Mama Manifesto: Talk Back: mixing it up old school

I got one of those random spur of the moment urges today to clean out my kitchen cupboards. You know the one - when you absolutely do not have the time to take on a task, but you have the overwhelming urge to dive in anyway. The end result - me rushing out the door to pick up my kids from school with my kitchen's contents scattered throughout the room. sigh. But, the positive side of that is I was reminded of how many great cook books I have that I so seldom use. Cooking with me is one of my daughter's favorite things to do, even if it is just getting to mix up the batter, tear the herbs, dump the salad contents, or measure the cups of water. The downside of her helping - it takes planning on my part. A frazzled and running late to get dinner on the table mama is not the best combo with the ever curious, I have a question about every little step of the cooking process child.

Here is our talk back question: What are your favorite cookbooks? Got any cooking resources that you use on a regular basis? Do your children help with the meal prep on a regular basis?

Here are some of my favorite cook books:

Kids' Cook Books

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes

Salad People

The Toddler Cookbook

Deceptively Delicious

A great website - Spatuletta - where kids teach kids how to cook through videos!

Family Fun & Wondertime also have great recipes that are kid-tested and mostly mother approved in their monthly publications

Mama Cookbooks

Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's

Rachel Ray's 365: No Repeats

I love the foodnetwork.com site for pulling recipes

Cooking Light is also one of the best resources around for more health conscious recipes.Check out their list of 20 minute meals - a lifesaver for the busy mama!

The Nourish Network is another new favorite of mine.

Anything by The Barefoot Contessa is amazing, even though I gain a few pounds just reading the recipes.

Kristen

married, mom of 4 : desperately trying to avoid buying a minivan : has a goal to fix her own lunch instead of grazing off her children : resident expert on psychology and sarcasm, regularly fantasizes about sleeping in, blogs at Rage Against the Minivan.

Ali

married, mom of 2 : has googled “developmental milestones” more times than she can count : loves all things truly healthy and organic : resident expert on creativity and healthy living : regularly fantasizes about her kids sharing, blogs at Leaning In.

Heather M.

married, mom of 3 : expecting a baby boy, a fan of organic-living, mess-making, and cookie-baking, blogs at Cookie Mondays

Julie

married, mom of 3 : wife to a drummer-turned-youth pastor, resident expert on crafty goodness, blogs at Joy's Hope.

Heather K.

married, mom of two : has been known to rap to get the kids to do what she wants : over-thinks and second-guesses far too often : working on improving her skills in all areas of “playing cars”, blogs at The Extraordinary Ordinary.

Cari

married, mom of 2 busy boys, professional chef-turned-teacher-turned mom, avid cook, recipe collector, food blogger, blogs at Can I Get the Recipe?

Jessi married, mom of 3, a tasky homebody pastor's wife who likes routine, candles, and strategizing naptimes. Jessi blogs at naptime diaries.

Grace

married, mom of 2. jane of all trades, master of none: constantly battling her pack-rat tendencies: lover of pretty stationary, nap time, and playing hostess: born a New Yorker, grew up a Texan, currently masquerading as a California girl : always gets what she wants but never the way she expects it, blogs at Formerly Gracie

Sharon

married, mom of 3 exuberant children ages 7, 8 and 9; struggling to balance work as a writer with the kids’ demanding schedules; on a mission to get the kids to eat healthy, adventurous “grown up” food; resident expert in pre-‘tween backtalk; blogs at Whatever Things Are True and Be Bold or Go Home .

Michele

married, mom of 2 (one a missionary, the other a hostage negotiator), co-founder of Radiate PR (rad PR skilz used for building harmonious family brand - oh, and for consumer-tech clients too), resident expert on good kid reads, blogs at ReadOutLoud.

Meleesa

resident stylist and beauty expert : has a "costa rican" peaceful vibe flowing through her veins, runs her own salon and spa and creates natural beauty products and candles, she might be speaking English but she thinks in Spanish, blogs at Meleesa, the salon.

Elizabeth

married, three children, former pastry chef who can bake a cake, pretend to love boy sports and be a fierce advocate for her severely disabled child all at once; loves to steal away to daytime movies whenever she can and reads voraciously into the night; blogs regularly at a moon, worn as if it had been a shell.

On The Menu

GOING GRANOLA
ideas for going green, eating well, and living organically with your family. just a little bit crunchy . . . but in small, bite-sized pieces. one step at a time.

TALK BACK
we want to hear from you! we ask the thought-provoking (or completely random) questions, you answer.

SOUL MAMA
the place for self-care and soul-care. because when mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

INSPIRED MAMA
creative & inspirational ideas for you and your kids. glue gun not required.

SHORTCUTS
work smarter, not harder. advice & tips to make your job a little easier.

PRODUCTS
stressing over which baby sling, carseat, or stroller is best? we’ve tested them, and we’ll give you the lowdown.

RECIPES
fast and healthy food your family will love. nuff said.

7 comments:

Heather | Cookie MondaysNovember 17, 2009 at 8:49 AM
I love Martha's Everyday Food, a compilation of simple recipes from the little magazines. LOVE Barefoot Contessa, I have all her books! The kids love to help me prep, but I usually just give them a job that's not *really* for the meal. Something to keep them distracted. Last night I gave the 2-yr-old a cucumber on a plastic plate, with a plastic knife, then let her go to town. She ate them all along the way (right before dinner), but who can argue with getting a little full on veggies?
KefirGirlNovember 17, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I've got a great Crock Pot cookbook that I turn to in the winter - that thing makes soups and stews so easy!
UnknownNovember 17, 2009 at 10:33 AM
What a great post! I feel like I spend a lot of time planning and making meals. Right now, I only have a 16 month old who is too young to help, but I plan to involve him in the kitchen when he is around 3(training him early :) I use a variety of cookbooks (mainly the resources you mentioned in your post), and I also take note of recipes on blogs that I follow (such as this one). Then I print the recipe and give it a try. IF I like it, then I file it away in a folder system that I have by category (chicken main dishes, pasta, appetizers, etc). I also make notes on the recipe so I can remember what we liked and what, if anything, we would do different when making it. When doing meal planning, I flip through the folders for ideas.
UnknownNovember 17, 2009 at 10:44 AM
One more thought...I love shopping at Trader Joe's and have the "cooking with Trader Joe's cookbook". I was really excited about it, but I have tried several recipes and haven't really loved any of them. Are there any that you really like?
JewelsNovember 17, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I am a huge fan of allrecipes.com, if I need a recipe that is where I go. The best part is that people leave tons of comments about how the recipe turned out and then what they did to improve it.
AnonymousNovember 17, 2009 at 6:58 PM
It is certainly interesting for me to read this article. Thanx for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.
Shell in your PocketNovember 18, 2009 at 2:42 AM
Well, I am loving the new Pioneer Women cookbook..I love Paula Deen too but she uses so much butter it may kill you!
sandy toe

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Talk Back: mixing it up old school

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