We are entering into the FOOD ZONE we all know as the holidays. Why not talk about an amazing new board book series from Jamie Oliver about just that?

Please note: I received a copy of these books from the publisher to review, but the opinions, as always, are my own.

Let me first say that there’s a reason I’m writing this review the day AFTER Thanksgiving: because most of us just ate a ton of food yesterday. I’m not the food police here to bash anyone for indulging on the holidays. As my sister the nutritionist likes to say “everything within moderation.” There is nothing wrong with celebrating the holidays with family and eating your favorite traditional foods. Most of us will fix any over-indulgence with exercise and better choices on other days. And yet … we all know that we have a problem with obesity in our country. 

Jamie Oliver is a global phenomenon in food and campaigning. During a 20-year television and publishing career he has inspired millions of people to enjoy cooking from scratch and eating fresh, delicious food. Through his organization, Jamie is leading the charge on a global food revolution, aiming to reduce childhood obesity and improve everyone’s health and happiness through food.

He has had a platform of campaigning (now in his 20th year) for childhood nutrition and advocating for cooking as a life skill. I found a TED talk he gave (15 years ago!) that kind of blew my mind with some of the statistics. But when I heard about this new series of board books I admit I was incredibly intrigued. Cooking for toddlers? How does that even work?

Jamie Oliver’s Little Food Library published four board books in October: Let’s Make Pizza, Let’s Make Cookies, Let’s Make Pancakes, and Let’s Make Pasta. AND there will be four more available next summer (Let’s Make Burgers, Let’s Make Ice Pops, Let’s Eat Fruit, and Let’s Eat Veggies). Each board book starts with ingredients and uses “lift the flaps” on every page to see toddler friendly action words (“mash, mash” or “tip, tip,” etc.). Each book works its way through a simple recipe, ending with the recipe on the back cover. Yes, each book is a simple and healthy recipe that can be fun for young readers to help make. BUT the very last flap of each book lifts to reveal a safety reminder: this isn’t something the child is meant to do alone, but something to do with an adult.

Jamie Oliver advocates for children to learn about food and start cooking early. He argues that this is the only way they will learn to make healthy foods and prevent the obesity epidemic that is killing so many of us. This is something that should be fun, not forced, just like food choices. Yes, we want to limit snacks and sugar, but food can still be fun (as seen from the selection of choices in titles here).

I was surprised that a cookie book was in the mix and was most curious about how that particular title looked. Here’s a glimpse of some of the pictures and structure of the book.

Surprise, surprise! This particular recipe only uses fruit, not sugar. And it honestly sounds delicious! I kinda want to try them and see how they taste.

As a school teacher who works with impoverished children, I’ve seen all sorts of lunch horrors over the years: a whole bag of chips; a giant sleeve of Oreos; or even nothing but a multitude of quick grab-and-go sugar-y snacks. I’ve sent home notes and emails (and phone calls) to parents repeatedly over the years asking for better food for kiddos at school. And that’s not even talking about the chocolate milk available for free for breakfast AND lunch for every kiddo at school!

I get it. The worst stuff for us is the cheapest and sometimes we feel like we have no choice around the craziness of life or jobs. I’m not judging anyone for taking their kiddos to get chicken nuggets once in a while. But when it becomes the only thing these kiddos are eating, then I worry.

These books might very well be the way we start a food revolution. Start small, start young, enjoy cooking together. Bravo Jamie Oliver!