25 July 2015

Weekend Cooking: The Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet by Laura Fuentes

Weekend Cooking hosted by www.BethFishReads.comWeekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

_______
The Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet by Laura FuentesAlthough Laura Fuentes has made her name as the founder of MOMables.com, you don't have to be a parent or even be a kid to find yummy treats in her new cookbook The Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet.

Fuentes's recipes offer twists on the classics (like homemade popcorn treats), tweaks on store-bought foods (like homemade goldfish crackers), and some ideas of her own (like grape poppers). We aren't huge snackers and we don't have kids in the house, but I like the idea of having some healthful alternatives when fruit just isn't going to make it.

Besides the recipes, Fuentes gives us lots of tips for packing and storing snacks, for stocking the pantry, and for making switches if you have allergies. Her directions are dead simple, meaning every recipe is doable, even for teens. The photos are really eye-catching, with their bright colors and fresh, appealing fruits and veggies.

The book is divided into fruits and vegetables (for example, apple and nut butter sandwiches), no-bake snacks (herb cream cheese and crackers), baked goodies (savory scones), store-bought makeovers (toaster pastries), substantial snacks (veggie wraps), drinks (smoothies), and special snacks (freezer pops). I'm attracted to the cracker recipes, the fruit breads, and some of the dips.

copyright Alison Bickel PhotographyIf you're parent who's concerned about the high sodium and sugar content of commercial snack food, this book could be a lifesaver. The recipes feature whole grains, fresh produce, and limited amounts of refined sugar.  But remember, you don't need to be a kid or a parent to find some new ideas for staving off mid-afternoon hunger or for packing to munch while on an afternoon hike.

The only downside to The Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet is that I'm not sure very many of us need recipes for things like trail mix and fruit and yogurt parfaits, and Fuentes has included several variations of each. On the other hand, providing multiple wrap and smoothie recipes is certainly understandable.

The beautiful photography (not every recipe is shown), wholesome ingredients, and easy directions make this cookbook worth buying or borrowing from the library. Check out Laura Fuentes's website for all kinds of family-friendly foods. Note that The Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet includes many more snack recipes than can be found on the website.

Here's a baked snack that would be appealing to kids (and adults) of all ages. They'd be good at a picnic, with beer on a hot summer evening, or--of course--as an after-school snack for the kids. To read the recipe, click on the image to enlarge it. (Note that this recipe comes from an unedited ARC.)


Note: Recipe and photo are screen shots from the eGalley; all rights remain with the original copyright holders.

Published by Fair Winds Press, 2015
ISBN-13: 9781592336616
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)


15 comments:

rhapsodyinbooks 7/25/15, 6:08 AM  

I love books like this, especially because I *am* one of those types who would need a recipe for trail mix!

bermudaonion 7/25/15, 7:40 AM  

What a great book! I wish I'd had something like it when Vance was small.

(Diane) bookchickdi 7/25/15, 8:26 AM  

This sounds like a good book for the aspiring young cook.

Beth S. 7/25/15, 8:41 AM  

I have to admit I'm not a fan of the hyperbolic title, but it would be worth checking out at the library for sure.

Kay 7/25/15, 8:50 AM  

I agree that this would be a great book for parents. These days, I can imagine it's hard to figure out what to send with them for lunches and also to have for after-school snacks. Healthy ones, I mean. Will keep this on my list for suggesting to friends and family.

Katherine P 7/25/15, 9:43 AM  

This sounds great! It's hard to find recipes for interesting and healthy snacks for both the kids and for me!

Vicki 7/25/15, 11:02 AM  

I need this for my grandson.

I didn't get to post for today's WC. I've been at my daughter's house since last Saturday. I''ll post next week.

Anonymous,  7/25/15, 11:29 AM  

Oh I like the sound of those pizza poppers! My boys have recently become pizza lovers. I'll have to try out that recipe.

Carole 7/25/15, 4:07 PM  

Thanks for hosting - such nice people you gather together! Cheers from Carole's Chatter!

Tina 7/25/15, 4:15 PM  

I don't have any school aged children anymore but this is one I will recommend to my son for his daughter. Great review.

Nan 7/25/15, 5:22 PM  

I'm not a big snacker either. But I do have grandkids, and I bet their parents would love this book. Thanks!

Teddyree 7/26/15, 6:10 AM  

This would be useful for me, my granddaughter reacts terribly to the high sodium content in processed foods and even things like tomato pastes. Thanks for sharing.

Cecelia 7/26/15, 12:00 PM  

I liked your note about the recipes being doable even for teens - I think this would be a good starter cookbook if a teen develops an interest. I remember having an easy "cookbook for kids" that I loved cooking out of when I was in my tweens.

Belle Wong 7/27/15, 12:02 AM  

Healthy snacks are always good to have on hand! If we weren't doing the low-carb thing around here, I'd definitely be getting this one.

Thanks for stopping by. I read all comments and may respond here, via e-mail, or on your blog. I visit everyone who comments, but not necessarily right away.

I cannot turn off word verification, but if you are logged into Blogger you can ignore the captcha. I have set posts older than 14 days to be on moderation. I can no longer accept anonymous comments. I'm so sorry if this means you have to register or if you have trouble commenting.

Copyright

All content and photos (except where noted) copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads 2008-2020. All rights reserved.

Quantcast

Thanks!

To The Blogger Guide, Blogger Buster, Tips Blogger, Our Blogger Templates, BlogU, and Exploding Boy for the code for customizing my blog. To Old Book Illustrations for my ID photo. To SEO for meta-tag analysis. To Blogger Widgets for the avatars in my comments and sidebar gadgets. To Review of the Web for more gadgets. To SuziQ from Whimpulsive for help with my comments section. To Cool Tricks N Tips for my Google +1 button.

Quick Linker

Services

SEO

  © Blogger template Coozie by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP