We Talk Shop

My son is about to turn six and we needed some ideas for fun and easy kids birthday parties. I have a subscription to Family Fun Magazine and noticed that they have a book called Family Fun Parties.

The book is filled with great birthday, back-to-school parties, holiday and much more. There are step by step directions, check list, and activities that are age-appropriate, basically everything that you need to throw the perfect party.

They even make the very “fancy” cakes look easy to make. This is a must have for any mom.

Get it: At any bookstore for $13.00

I’m a huge fan of the Food Network, love trying new recipes and always shopping for cookbooks. I was in the bookstore the other day and came across Everyday Food. It advertised that it was your guide to fast, great meals - a plus for a working mom, and there is a connection with Martha Stewart.

My son loves pancakes, but my husband was not liking the traditional bisquick ones that I was making, so I was in the bookstore to find a pancake cookbook (yeah I know, but they have cookbooks for everything, so why not). So luck would have it that I was in the magazine isle and spot Everyday Food. They were featuring foolproof family favorites and pancakes were on the cover.

I am a very visual person and it helps for me to actually see the recipe before I make it. This magazine is full of incredible photos. There are photos with all of the recipes and there doesn’t seem to be more then 10 ingredients in each one (at least in the book that I purchased), another plus. The size of the magazine is great and like I said before the photos almost draw you in to each of the recipes.

We are a very busy family, with school and soccer practice, I have to plan out our meals for the week, so I really liked the All in One Bag feature. They feature five different recipes for the week along with a shopping list. The variety in the meals is great and seems to offer something for everyone.

If you are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, there are not too many choices in the magazine that I picked up - Cooking Light is still your best option.

There is also a show on PBS (check your local station for times) that is a perfect fit with the magazine - you can check out their Web site http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/.

Get it: At any bookstore, grocery store, for $2.95.