- Photo: Chop Chop Magazine
Back in the day, when there was no internet to distract and encourage a mom who might happen to be spending her days surrounded by four little ones, we had to rely on magazines to keep us connected. It was a glorious day when a fresh copy of Parents or Parenting arrived in my mailbox. One of the first things I did was turn to the food section and tear out the kid friendly recipe of the month. After trying it out a few times it was neatly filed in my little home office, right next to files containing car paperwork and bank statements.
But it’s a new age for mamas and the hungry little ones who live in their houses. Now we have the internet. There are recipe sites by the thousands. There are parenting sites by the millions. But one of the most exciting resources I’ve found lately, that brings it all together beautifully, is a bright little magazine called Chop Chop.
What happens when you take a bunch of really talented people… in food related fields, in journalism fields, in photography fields, in medical fields… and bring them together to make eating healthy foods fun for kids? You get a magazine called Chop Chop – A Fun Cooking Magazine for Families. And the bonus is, after you’ve devoured and worn out the copy that came in your mailbox, you can turn to their creative website to keep you going.
Click on the Recipes link and you’ll scroll through seemingly endless culinary ideas to try with your kids. There’s even a search bar, if you need an idea for a specific meal. Have an ingredient you’re trying to introduce to your family? There’s a search bar for that too.
Click on the Profiles link and you’ll find a fascinating collection of interviews. Not just the impressive ones, like chats with the Executive Chef in the White House, but other Healthy Heroes, like Orren Fox, who is just 15 and has his own bee hives. Orren tells us interesting facts about bees and honey and shares his favorite granola bar recipe that uses his harvested product. My kids would have loved this kind of enlightening food related information when they were still young enough not to borrow my car keys.
The DigDig link is all about gardening. One of the best ways to get kids interested in healthy foods is for them to help grow it. You could spend an afternoon just cruising these kid friendly gardening tips. And when you’re done with that tab, move over to the Moving Day link. Have some wiggly kids who are bouncing off the walls? This series of articles will give you practical, fun ideas, to keep them moving and keep you sane. And oh yeah, they will also keep your kids healthy!
The target age for the site and the magazine is 5-12, but don’t think it’s mostly for the younger ones in that demographic. School aged kids will love the Kids link, where they’ll find recipes they can do independently, along with fun food facts, games, and challenges. The theme of every activity is healthy living so feel free to turn them loose on this site.
Because every kid loves getting something in the mail, a subscription to Chop Chop will run you $14.95 for one year and $24.95 for two. Four issues are published a year. If you’re like me, with offspring who have outgrown the demographic, consider sharing it with a mom you know, or as a gift for younger nephews and nieces. I know it’s hard to believe, but I was not given a sample issue of this magazine. I stumbled upon it at my local library and was so impressed I knew I had to share it with my fellow GeekMoms. It’s a treasure that needs to be passed around.
