In my opinion, too many people dismiss cookbooks aimed at children. The good ones, like this book, are just as focused on "real" foods as books aimed at adults. These recipes require peeling, slicing, and actual cooking. These recipes are good if you're just getting started cooking. They don't assume you know how to do anything. Each step is carefully explained. There's a nice glossary of cooking terms and a solid section on kitchen safety and basics. If you've always thought that going vegetarian would be too much work, involve too much fuss, this is the book that will prove you wrong.

This book is for a more adventurous young chef. Some of the recipes will be well liked by most youngsters, but others will be a little too weird or involved for the beginning young chef. The photographs and instructions are great for the young readers and I am sure that this will get lots of circulation in my 3-5 grade library. A few things might require Googling for my students. They won't know that coriander leaves are cilantro, but they can find out!

Once you see the beautiful pictures included with the recipes you will want to try them right away. There is a good variety of easy to make food for the preteen/teen target age but the recipes would work well for adults too. There are a few recipes that I think preteens might be leery of trying but adults would enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and DK for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

This is a great cookbook for really anyone! It is filled with great vegetarian recipes and comes with all the nutritional information and gives descriptions on kitchen utensils and gadgets as well as vocabulary to know. It comes with really pretty pictures that show the finished recipe! Overall great book and I would highly recommend!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

The Vegetarian Cookbook is a good basic cookbook for veggie recipes. There is something for everyone in this cookbook who is looking for a meatless option. The recipes also include standard items that are not overly expensive or hard to find. This would be a good one to give a beginner cook.

A wonderful book for a young foodie. Introduces food and nutrition pictorially with lots of great basic recipes. The title "vegetarian" is probably unnecessary.

The Vegetarian Cookbook published by DK publishing is a beautifully assembled cookbook geared toward young cooks, pre-teen and teen.

Like most vegetarian cookbooks, the recipes run through breakfast, snacks, drinks, lunch, main course, and dessert. Some of the recipes, however, struck me as questionable for young cooks either due to the techniques involved or the sophistication of the foods. For instance, I know very few adults who would happily eat a watermelon and feta salad with its other ingredients of basil, black-eyed peas, and red onion, and far fewer children who would do so. Likewise, I wondered about a cucumber cooler with tonic water for kids. Do they really drink these things?

Because the cookbook is British, it incorporates ingredients that many Americans tend not to use. Where a recipe calls for halloumi cheese, I might have been inclined to use baked or grilled tofu but on closer investigation, I discovered that halloumi is a fantastic source of protein! Mind you, since it’s cheese, it’s not vegan friendly.

If I were evaluating this cookbook just as a vegetarian cookbook, I would rate it much higher than as a cookbook geared toward young cooks. Most of the recipes sound tasty and utilize interesting and varied ingredients that would be nutritional and flavorful. I would happily cook most of them. The Vegetarian Cookbook would certainly be a way to introduce young cooks to cooking.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My rating is an evaluation of The Vegetarian Cookbook as a general cookbook and not one directed toward young cooks.

It's definitely colorful and full of photographs and to-the-point instructions. Recipes are also okay and can be handled with adult supervision.

The age group for kids for whom this cookbook is meant is not given and the font of the text is a bit too small. At least that's what I think. Also, the recipe 'paratha' is NOT paratha (which is greasy flatbread cooked with oil brushed/ placed in the pan), the recipe given in the book is of 'roti.'

Would make a good gift.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is a wonderful cookbook to introduce to children (and adults) with healthy recipes. A great way to get families together in the kitchen. The recipes are easy to follow, the format is well laid out. As it is so color rich, the pages did take longer to load than the average book does but it was worth the wait.

Love this for teens (and even adults). Colorful pictures, easy directions to follow. Healthy, flavorful recipes.

This cookbook for kids includes contemporary illustrations in a bright and clean presentation. Topics before the recipes include rules for the kitchen (including hygiene), an explanation of different terms and tools, info on types of food, nutrition, etc. It's chock full of helpful, age-appropriate details to look at food as more than just something on a plate.

