I liked reading magazines as a kid. Highlights was my favorite, but my parents couldn’t afford a subscription. I only got to read it at the doctor’s office. ChopChop is fun like Highlights, but practical because it teaches kids about cooking in an approachable, creative way.
I think ChopChop for kids that like to do things in the kitchen — it will inspire new kitchen endeavors. Also, I think the magazine will engage with kids who avoid the kitchen and only like certain foods. I hear that kids who are “picky” will try foods that they prepare themselves — what if each week a kid can choose one recipe from the magazine to try with adult help?
Chili is a perfect recipe for any budding chef. When I was in college I had a great recipe for veggie chili that I cut out of the paper. I have looked for it since and can’t find it. Maybe the one featured in the magazine can replace it.
Coupons are helpful and it’s a nice way to offset the cost of the magazine ($14.95 for four times per year), which I don’t think is bad at all.
My students opened the magazine and paged through it. Of the many things they enjoyed, they loved the dinosaur! There are plenty of recipes to choose from in the magazine, but there was other fun things too like a maze, cool photos and graphics.
I like ChopChop and so I just got a subscription. And…
I’m giving one away! To enter leave a comment below describing a dish you have cooked with your child or one that you would like to try.
If you want to keep up with ChopChop magazine, check the magazine out on Facebook and on Twitter.
Not an entry for your free gift, Mrs. Q, just a note to readers that if you'd like to learn more about Chop Chop, I have an in-depth interview with the magazine's creator, Sally Sampson, here: http://bit.ly/esVS5c We already subscribe and my kids and I think it's great.
Would love this magazine for my son. He's two, and just yesterday we made whole wheat banana oat muffins with chocolate chips. He added all the ingredients (after I measured them) and helped me stir. He loves to cook, and he's still in diapers!
What a neat looking magazine! I too loved Highlights as a kid, it was the best part of a Dr/Dentist visit 🙂 I think my son & I would have fun with this. I try to involve him in the kitchen whenever I can. He is 8 & it's great for learning math concepts along with all the other good stuff! We recently made cookies n' cream cupcakes, but we do good stuff too like pancakes, spaghetti & sloppy joes. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂 Andrea
Andpotts@gmail.com
I cook all the time with my eight year old niece and she loves to cook just about anything. I have been slowly switching to making most all of my foods and she has gotten a kick out of helping make things that she thought you could only buy in a store. A couple of weeks ago she was here and we made hummus and she asked why I didn't just buy it at the store. When she sat down to taste what we made she said "Now I know why you don't buy it because this is delicious!". Right now that is her favorite thing to help with, that and breads. Thanks for the chance to win.
Magazines like this that both stimulate the mind and a potential interest are great. I think kids seeing other kids preparing something would make them more likely to go home and ask their parents about the recipe, cooking, etc. Items like this could be great material to keep in the classroom if you have a silent/independent reading time. It would give students a chance to read something a little more exciting than the normal children's book.
I'll have to share this with a friend whose grandson is a terribly picky eater. She's a former teacher, so she'll love this idea!
Thanks for the review; I'd heard of this magazine but haven't yet checked it out. I think my son would love it (although, at 4.5, he'd need me to read most of it to him). He loves to help me make pizza from scratch, especially stretching/rolling the dough. We hosted a playdate with his friend the other day where they both made their own pizzas. Seeing how HUGE the dough gets after rising was the funniest thing ever for them.
We like making breakfast together with the kids. A yummy egg sandwich goes a long way :)!
My son loves to cook breakfast with me in the mornings but when it comes to lunch and dinner he complains and doesn't want to help out. I think he would love this.
I cook with my nieces and nephews all the time. I think our biggest success was grated summer squash with garlic and a little cheese. I say a success because none of the kids would eat it (or their dad) until I cooked it this way. We didn't have any leftovers. If I win this I'll have a cooking party with them!
Oh – I'd love this magazine! What a great idea for a magazine for kids! Never heard of it but if I don't win it here I will definitely be getting a sub for my kids & my friend whose son is 10 & likes to cook. Thanks for sharing this magazine info Mrs Q!
I just read this issue in the dr's office last week and really liked it. My daughter and I made a cherry pie yesterday (with frozen cherries picked from grandma and grandpa's orchard last summer!).
I think the magazine might be slightly advanced for us (my older daughter just turned 4), but I have been trying to encourage her to help out in the kitchen and she is obsessed with getting High Five in the mail. We usually bake together – pumpkin bread, banana muffins, etc. She also likes to be involved in making pizza and helping prep vegetables. Thanks for the great review!
