Kuwi's Kitchen - Kiwi Kids' Cookbook product reviews

My 4 and 6-year-old daughters love to cook, but all of our cookbooks are for adults, they don't even want to look through them. I have to help them every step of the way and they're not really learning. Once I heard about the Kuwi's Kitchen Kiwi Kids Cookbook I thought it would be ideal, and it was!

When they saw the cookbook their eyes lit up and they sat there reading it for a good 20 minutes, I asked them to pick a recipe each that needed ingredients we already had in the cupboard. Luckily it was lunchtime the first recipe was Kuwi's First Egg With Toast. The girls were excited to use the Kuwi cutter and cut the shape out of their bread. I love how you cook the cut-out piece as well to dip into the egg so there is no wastage. After lunch it was time to make Kiwicorn Poo which the 4yo thought was hilarious, this is a frozen yoghurt treat which they could mostly do themselves.

Since then we have tried out banana pancakes, sushi and french toast huhu grubs. There are so many more recipes they are excited to try out, the 6yo is even writing shopping lists! This book is such a fun way to introduce young kids to cooking, the recipe names are crazy which really appeals to the kids when they think they're eating bugs or poos. I'm looking forward to school starting back up as I now have so many more lunch ideas for the kids thanks to the healthy lunchbox section and the finger foods page which clearly shows why they are good for us.

My 7-year-old and 9-year-old daughter's love to bake so they grabbed the book and headed to the sofa to have a read whilst I put the free Kuwi biscuit cutter somewhere safe! The book is a good size and has a bright and colourful cover filled with an adorable cartoon image of Kuwi alongside fruit, nuts and biscuits. The book claims to be full of creative and helpful ways to get kids more excited about fruit, vegetables and homemade goodness whilst building confidence in the kitchen. The fact that my girls had been quiet for 15 minutes whilst looking at the recipes and ingredients proved the book had certainly grabbed their attention.

The book is broken down into four sections; Delicious, Nutritious Brekky, Huwi's Healthy Lunchbox, Kuwi's Glorious Grub and Tasty Sweet Treats. I liked the fact that all the recipes had dietary icons so you could easily see whether they were dairy, gluten, egg and refined sugar-free.

Each page was colourful with beautiful illustrations that were fun to look at my girls didn't know where to start! They did, however, decide that the Kiwicorn Poo would be quick and easy to made and looked very cool! The fact that these recipes are simple and the instructions are clear meant that I could literally just supervise whilst they worked together and made the 'poo'! The recipes have some really cool names like 'Slow Cooker Moth Macaroni' 'Snail Sushi' and 'Huhu Grub Bites' which really made the food look and sound fun (if not a little disgusting!!)

I particularly liked the page on fruit, nuts and berries that gave the benefits of each one clearly so that my girls could see whey these were good foods to eat. This was great for reinforcing what I've been trying to teach them!

Overall, this is a delightful children's cookbook that certainly got my girls cooking and creating and would make a lovely gift for a beginner chef!

Having a 4year old daughter who loves to help cook and bake I was excited to have the opporunity to review this book with her and couldn't wait to see her reaction. Pure delight is the best way to describe the look on her face when I presented her this wonderful book and the awesome kuwi the kiwi cutter that it comes with. Miss 4 already owns a couple of the other Kuwi the kiwi books so she immediately was familiar with the character and sat down to read the book from front to back, pointing out and calling out in excitement at her most favourite recipes. She immdediately had a list of favourites she wanted to make and I knew this book was going to be a firm favourite within the first 10minutes of going through it ~ that really does speak for the quality of it if you ask me.

Being an early childhood teacher and book lover I was impressed with the wonderful illustrations, great presentation of photos and the range of recipes for young (and older) children that this book caters for. I already know we will be buying this in the future for birthday and christmas presents - priced at $24.95 it may seem a little expensive however when you see the book first hand you realise it is money well spent and totally worth it!

