"Kids cook real food" reviews

[mamiof5]

Has anyone done this program?? Is it worth the money? I keep going back and forth...it really looks great, but there are SO many free resources our there!

 

I know someone mentioned in a thread here a day or two ago...but can't remember in which thread :(

[mamiof5]

We did a lesson today with some friends and I personally like it. We might decide to give it a try someday.

 

Would love to hear pros/cons from others

[Sahamamama]

:lurk5:

[caedmyn]

We did it.  I liked the videos.  They learned things from them that I wouldn't have thought to specifically teach, like stirring techniques and cutting techniques.  I think 4 of the 8 modules for advanced kids were cutting techniques.  They were easy to use.  I just showed them the videos and, most of the time, we'd do something related to the videos to practice.  Sometimes it was not whatever recipe or food cutting was recommended, either because I didn't have the right stuff on hand or I had a different recipe I wanted to use.  A few videos weren't relevant to us and we skipped them (working with dough and rolling out dough, because we're gluten-free and I do not have the patience to make tortillas etc so those skills aren't going to be used in this house at this time).  My 10 YO was quite interested in cooking and baking already and I had taught her to do some of the things in the videos already, but she still learned at least something from each video I think (advanced and maybe intermediate ones).  It definitely increased her confidence and competence with knives, and I think her overall confidence in the kitchen too.  The knife skills stuff for younger kids was helpful for my 5 YO and 7 YO who are bound and determined to use steak knives to cut things.  They're safer with them now and better at cutting too.  There are lesson plans for each video but I didn't do anything with those except for look at some of the related recipes to see if there were any I wanted them to try.

 

I have only looked a little at other cooking resources for kids, but the ones I have skimmed seem like they focus on recipes, whereas this focuses on skills.  My kids learned way more than they would have if I'd just been having them make the recipes we made, because I wouldn't have thought to explicitly teach/demonstrate some of the stuff the videos covered.  They're more useful in the kitchen now than they would have been if we'd just made the recipes.

 

As far as worth the price...hard to say.  I'm cheap!  I kind of feel like it should have been priced at closer to $45 for the whole thing, but maybe that's my cheapness coming out.  I'm glad we did it.  Teaching them to do more in the kitchen was on my list of things to do this summer and it might not have happened without this.  I do think that for the price it should have included lifetime access to the course and not just a year with an extra cost for lifetime access.  I don't know that I'd say it's worth $30 for just the beginner modules if that's all that a family would use.  Maybe for the intermediate or advanced modules it'd be worth paying just for those.  We definitely used a mix of levels with each kid (except the 3 YO).  5 YO watched all the beginner ones and some of the intermediate ones.  7 YO watched the beginner and intermediate ones and a couple of the advanced ones.  DD watched the intermediate and advanced ones.

 

 

[mamiof5]

We did it. I liked the videos. They learned things from them that I wouldn't have thought to specifically teach, like stirring techniques and cutting techniques. I think 4 of the 8 modules for advanced kids were cutting techniques. They were easy to use. I just showed them the videos and, most of the time, we'd do something related to the videos to practice. Sometimes it was not whatever recipe or food cutting was recommended, either because I didn't have the right stuff on hand or I had a different recipe I wanted to use. A few videos weren't relevant to us and we skipped them (working with dough and rolling out dough, because we're gluten-free and I do not have the patience to make tortillas etc so those skills aren't going to be used in this house at this time). My 10 YO was quite interested in cooking and baking already and I had taught her to do some of the things in the videos already, but she still learned at least something from each video I think (advanced and maybe intermediate ones). It definitely increased her confidence and competence with knives, and I think her overall confidence in the kitchen too. The knife skills stuff for younger kids was helpful for my 5 YO and 7 YO who are bound and determined to use steak knives to cut things. They're safer with them now and better at cutting too. There are lesson plans for each video but I didn't do anything with those except for look at some of the related recipes to see if there were any I wanted them to try.

 

I have only looked a little at other cooking resources for kids, but the ones I have skimmed seem like they focus on recipes, whereas this focuses on skills. My kids learned way more than they would have if I'd just been having them make the recipes we made, because I wouldn't have thought to explicitly teach/demonstrate some of the stuff the videos covered. They're more useful in the kitchen now than they would have been if we'd just made the recipes.

 

As far as worth the price...hard to say. I'm cheap! I kind of feel like it should have been priced at closer to $45 for the whole thing, but maybe that's my cheapness coming out. I'm glad we did it. Teaching them to do more in the kitchen was on my list of things to do this summer and it might not have happened without this. I do think that for the price it should have included lifetime access to the course and not just a year with an extra cost for lifetime access. I don't know that I'd say it's worth $30 for just the beginner modules if that's all that a family would use. Maybe for the intermediate or advanced modules it'd be worth paying just for those. We definitely used a mix of levels with each kid (except the 3 YO). 5 YO watched all the beginner ones and some of the intermediate ones. 7 YO watched the beginner and intermediate ones and a couple of the advanced ones. DD watched the intermediate and advanced ones.

THANK YOU for this!!! I truly appreciate such a complete review. We also live on a budget and I try to not spend where not needed...BUT, that's one thing I have noticed from the couple videos I have watched...focuses on SKILLS, which, I have no idea of.

 

Sounds like your kids learned a lot, therefore it was worth the investment!

 

I'm thinking about getting all the modules/lifetime access. YES, the most expensive option, but our kids are spread in ages and only one year wouldn't make sense.

 

A friend who is doing it is a little overwhelmed with all the printouts, lesson plans etc. I'll let her know how you modified it to fit your needs.

 

Again, thank you for your thorough review. I really appreciate it!! :)