My daughter loves to "help" cook, whether I want her to or not! (She's 3 1/2, and determined to be a big girl.) I couldn't really narrow it down to one recipe because she helps me so often, but just last night she helped me feed the starter for Amish Friendship Bread. Once when she was 2, in the car, she told me, "I'm going help God!" "Oh, how are you going to do that?" "Stirring!" She's good at stirring. 🙂
What a great idea! My daughter loves to make hummus, and she can really do most of it herself. She then likes to create an "oasis" of hummus with broccoli and carrot "trees." 🙂
My 6 & 3 year olds and I made pancakes this morning to celebrate (another) snow day. I do a lot of baking with my kids, but I'd like to get more comfortable with other cooking too.
I may not have a child, but I have 26 kindergartners every day. We've made things like play dough, latkes and green eggs and ham. Most of them don't get an opportunity to try new foods or have the chance to help while at home.
On another note, one Christmas I asked for a kids cookbook when I was about 8 years old. I looked at that thing every weekend for years. My mom wasn't thrilled about me wanting to try out the recipes (it was a gift from my dad) but I did get to try a few. I wish I could find it now because I still clearly remember the pictures of the kids and the things they made in that cookbook!
My kids love to help me bake. The last thing we baked was banana oat muffins with 3 chocolate chips hidden in the middle of each one. They also like to help with cooking meals (when we're not in a hurry).
This magazine looks like something they would love! I will look into subscribing if I don't win the giveaway. We get Highlights because I remember loving it as a kid.
So far I've only made cookies and muffins with my son (my 2-year-old gets to watch, but I've been hesitant to let her join in). I'd love to get him (and her, eventually) helping me actually cook dinner in hopes that it will broaden both of their palates.
My 5.5yo son loves to make anything w/me! We have been making a lot of pumpkin pies from scratch since that is what we have from our garden. He gets to scrape seeds out, use the food processor and stir in the ingredients. He really likes perusing the cookbooks and finding recipes w/pictures =) It helps him be a more adventurous eater too! This magazine looks awesome! I might ask for it as a Mother's Day present!
This truly looks like a great magazine. I also really like the images of actual children cooking. I don't have any children, but I do babysit, and once I was making chocolate chip cookies for the holidays and the little girl I babysit (not yet even 2) wanted to help. So I sat her right at the counter and let her pour stuff into the bowl. I used the mixer, of course, but then I let her plop down little mashed bits of dough onto the cookie sheet and baked them. They came out a little oddly shaped, but she was so excited I think it was well worth it. Not the healthiest of recipes, but I'd like to try making good, wholesome food with her to teach her right from the start to eat well.
Would love, love, love to win a subscription! My 7 year old son loves to cook. The other day he was watching Worst Cooks in America and I had to chuckle when he blurted out, "No duh she let the pan get too hot! Mom, these people have no clue!" Right now, he is working on perfecting "The Omlet" and has mastered meticulously separating out the yolks for sister. 😉
i bake often with my son. he gets to dump and mix the ingredients, which is very fun for him.
I would love to have a subscription to the magazine AND would love to try the "squashy chili" recipe! I am blessed with an UN-picky eater…he eats anything and everything he's ever been given, with the exception of sweets! (Told you, we're blessed. Give him a small slice of angel food cake with fresh berries, and he'll pick out all of the cake and put it in his "discard" pile but devour ALL the berries.)
We need this magazine subscription because I'm constantly searching for (and not having much luck finding) healthy recipes that will satisfy the whole family. Although my son eats everything, my husband and I are a little more picky. (I'm really trying hard to be more adventurous and try new healthy things.) One of my son's absolute favorites is squash, one of my husband's favorites is chili, and I'm thinking the squashy chili recipe could become a regular staple in our house (and get some of the healthy stuff into my husband, which is currently a HUGE challenge)!
I can't wait to start cooking with my son! He's only 21 months now, but we definitely try to include him by letting him stir things. The other day we made pretend "soup" with his play vegetables, and then he ran out to the kitchen, asking me to make him real soup!
I have a 7 year old son and a 2 week old daughter. My son and I love to make berry muffins together!
I just started cooking with my 3 1/2 year old…her favorite cooking activity was our "cookies for Santa and his reindeer" over the holidays. I'm pregnant and due in June, so I'm not always full of energy to hang out in the hot kitchen, but when I am, I always try to include her.
Not quite a traditional dish, but last night my 3 1/2 yoear old son, 1 1/2 year old son and I made our own playdough. 🙂 They really enjoyed getting to help me by pouring ingredients in the pan and talking about the colors and smells we would add to it!
