Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

If you loved (or love even still) Sesame Street growing up, this delightful children’s cookbook will find a welcome place in your home.

I am an avid home cook, and I love food from nearly every cuisine I have tried in my travels. I would love to try some of the recipes in this book, particularly the oatcakes and the corn fritters. I think the salmon and potato cakes sound delicious!

However, my adult daughters, who are adventurous eaters now, were somewhat picky as children. I’m not sure if I could have talked them into some of the dishes in this book, even though the photography makes them all seem exciting and appetizing. There are some ingredients used throughout the 40 recipes that may have been difficult to get past my girls as toddlers or even middle schoolers, such as cardamom, chia seeds, flaxseeds, beets, and frankly, even mushrooms, which are included in several recipes. That being said, for the more sophisticated child who will taste just about anything, this would be a great way to introduce exciting new dishes.

I will point out two things that I noted in my reading and rereading of the whole book. First, the recipe for Golden Goodness Fishcakes (noted above with the salmon and potatoes mixed together to form patties) includes a recipe for Tartare Dip. It is described as a side sauce made of Greek yogurt, cornichons, and chives. It sounds delicious, however, I believe the writer of this recipe might have meant to call it Tartar Sauce, as the French word “tartare” means raw meat or fish. The word “tartar” is used for a sauce to accompany steak tartare (finely chopped raw beef), a common 19th century French dish. Today, tartar sauce is always served with fish and chips, or any variety of fried or broiled seafoods, even my daughters’ childhood favorite, frozen fish sticks!

My second note is that for a cookbook labeling itself as recipes for healthy eating, I was surprised that there is no nutrition information after each recipe. This would be very helpful for people who have to watch their sugar/carb count for a variety of medical issues, including Type I and Type II diabetes.

Thank you to NetGalley and DK Publishers for the ARC ebook. It was a fun read and gave me great ideas for healthier, no-fuss recipes to try at home!