As it's a vegetarian recipe book, it does include ovo-/lacto- recipes.

Recipes start simply (avocado mash on sourdough toast, I'm looking at you) and I'm not sure my fussy eaters would actually ever eat avocado on toast. It's been years (ie. back when they were toddlers) since they've managed to do this without gagging. Scrambled eggs are next and again, we're talking simple... but simple is good for establishing skills in the kitchen.

Recipe categories include breakfasts, snacks, mains, sweets, etc. Personally, the further I get in and the more "complicated" the recipes become, the more I want to try them for myself. They make flatbreads look easy and appealing. Half of my two is a fan of plantain chips, yet we've never tried to prep them ourselves - now we will. All recipes are clear and easy to follow for a young chef with assistance (reading and comprehension skills are necessary) or preteen or 38-year-old mother.

One point of note, measurements seem to be grams or ounces which may be an issue if your young chef is using the cups and tablespoons most North American kitchens are equipped with.

5 out of 5 for clarity and presentation - I'll be picking up a hard copy for our cookbook shelf and may gift to my nephews and nieces for their birthdays with a new set of kitchen tools.

The photos are visually stunning and the whole book outlined well. It is very attractive and some of the recipes look very tasty. Nice pages detailing everything, even a mocktails section. But that's about it for this cookbook. I wonder what kids this was designed for? Because even though mine are mostly vegetarian, there is no way they would eat the majority of these recipes, no way they'd even be able to cook them, no way I would be able to cook them! The nutritional guide which is broken down on a pie chart shows equal amount of starchy carbs (even regular pasta, potatoes, and bread) and fruits/veges. Really? Yet the protein area is small and the dairy one even smaller. I'd worry about kids not getting enough proteins and minerals needed. Its a nice book but not suited for younger kids, perhaps more teens.
I received an ARC in exchange for my review

The Vegetarian Cookbook is described as being for young cooks but I think that cooks of all ages will enjoy the recipes it contains. I also think that young cooks may need a bit of adult help as they follow some of these recipes.

The book is divided into sections including Brilliant Breakfasts, Super Snacks, Lovely  Lunches, Delicious Drinks, Moreish Main Meals and Sweet Stuff.  Some of the recipes are avocado mash on sourdough bread, poached eggs with greens and Hollandaise sauce, Chinese rolls, Watermelon and Feta summer salad, Pasta and homemade pesto, Oat milk Hot chocolate, Sweet potato lasagna,  Cauliflower steaks and Zingy lime pie.

This book is an appealing, well illustrated title.  There are sections at the beginning of the book on the different food groups, equipment, kitchen safety, etc.  These add to the usefulness of this one as a reference.


I recommend this title.  Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this delicious book ine exchange for an honest review.

This is a great cookbook for vegetarian cooking enthusiasts from 10 to 100.! The books is divided into 5 sections covering breakfast, snacks, lunch, drinks (smoothies, coolers, and shakes), dinner, and desserts. The recipes vary in complexity from simple breakfast options such as avocado toast to more complex recipes such as Japanese dumplings. Certainly not all recipes are suitable for very young cooks; however in this day and age of Junior Top Chef and Chopped Junior edition, this book is perfect for kids who are really interested in learning about vegetarian cooking. In addition to the recipe sections, the book also offers an introduction to basic nutrition for vegetarians, such as good sources of protein and how to use them. It also explains the basic equipment needed for preparing meals from scratch.

As a vegetarian of 35 plus years, I think this book is an amazing resource for those of all ages who are thinking of switching to a plant-based diet as it offers vegetarian versions of familiar meat dishes such as dumplings, spring rolls, nachos, burgers, calzones and more that can make the transition easier. And even for the more experienced vegetarian cook, there are a few tricks to learn from this book and some great recipe options. Definitely would be on my Christmas wish list and something that I think would be a great gift for some of my friends!