During the summer we like to go camping. I enjoy building "edible fires" to teach them about how to build a real fire at our campsite. A trick I learned at camp many years ago.
My boys and I bake all rhe tine together. But it wasn't until I read in your blog that I realized their ability to do more than measure dry ingredients. My 3 year old and I have made apple butter over and over last fall. That was the first time I put a knife in his hands and let him "chop chop"! It was a great experience for us both.
i would like to try this magazine for my 8yr old son who loves to help me cook. last month I bought scallops and he helped me prepare them! and he loved them as well.
My son and my daughter both love being in the kitchen when I cook. For now, my daughter who's just 1 loves emptying my cabinets and banging on pots and pans, but my son, who's 3, loves to add ingredients and stir. His favorite part is "testing" the ingredients I use. It's been the best way to get him to try new foods.
My son's two favorite things to cook are slow cooker sloppy joes and chocoloate chip oatmeal cookies.
When I was a camp counselor, I loved making english muffin pizzas with the kids. Easy, they got to pick out their toppings, we could heat them over the fire and, if it rained or they couldn't wait to eat- everything was already cooked anyway.
this magazine looks awesome. i haven't yet made anything (food wise) with my son who is 19 months old, but i want to get him involved any way that i can!
I make lots of meals with my kids but our favorite is pizza. My 4 yo loves to knead the dough for the crust, my 9 yo can help with preparing the toppings and everyone gets to make their own section of the pizza with the toppings they like best.
My daughter is very interested in cooking and I hadn't heard of this magazine before either. Thanks for sharing it!
My 8 & 6 year olds would enjoy that magazine. They love to help cook!
The last thing I made with my four kindergarten daughters (triplets plus one through adoption) was the "Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies" from the Weelicios website at http://weelicious.com/2010/09/23/banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
They helped mash the bananas, measure some ingredients and stir. We took them to school the next day for their class snack.
I would like to do more cooking with them and this magazine would help. I have been afraid to let my 5 and 6 yr olds use knives, so up until now, all they could do was help measure, dump, and stir.
I make muffins with kids all the time, usually from a mix. My husband just did make your own pizzas with the kids last weekend and we're going to try to do that every Sat. because it went over really well. My son(who avoids all things green) kept asking for another piece of spinach pizza. Yahoo!
My daughter is a budding vegan and finding a dish that is healthy and great tasting is hard for this meat earing mom. We have a dish that everyone actually enjoys, lentil burgers.
Basically cook a batch of lentils up in water or broth, season with onion, pepper and salt. Drain after cooking and mix with flour and fry in olive oil until crispy and brown. Then treat the "burger" like a burger! Add your fave toppings and enjoy!
My daughter, age 6, has really caught the cooking bug lately. We have been trying to make healthier versions of her favorite dishes. Last night we made Goldfish cracker/panko crusted chicken tenders (baked) and roasted veggies. I'd love to surprise her with her own cooking magazine!
My 4 year old daughter loves to help make pesto chicken–breadcrumb coated baked chicken with a dollop of pesto on top. It's one of her favorite entrees, and I can't help but be amazed that a child her age loves the taste of pesto.
My son is studying Brazil in school- so we made a Brazilian Feast together- it was awesome!
Would love this! I have three daughters who take turns cooking with me – Last thing we made together was home made ground venison meatballs with brown rice, gravy and broccoli –
YUM! They would love this!!
Shannon Sawyer
ssmonte72@yahoo.com
My son is a great eater — he loves many ingredients…but he doesn't care much for "sauce." I'm hoping cooking more, with a great magazine like this, would help. He likes to prep yogurt parfaits and homemade pizzas with me, and though I rarely bake, he likes to help with that sometimes.
The kids and I like to make quesadillas together, one of our best combinations is spinach, mushroom, and fontina cheese.
Very excited about this magazine! Thanks for the info!
My niece likes to help me bake gluten free goodies!!
I have six year old identical twin daughters. One of my daughters is more into cooking than the other. We have made hummus most recently and she enjoyed that. I have baked with my girls since they were tiny and they love measuring, pouring and of course licking and tasting. My not-as-interested daughter did enjoy making homemade Valentine candy with me. We made cream cheese mints and she liked rolling them out and cutting them into tiny pieces (with a bench scraper).
Hey,
I don't have any kids but I do teach nine wonderful children who I consider my children. I teach kindergarten through fifth grade students who are mild to moderately intellectually disabled. I like to try to cook with my kids for Science projects so having different recipes that have kid friendly instructions would be wonderful!
I personally don't have kids, but I have a student who really wants to be a chef someday, so this would be great for him.