open? "Just spin them. The one that spins longer is hard-boiled!" That's just a sample of what's in store for your young ones in this inventive, merry encouragement to eat healthy and bring the family together to make mealtimes fun. In addition, there's a different challenge in every chapter of BEAN APPETIT. For every challenge completed a youngster cuts out the square provided on page 193 and attaches it to his/her diploma. The diploma can be downloaded at www.beansproutscafe.com. This is one cookbook that won't just sit on a shelf but be enjoyed over and over again by all. (A favorite of ours is Mama Mato with spaghetti hair!) - Gail Cooke