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Description of  Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love! Revised Edition

Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love! Revised Edition By Marty Mattare, Wendy Muldawer * Publisher: McBooks Press * Number Of Pages: 176 * Publication Date: 2006-04-01 * ISBN-10 / ASIN: 1590131223 * ISBN-13 / EAN: 9781590131220 Product Description: This new revised edition of the trusted guide to vegetarian family cooking is better than ever with recipes for quick, healthy, tasty, kid-tested meals—many of them totally new for this edition. The vegan information has been expanded, too, with plenty of helpful tips on incorporating vegan choices into a diet. This is one recipe book that belongs in every earth-friendly kitchen. Summary: A good start for the veggie kid Rating: 4 I really like this short cookbook aimed at kids. I included what I liked and didn't like about it. I am glad I bought it. While I cook every single day, I do not try overly complicated or pretentious recipes. I am often pressed for time and our food must be healthy. 1. The recipes are marked vegan or vegetarian. They also seem to be well-seasoned, which could be varied for adult tastes. (If I won't or can't eat it, I most certainly wouldn't expect my child to eat it!) There seem to be far more vegetarian recipes than vegan ones. Many fresh vegetables are used. 2. Children could easily prepare many items with light supervision. (Mollie Katzen's childrens' cookbooks are a good choice in my opinion for the young chefs.) 3. There are great lists for stocking your pantry, nutrition guidelines for children, and sources for ingredients. 4. No really obscure grocery items. For the most part, the local grocery store should have what is needed for these simple recipes. You might require assistance to locate them, but if I can find them here, there is a good chance you can too. 5. This is a good transitional cookbook, especially for parents trying to get more vegetables into their children's diets. What I didn't like (or why this review only has 4 stars) 1. There are items in here which are mostly MSG (monosodium glutamate), a neuroexcitant, which isn't really what I call healthy. You can make your own taco seasoning. Recipe Zaar or All Recipes is a good place to start. You can also purchase vegetable broth without MSG. (Superior Touch vegan vegetable broth in a jar is even sold at Wally World.) Maybe the author assumes if you're reading this cookbook that you're familiar with this additive. 2. I can't really say that adding ingredients to canned vegetarian beans is a recipe. What is wrong with eating them in their own sauce, without the added calories and sugar, at a backyard barbecue? 3. I have reservations about baking, especially with children, in unlined and/or non-food grade clay pots about the lead content, which would be released through the heat of baking. (I have seen clay pots sold which are glazed with what is claimed to be a food-safe glaze. Without testing, I have no idea how to find a lead-free clay pot at a garden center.) Cupcake liners are mentioned, but unless they are the aluminum sort, the batter would wet them, allowing for absorption. There is only one recipe of this nature. As I mentioned early, the author may be under the assumption that parents are aware of lead poisoning and clay pots. 4. While simple, many of these items would have to be eaten immediately and seem to require refrigeration. I didn't see much for vegetarian/vegan lunch boxes due to transport, keeping it hot or cold, and packing issues, which leads me back to PB&J. I would say this is for eating at home, for the most part. 5. I also expected more emphasis on pesticides for little ones, especially with the amount of fresh produce used. Environmental Working Group has a list of fruits and vegetables with info on pesticide residue found in each one. There did not seem to be much discussion about organic vs. conventional, shopping at farmers' markets (which is a lot of fun for little ones), or even growing a small container vegetable garden (also lots of fun). (Still healthier than the average kid fare though.) [...] Summary: Yummy, Simple & Creative Rating: 5 My 2-year-old was getting bored with her food. This book has helped spice up her meals & has provided healthy & easy meals for the whole family. The stuffed green peppers (we used red because that is what we had) are amazing. My husband loves the Peanut Butter Kisses & my 2-year-old loves to lick the spoon! You do not need to have kids to enjoy the recipes in this book. Summary: Cute but obviuous recipes Rating: 3 This cookbook is cute, and may be fun once my son is older and wants to cook for himself, but didn't really help with family meal planning. Summary: healthy food but not as tasty as advertised Rating: 3 I'm glad I purchased this book as the recipes are healthy but a competent cook will be wise to jazz them up. I've made a few things so far but can't say I'm thrilled with any of the outcomes. I was really annoyed when the caption said something about it being worth the extra work and it came out so bland even with my attempts to add flavor! I'm a little gunshy now to try more recipes from the book as the ingredients are expensive and I don't want to choke down another family serving over a weeks time as my husband so far has not been impressed! Bottom line: healthy but bland. Summary: Wonderful!!! Rating: 5 we are transitioning our children, aged 3 and 6 to vegetarianism, and this book is a godsend. I had first taken it out of the library (an older edition) and knew right away I would buy it. My kids were hot dogs and chicken nugget kids, and I swear, I never thought they would eat anything called a "veggie casserole" but they did. I am slowly weaning them off dairy, but for now, this book does the trick. I pull it out every single night when I am thinking of a dish for them. The dishes are fast and easy to put together, which doesn't hurt either.