The first day of using this book was a work/daycare day however miss 4 simply had to have kuwi in her life so fancy sandwiches it was! The cutter made an excellent imprint into the design and I was pleasantly surprised that all the details of the cutter transferred over (I had thought some detail may be lost on the bread). Miss 4 loved the specialty of having something different in her lunch and I'm told her sandwiches were the talk of the table at daycare! I've already had to promise that she can take the cutter and book in to show her friends/teachers so that they can make something from it too. In the following days we also made Kuwi's first egg and french toast huhu grubs... all of the family enjoyed trying these - myself, my husband, our 2year old son and of course miss 4. The recipes are simple to follow and easy enough that once read out loud miss 4 completed most of the steps on her own with no assistance from me. As you can see in the photo she was oh so proud of her creation!

I simply adore this book; I love that its teaching children from a young age to be involved in the kitchen, to cook and to bake, along with how to make healthy choices (this recipe book is full of great healthy alternatives and I love that). I truly do recommend that you buy this book and use it for your family - or as a present for those you know - anyone would be stoked to own it!

Kat Merewether is an absolute star! She's created the most amazing books with the most amazing illustrations, she really is my idol. Her Kuwi book series would have to be mine and my children's favourite and is a frequent at night time readings. So, when I opened my review parcel and Miss 6 saw Kuwi's Kitchen, she was so excited and wanted to look through it and find a recipe straight away. I managed to steer her away from most of the sweeter recipes and we settled on Kuwi Apply Puffs to start with.

Luckily, I had all the ingredients required to make the Apple Puffs and they were reasonably quick to gather and defrost. I got my daughter to read out the ingredients and make sure that I had it all. Then I got her to read through the steps and together we turned the oven on and lined the trays. This is where I let her take over. The recipe was well thought out and so easy for my 6 year old to follow and instruct her 4 year old brother on what he had to do. Most of the work is done before the recipe started like peeling and slicing the apples which made it much easier for my daughter to take control rather than having to get me to help with more stuff. Once they were finished with their instructions I popped it in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. The recipe said it would take 20-25 minutes, but I always do half the time to start with and see how it goes and I'm lucky I did because after 10 minutes it was completely done and ready to come out. Ours didn't look as great at the picture in the book but my daughter was so proud of what she had made it didn't matter at all and everyone in the family loved them and have requested more.

I absolutely loved the Kuwi Cookie Cutter that came with the book and both my daughter and my son had great fun cutting out shapes in the pastry with it and they are eyeing up every other recipe in the book that allows them to use the cookie cutter some more. Next on our list to make was Kuwi Egg Pie for dinner (in keeping with the pastry theme). Once again, the recipe was simple and easy to follow but since it required handling hot things I helped out a bit more but once it was on the table my daughter loved having everyone thank her for dinner for a change and it was delicious.

I love the fact that this book is encouraging my daughter to help participate in the kitchen more and appreciate the work that goes into making a meal for her family to enjoy. I remember from a young age always baking in my mum's kitchen, but I never really wanted to learn how to cook the main meals, I much preferred baking sweet dishes but now I'm still not a very good cook and I wish I'd taken the time to learn all I could from my mum while I was still living at home. I hope this book will help my daughter to learn how to cook as well as bake and make healthy decisions in the kitchen which will eventually set her up for life.

My daughter discovered Kuwi"s Kitchen Cookbook while I was out hanging the washing. I told her that she could chose something out of it to make for lunch. I came inside to find the book open on the popcorn page. There are two popcorn recipes in the book and she had selected the sweet one. It took a bit of convincing that it wasn't appropriate for lunch but we would make it for afternoon tea.

Together Miss 7 and Miss 9 looked through the book for lunch ideas. Miss 9 and I decided on Kiwi's first egg with toast. Miss 7 wasn't so keen as eggs are for breakfast and not lunch. She did however change her mind as she saw my lunch cooking in the frying pan. Using the Kuwi cookie cutter that was included with the book made boring toast and eggs suddenly much more appealing. All of us ate our lunch without leaving a crumb behind.

The Kiwicorn Popcorn was a big hit with our family too. I am a big one for using a recipe as a guide so I made it even more simple by using a bag of microwave popcorn and mixing it with the honey and 100s and 1000s in a big bowl. This recipe was so fast and I would happily make it again with the kids.

The book has been very well thought out. The majority of the recipes are very healthy and it is easy to identify if they are suitable for those with food allergies. There are lots of great ideas on how to make food more appealing to kids. I am definitely going to make some critter eyes both for the recipes in the book and for cake decorating. The book has handy flaps so you can bookmark your recipes.

