My 10 year old daughter Flo was given a 3 month subscription to a kids recipe box for her birthday this year by my parents and she loved it so much it prompted me to have a look around and see if there were other recipe boxes out there specifically aimed at kids. I knew there were a few for adult, but I hadn’t even considered there would be some for kids too, but turns out there’s lots and all with their own unique twists.
Where we’ve all been in lockdown it feels a little like we’ve already used up any good ideas for activities to occupy the kids. And so now we’re full on mid summer holidays, I don’t know about you lot but I am struggling. Struggling to juggle work with childcare. Struggling to keep the kids entertained. And most of all struggling to keep them off of their screens.
So with all of these things in mind, I’ve enlisted the help of Flo to put 6 different recipe boxes through their paces to not only give her something to do, but also to hopefully find something you can give your kids to do too!
Foodini Club
First up we’ve got Foodini club for you. We were both super impressed with this one as not only does it include a recipe along with all of the dry ingredients to make it, but you get a craft activity bunged in there too! The recipe boxes are centred around a different theme each month (ours was space) and everything included in the pack relates to that theme in some way.
What came in our box?
- 1 sweet recipe (Crater Cookies – a bit like Anzac biscuits with a twist), 1 savoury recipe (Meteorettes – veggie balls) as well as an additional ‘make yourself at home’ recipe (Moon Cheese – basically melted cheese chunks).
- Measured dry ingredients, for example flours, spices, herbs, sugars etc. packaged in easy to open biodegradable pouches & paper bags.
- 2 x recipe notes cards which includes a tick off shopping list to make sure you have everything you need before you start.
- An activity pack to make a Galaxy Jar
- A Botanical Badger trump card with info all about oregano.
How much does it cost?
The Foodini Club website offer various different packages, including a few different options which includes the additional extra of a food binder to keep all the recipes in, which we think is a great idea. You’re looking at approximately £10 a month, slightly more if you only go for one or two months worth, and for what you get we think that’s a pretty bargainous price.
Flo’s Verdict
“I loved ticking off the ingredients on the shopping list and thought the extra craft activity was really cool. The cookies were fun to make, especially when I had to get my hands in to roll them into balls. They tasted delicious, but I didn’t really like the carrot jam. Next time I’m going to fill them with Nutella.”
Mum’s Verdict
“A great choice of recipes, which involved a lot of different skills – peeling, chopping, mashing, mixing, rolling. I loved the bright, colourful and engaging packaging and the extra educational elements about the history behind the recipes. The website say’s these are aimed at ages 4 – 12 which seems a little broad to me, although I guess it does depend on the child. Flo was able to do most of it by herself, but needed my help every now and again. All in all I was very impressed.”
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For more information go to the Foodini Club website.
Little Cooks
This was one of the recipe boxes that Flo received for her birthday and all in all we both thought it was great. In terms of what’s included this was the box that gave the most, however this is reflected in the slightly higher cost – I guess you get what you pay for. We had the advantage of trying out 3 months worth of boxes and to be honest the recipes were a bit hit and miss. They are focused around healthy ingredients and alternatives such as flaxseed and honey instead of sugar, which is obviously a good thing to be teaching children but this was sometimes to the detriment of the final product. Flo loved making these cupcakes, but hated the taste of them, which as I’m sure you can imagine was a big disappointment.
What came in our box?
- 1 recipe card for Lovely Lemon Cupcakes.
- The dry organic ingredients to cook the above recipe.
- Additional recipe card to make 2 Mocktails and a Marinade.
- A sticker.
- A badge.
- A pack of Stroodles pasta straws.
- A Little Cooks Challenges booklet.
- A colour in postcard.
- A keyring and set of table talk cards to encourage conversation and family fun at mealtimes.
- Annual record book to keep track of their cooking learning.
How much does it cost?
Like most other subscription services you can choose between a 1, 3, 6 or 12 month plan and the prices range from £12.99 down to £8.33 when you go for the yearly option. Not bad considering what you get.
Flo’s Verdict
“I really liked the box that came with a chocolate tarts recipe, that was my favourite, but the cupcakes were horrible. It was fun seeing what was in the box and I really liked the pasta straws – they were fun to drink from.”
Mum’s Verdict
“A brilliant box for health conscious families, but can’t see this keeping Flo’s attention if the recipes don’t always produce super yummy food. The packaged ingredients were also harder to open as you needed to use scissors to cut them and then ran the risk of losing some of the contents. But you can’t argue with the quality and contents of the box; a treasure trove of cooking bits and bobs.”
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For more information go to Little Cooks.
The Bottled Baking Co.
OK so this one’s not a recipe box per se, but if you’re looking for something for young kids, beginner bakers, or something quick and easy then this is ideal.
What came in our bottle?
All the dry ingredients to make a batch of Seriously Smart Cookies (basically cookies with chocolate beans a bit like Smarties) – this included flour, oats, sugar and chocolate beans. These have already been measured out, so all the child needs to do is pour the contents of the bottle into a bowl, add the wet ingredients, stir, roll into balls, and then bake. The instructions are listed on the label on the bottle and from what I can make out there are 7 different recipe bottles to choose from.
How much does it cost?
These baking bottles are a one off purchase and cost £9.50. It’s a little steep, considering the price isn’t too dissimilar to the other recipe boxes and you get far less, however they look amazing and the convenience factor is definitely a bonus.
Flo’s Verdict
“This was my favourite recipe because the cookies were really yummy and it made loads. I liked that you just had to pour out the bottle.”