The Vegetarian Cookbook is a bright and fun way to look at vegetarian recipes. This books is clearly geared toward to older readers as some of the recipes are a bit more complicated. This book does have lots of dairy and eggs in the recipes which if looking for a vegan cook book this isn’t it. But still a great read with lots of options for occasional meals or more if you have a child considering being vegetarian.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review :)

This is a great cookbook for someone new to cooking. The recipes are simple enough to easily follow without being too confused if you have never been in the kitchen before. The beginning covers a lot of the basics and the different food groups and the aspects of the different ingredients.

I would definitely recommend this book for someone that wants to get their kids into cooking or an adult that has not done much in the kitchen before.

I'm a little perplexed about which kids this vegetarian British cookbook is written for. It's clearly not vegan ones, since the book is *really* heavy on the dairy and eggs. It's not young ones, since these are some pretty sophisticated recipes. Most adults I know would complain about the technical steps and time involved in these recipes that don't show a single child in any photograph. While I do agree that kids can and should learn to cook advanced dishes, it kind of seems to be throwing them into the deep end to expect them to cook dishes like poached eggs in hollandaise sauce, homemade Japanese stuffed dumplings and so on. Many of these are not easy recipes for most grown ups. They are multi-step where kids are expected to use double boilers, take several hours to get the final product in some cases, and often use quite a large assortment of ingredients. No safety information or general information is provided to teach kids how to do the frying, baking, shredding, etc. that is called for, or for using tools like food processors.

The cocktail section had me laughing a little too. I'm sure kids will find them fun, but they honestly look like cocktails in martini glasses and margarita glasses with little garnishes and they even teach kids how to muddle the herbs. It's cute, and I may try one with my kids, but it honestly felt like the whole book was designed to teach children how to serve a dinner party.

Nutritional information is provided at the very end, but not sugar counts which I would have liked. One of the breakfast recipes (a bircher bowl) seemed like it would be immensely high in sugar since it was oats soaked overnight in apple juice and then there were 4 or 5 different dried and fresh fruits added and then honey on top. I was curious what the final sugar content was but it only gives sodium, protein, fiber and calories. Full color photos are provided for each dish.

The book is not suitable for most kids on special diets. Gluten is very heavily featured, as are dairy and eggs. I don't think soy is ever used at all, oddly enough for a vegetarian cookbook. Protein is mainly derived from lentils, cheese, eggs and to a lesser extent, nuts. The beginning layout shows an overwhelming amount of kitchen tools to learn like bamboo steamers, rolling pins, pastry brushes, splatter screens, flour shakers and so on. A nutritional primer is then given, which I don't necessarily agree with (they suggest that you need an equal amount of starchy carbs as vegetables, and stress the importance of dairy).

According to the inside cover, a full 22 people were on the team who produced the book and it shows. It's quite glossy and pretty. I'm just not sure it's a great cookbook for a vegetarian child just learning to cook. Two stars for "it was okay." It would have been three if there was more of a sense that it was actually created for children, or showed them cooking any of the recipes.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

Every cookbook should be this fun, colorful, and beautiful! I love the layout. The images used are very helpful to understand each recipe. I love that there are pictures for every recipe - this is so important! The Museli recipe looks amazing and I have been craving this food! For more difficult recipes the cookbook has step by step photo instructions, which I think is a great idea. This is THE ideal cookbook and I love it! I almost forgot this was a vegetarian cookbook.

Cookbook for young cooks that focuses on healthy eating, with the bright, beautiful photographs that DK is known for, and a nice selection of easy, healthy and delicious vegetarian meals. Also includes information on nutrition, basic kitchen vocabulary and descriptions of instruments.

This is written for older kids, but it is appealing to me as an adult who, at heart, really just wants chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. Recipes are simple, the pictures are huge and inviting, and it is healthy food that will please the whole family.