The cookie cutter is a real bonus and there are lots of food and non-food suggestions on how it can be used. I found it easy to use and was very surprised that the beak stayed on every time. Miss 7 found it a bit tricky but I'm sure she will improve with practice.

One of my bff's arrived shortly after receiving the package and squealed when she saw the cook book. She picked it up and completely ignored me while flicking thru the pages and kept saying 'ohhhhh' 'ahhhh' 'I am going to buy this'. Her son came up the stairs shortly afterwards and they both sat there going thru the pages saying what ones they would like to make. She then explained to me that Tom has just started to cook and that he loves the Kuwi the Kiwi books and how this would be ideal for him. Actually, that is the exact same reason I requested it as my daughter is helping more in the kitchen and she needed some inspiration in some areas. She then asked if we got the Bikkie Cutter and I showed it to her and that confirmed it she was definitely going to buy.

After they left my husband returned from the movies and he also sat there commenting about the pictures, recipes and names. Then the two girls got involved and it was all over. Everyone said it was such a great little book and then they pulled out the books Kuwi's First Egg and Kuwi's Huhu Hunt and then they both commented that there are more books that we don't own and that they were going to ask Santa for them.

When I finally got the chance to examine the pages, both of my girls had already decided what they were going to make - which made for one very happy mummy. I also fell in love with the charm of the book, each page is beautifully done and the names of the dishes are so cute it is like we are eating bugs. For breakfast this morning my daughter made me 'Kuwi's First Egg with Toast' and it was so yummy. I loved the shaped kiwi and had both girls so excited. It is like the book contains magic as it really uplifts your mood. I also like at the back of the book that it gives you ideas on how to use the cookie cutter. After xmas we are going to buy a pineapple and use it to make the Kiwi shape. I also learnt a bit as I had no idea there were five species of Kiwi's I thought there was just the one. When I commented on this fact both my daughters said 'yeah' like I was the dumb one and then hubby told me the five names so I quickly pointed out where they all lived.

I do like that it is healthy and covers a wide range of subjects mainly some good alternatives for school lunches as both girls have decided to start making the 'Florence the Fantail Muesli Bars' for there healthy snack. Even the 'Super Foods' page with just pictures of fruit and vegetables has inspired them both. I am blown away by it all. A beautiful cook book that I am sure is going to be used on a regular basis. Highly recommend.

I don't know who was more excited by this book - the children or their mother! It is the sort of book that you can spend hours reading, planning what to cook and what you need to buy. My daughter disappeared with it to have a good look before the children could check it out at all. She was pleased to see that the recipes are pitched to young children so that they can do a large amount of the preparation and cooking with some adult supervision, but also feature proper food rather than junk food that contains too many unnecessary extras like sugars and fats.

Once she had looked through it, the children had their turn. They were really excited to see all the wonderful things they could make. They were fascinated too by the versatile little cutter that comes with the books and even has its own cookie recipe! After lots of discussion, they decided to make French Toast Huhu Grubs and Kiwicorn Popcorn as they already had the necessary ingredients for both. The idea was that the children would do all the work and the adults would help with things like handling hot ingredients or using the oven.

Miss Five prepared the huhu grubs herself, only handing over to her mother when it was time for them to be cooked in the pan. Both she and Mr Seven watched with fascination as their first creation sizzled in the pan and filled the air with such a yummy smell that their mouths were watering. They could not wait to try them, and liked them so much I think they could well have eaten more! The huhu grubs were served with yoghurt and fresh berries which set them off to perfection.

Later in the day, the children made some popcorn. There were two variations on the recipe; they chose the sweet version as there was some real maple syrup in the cupboard! The process was streamlined because they have a popcorn maker, so all they needed to add was a little coconut oil. This oil was the healthy one (with the flavour removed) which meant that there was no competition between the oil and the maple syrup. They just put the cooked popcorn into a bowl, added some maple syrup, and then scattered the sprinkles on top and swirled them round. Another successful snack which the children really enjoyed, and their mother was happy that once again they were eating proper food.

My daughter and I are both highly impressed by the amount of work that has gone into this book. There are sections at the beginning with nutritional information and some essential tips, and there is a recipe for eyes as they figure large in some recipes! Altogether this is a lovely book, made for siblings to share and designed to be well used over the years. It would make an ideal Christmas or birthday present for the child who has everything.