Mum’s Verdict
“Flo’s of an age now where I like her to measure ingredients out herself, so that was a downside to this for me. That being said she absolutely loved making them and perhaps the fuss free approach is the way to go sometimes. I think these would be great to use at a birthday party or those times when they want to bake but you haven’t got the time to fully supervise. It was definitely easy enough for Flo to manage on her own. I loved the look of the bottle and the fact you can reuse the bottle to make your own.”
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You can buy these bottles from Peach Perfect.
Hello Fresh
Whilst the recipe boxes from Hello Fresh aren’t aimed at children as such, they would definitely appeal to teenagers or if you want to cook together as a family.
What came in our box?
We were sent the ingredients for three meals to feed two people: Bacon Rigatoni with Aubergine, Tomatoes and Feta, Creamy Chicken Masala with Fluffy Rice, and Cheeseburger with Wedges and Slaw. Each meal’s ingredients are packaged up in their own paper bag and labelled with a number that matches up to the relevant recipe card to make it easy to know which belongs with which. You literally get everything you need all exactly measured out so there’s no food wastage. The recipe cards include easy to follow step by step instructions with images too and the timings are really accurate.
How much does it cost?
It all depends on how many meals you choose and how many people you want to feed. The more people, the price of the meal goes down, as you would expect for multiple orders. But basically you’re looking at a maximum of £5 per head per meal. And considering you get restaurant quality results, the freedom to choose your recipes, seasonal and very fresh ingredients, I would say that that’s a bargain.
Flo’s Verdict
“I didn’t like this as much as the other recipes boxes because I found it harder to understand and there were a lot of instructions. I liked chopping the vegetables. I prefer making cakes rather than whole meals.”
Mum’s Verdict
“I’d been wanting to try the Hello Fresh recipe boxes out for a while as I’d heard good things from a friend and I’ve got to say I was super impressed. Well packaged, easy to understand instructions, delicious recipes that actually looked like the photos on the recipe cards and the portion sizes were way bigger than I thought they would be. Despite being sent 3 different meals for two people I was able to eke them out to feed a family of four with a few veggies on the side and no one went hungry. This is perfect for when you feel like you have the same dinners day in day out and you need some inspo to give your meals a bit of a shake up. Not necessarily great for kids on their own (although teenagers would love it) but great for getting the whole family involved in the cooking process. Will definitely be ordering these recipe boxes in future.”
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To choose what recipes you think your family would enjoy head on over to the Hello Fresh website.
Honeybuns
This one’s a bit different in that rather than being a recipe box, Honeybuns is a gluten free bakery offering free weekly blog recipes, with video tutorial and recipe bake along live videos.
What do you get?
Well as mentioned above you get recipes and video tutorials from the Honeybuns team. They also sell cakes online which are all gluten free and some are also vegan and they also have a recipe book available to buy too. Having tasted the cakes myself (I mean someone’s got to do it, right!?!)I can vouch for just how tasty they are – the Milk Chocolate Brownie is insane! We tried out the recipe for their Raspberry Buns.
How much does it cost?
It’s free! Well obviously because it’s not a recipe box you need to supply the ingredients yourself, but there’s nothing too unusual in there and chances are you’ll have most of them stashed away in your cupboards anyway. And if you want to buy their recipe book it will currently cost you just £10 as they have a special lockdown promotion on it.
Flo’s Verdict
“I quite liked the Raspberry Buns I made, but don’t like jam so I think next time I might use fresh raspberries instead. It was helpful having a video to follow, but I got a bit bored. I think it would have been better if a child was on there too, to make it a bit more fun.”
Mum’s Verdict
“I agree with Flo that perhaps the video could have been made a bit more engaging and child friendly, however the recipe itself was very easy to follow and the results were brilliant. I’d definitely like to try out some of the other recipes on the site and will investigate their cookbook a bit more.”
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To find delicious free recipes and to order some of the most delicious cake I’ve tasted in a long time go to the Honeybuns website.
Nutritional Ninjas
Nutritional Ninjas offer an educational and fun monthly themed bake box for kids aged 3 to 11 years of age. They also have a library of online cookery classes which can be used alongside the recipe boxes.
What came in our box?
- 2 recipe cards (Snickerdoodle Cookies and Mini Cheddar Biscuits)
- All of the pre-measured dry ingredients for Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Activity Card
- Sticker
- Certificate
- Food Fact Cards
- Access to online features
How much does it cost?
Your first Nutritional Ninja recipe box is free, you just need to pay the £3.99 postage and packaging costs. After that you can then choose to go for 1 month (£9.99), 3 months (£23), or 6 months (£42) which includes P&P within those prices. £42 may sound a lot, but that’s actually a saving of £18 so you’re more or less getting a couple of boxes for free.
Flo’s Verdict
“The Snickerdoodle Cookies were really fun to make and I loved how easy it was to open the packets of ingredients. I made them all by myself and just had a bit of help from mum with the oven. I am saving the recipe card to make them again because they were so yummy.”
Mum’s Verdict
“It was lovely to be able to leave Flo to her own devices as I know I can sometimes I can take over in the kitchen, but she found this box really easy to follow so I just hung around and took pictures instead. I like the fact that you don’t need to add too many additional ingredients and those you do need to add are very basic ones that you’re likely to have at home already. Out of all of the boxes this is the one I would choose for Flo, as it suited her age and capability the best.”
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For more information go to Nutritional Ninjas.
I hope you’ll agree that we’ve pretty much got something for everyone in this selection of recipe boxes and baking tutorials. Each one has their own unique elements, but ultimately they all provide some form of entertainment for both the kids and parents during what feels like the longest summer holidays ever!!!
Be sure to let us know if you try any of them out as we would love to hear from you.
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*All products gifted for review
