Remember our list of 6 cookbooks that every parent should own? Well, make room on your cookbook shelf for one more: the new Weelicious cookbook by Catherine McCord. But before I get to the many reasons why Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes(from our affiliate Amazon or your local indie bookstore) is fabulous, allow me to digress for a moment.
Related: Listen to our fabulous podcast interview with Catherine McCord on making it more fun to feed our kids
When Anthony Bourdain wrote his breakout book Kitchen Confidential, he caught flack for calling out his kitchen brethren. I'm about to do something similar, and not just because I'll do nearly anything to be in his company. See, family food bloggers are always promising healthy, easy, quick and delicious recipes. (Guilty as charged.) Some folks focus on truly healthy recipes, while others churn out quick weeknight meals. Many make mouthwatering sometimes-treats that are always a hit. But not many hit every one of those marks. Catherine McCord of Weelicious is really among the few. A quick look through Weelicious.com, a must-visit resource for family cooks, shows Catherine's commitment to healthy, fresh ingredients--all served up in her breezy, casual style. The Weelicious cookbook is no different. In fact, with 140 perfected recipes, simple notes on the value of buying organic and how to do it affordably, and lots of practical (non-judgmental) encouragement, it's even better. My favorite chapter is the one on snacks. With a toddler and a school-aged child, it often feels like it's all snacks, all the time in my house. Here you'll find some of Catherine's tried and true creations like Apple Cinnamon Sticks (above) and also her healthy versions of classic snacks like Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding and Fruit Leather. Sound hard? The pudding calls for four (yup, four) ingredients and one painless step. The fruit leather requires little more than pureeing two ingredients and placing the puree in an oven. Neither calls for granulated sugar, and the pudding contains mostly high-protein Greek-style yogurt. See what I mean about Catherine's cooking actually being healthy, easy, quick and delicious? Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes also has a great chapter packed with creative baby purees just for you new mamas that makes homemade baby food like roasted pears and bananas a cinch. In fact, Catherine's a master baby-food maker, which is why we included Weelicous in our roundup of 5 essential baby food resources. The Weelicious cookbook also offers sections on breakfast, soup, sauces, dinner, sides, desserts and drinks. Basically, Catherine's got you covered no matter what meal, no matter how old your kids are. Plus I really love that the cookbook is as warm, laid-back and fun as the woman who wrote it. This is one must-own cookbook for every family cook.
