I love books that include ways to incorporate the whole family. This book was a great way to make food a family event and to keep everyone connected when there is a lot going on

Lovely family cookbook. It reminded me of the cookbooks you would find on your grandma’s shelf. Or from a church sale. The recipes aren’t complicated so perfect for young or new cooks.

I'm sure this was well-intentioned, but it didn't quite land for me. The introduction veered a little too close to diet talk for my comfort (lots of discussion about what foods were "good" and arbitrary labels of "healthy" and "unhealthy" when the reality is much more nuanced) and it made me read the rest of the book very cautiously.

Unfortunately, I thought it came across as judgy, prescriptive, and smug. It actually contains the line, "I bet you've never made salad dressing before." Really? As if that's something rarefied and exotic? And this came after paragraphs extolling their love of salad and how they've influenced poor, unenlightened non-believers to see the light with their example. The off-putting tone made it hard for me to connect with the substance of their ideas.

The recipes themselves were fine. Pictures would have been nice, but they were reasonably well presented, and mostly realistic for average home cooks (the need to specify "good" bread and "good" mayonnaise added to the feel of condescension. Heaven knows what the masses would have picked without that direction!) There were explicit directions for how to make an egg salad sandwich, including the crucial steps of laying out bread, placing the filling on the bread, and topping it with more bread. These instructions were helpfully repeated for tuna salad so there was no confusion.

I don't want to yuck anyone's yum. If this works for them, great. Personally, I'd probably pass and find an illustrated cookbook that didn't talk down to me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Top tips like the easiest way to peel an egg. Activities like planting an avocado seed. Make a family trail mix then take everyone on an adventure. Self care alongside how to make perfect pastry dough. ‘Eating Together, Being Together is a book with it all!
Everything and everyone is covered in this lovely cookbook, there are food ideas for all seasons and all tastebuds, young and grown up and of course young at heart!
I loved the layout and the illustrations and all of the tips and added information is very informative.

Co-written by a chef husband and psychologist wife as a way for families to use food, cooking, and mealtimes to come together. This cookbook/self-help nonfiction book has about ten recipes per chapter with each chapter being about 2/3 self-help advice and activities to do with kids/as a family. The recipes aren’t always kid-friendly, but some are specifically kid-friendly, too. The multiple indices in the back make it easy to find activities and recipes again.

Eating together Being together
Stars 3.5

I selected this book because, since my children were small, we've always eaten at the dinner table and caught up on everyone's day. During the quarantine, I began a home economics class for both my children to teach them important life skills, such as learning to cook and do their own laundry. So, I was curious to see how other parents adapted to homeschooling their children.

I like how this book shows different ways to involve your children, from making a shopping list, purchasing the groceries, to food preparation and cooking. I love the author's suggestions and activities for getting the kiddos involved and fun facts or tips. This book does a good job of covering where our food comes from. I like the variety of the recipes provided; some are for beginners with room to grow to more challenging recipes. The recipes are well balanced and are both delicious and healthy-friendly meals.

What I felt was missing from this book are some photos of the finished foods. Activities for each chapter tie to the theme, which is nice. However, I would have liked to have some space for adding my own ideas, but there's not much flexibility for change. I would have liked to have tips and facts in color post-it notes, bold lines or ANY pictures. There are many words without any breaks in the black and white pages.

I'd recommend this book for parents homeschooling their children. Or parents looking to work with their children over the summer, while teaching great life skills. This book provides a great multi-sensory learning experience, for elementary students up to teenagers, which creates stronger pathways for retaining the information. I'd rate this book 4 stars for great teaching content and suggested activities. But for the average Joe, it's just too much information and not very kid-friendly.

Overall, this book does a good job exploring how a family dinner can bring families closer together. It just works! I have a stool in my kitchen and my kids will sit down and chat with me now that they're back in school and life is busier.

Thanks, NetGalley and Princeton Architecture Press, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

While this book focuses on meal prepping and eating with young children, it can be applied to families with kids of all ages.

The book talks about ways to involve the whole family in shopping for food, preparing food, and how to share it together. There are tips and ideas throughout the book that include activities on how to teach kids where foods come from as well as explore their own preferences and feelings about things. There are recipes throughout the book for things like breakfast and snacks to share as a family, but some photos of the finished foods would be nice.

Overall I think it's a thoughtful read about mindfully eating and connecting.