Ok, this is an absolutely incredible cookbook for the family and I have to share it with you. I am not being paid to say this, I am just in love with this book!
I subscribe to Amanda Haas’ online menu planner called One Family One Meal and I really like it. It gives me fresh ideas for affordable, healthy, varied, whole-family-friendly meals. In fact, last year I blogged about it in a post detailing how I was failing the housewife olympics (hahahaha) see here.
So, I pre-ordered Amanda’s new book because I knew it would be as helpful to my life as her online menu planner. It arrived two days ago. It is gorgeous. Every page includes a huge photo of each dish. Instead of a traditional Table of Contents, it has four pages of small photos so your kids can see the dishes and choose categories.
![]() |
||
Click here to go get yours or order it at your local bookstore. |
Here is what happened in my house:
My kids poured over the book when I showed it to them. Then my 6 year old son asked how he could mark the pages. I offered him strips of torn notebook paper. He marked so many pages that he kept running out of paper! That night, we read the book like a bedtime story. His jaw dropped when he saw the melted peanut butter panini with chocolate drizzle.
So last night, we made the Strawberry Agua Fresca drink and BBQ chicken sandwiches with coleslaw for dinner. Both of my kids helped me every step of the way. In the middle of the preparations, my son exclaimed, “We can throw away every other cooking book!” !!!!! And also, “I’m getting very worked up over this!” and then, “Mom, you should open a restaurant, you’re that good.” What!?! He was so excited that he decided they needed to run into the backyard to pick flowers for the table. Holy cow. Last night’s dinner was one of the most excited and fun meals our family has ever shared. I am thrilled. Kids love control when it comes to food. My kids are standard issue kid eaters, not terribly picky, but certainly not foodies. They love salads and salmon and quinoa. But like all kids, they prefer mac and cheese and pizza. So we all need a little help with encouraging new and different dishes. My son was delightedly spooning his dad’s homemade pickled red onions onto his BBQ and coleslaw sandwich last night. OMG. They loved it.
Today, he was already looking through the pictures again and tearing more slips of paper.
Frankly, this is the best family cookbook I have ever seen. Others tend to be filled with fast, but rather unpalatable offerings more geared for kids than food-loving parents. This strikes a nice balance. I love this book. I know I sound like an infomercial and I know you must think I am SO not the type for an online menu planner, but it helps me. And this book rocks. Go get yours at your local bookshop or here.
![]() |
the Table of Contents in pictures |
Wow, the cookbook sounds great! And I love the “I’m getting very worked up over this!” He’s got to be quoting someone with that line. So cute!
Hi there, the September edition of Books You Loved has now posted. Here is the link Books You Loved September Edition Please do pop by and link in a post about a book you loved. Maybe this one? Cheers