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When I look back at some of my favorite memories with my kids, we were often having fun in the kitchen together. Cooking is a great family activity and teaches valuable life skills. So when Little Passports reached out to me to partner with them on their new cooking subscription box for kids, I said, “Yes!”
Why?
Because even though my kiddos are teenagers, we still enjoy making things together in the kitchen. I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to spend quality time together and develop a few new cooking skills.
Another motive: It looked like a lot of fun.
Table of Contents
- Kitchen Adventures: A Cooking Subscription Box for Ages 7+
- First Impressions
- Inside The Flavor Journal
- Overall Thoughts on the Recipes
- The Project Included Inside the Box
- Kitchen Adventures: A Fun Cooking Subscription Box for Kids
Kitchen Adventures: A Cooking Subscription Box for Ages 7+
Little Passports is known for great subscription boxes, especially their World subscription box that helps kids explore world cultures.
Little Passports has partnered with America’s Test Kitchen Kids to create a monthly cooking subscription box to explore great food from different cultures around the world.
For this review, Little Passports sent me a complimentary cooking subscription box to check out the program for myself. First, let me tell you a little more about this program and our thoughts.
Inside this Cooking Subscription Box
Kids receive a new box focused on a particular country each month. With this program, kids:
- learn to cook great food from different cultures around the world
- explore exciting information about the food and country
- do a fun, hands-on project
Doesn’t that sound fun?!
Plus, inside each box is the following:
- Sam and Sofia’s Flavor Journal
- A real (not toy) kitchen tool
- Recipe cards
- Shopping list
- Project with directions
Take a look inside the Rome, Italy, subscription box.
My kids and I were pretty excited when we saw inside the box. We couldn’t wait to get started.
First Impressions
As I mentioned, we were excited to get started. We immediately started going through all the materials in the box. I was surprised to find real kitchen tongs. My daughter started flipping through the recipes because she is a big pasta fan and wanted to see what they had for dishes. My son was excited about the maze project.
I was impressed with how well-organized Sam and Sofia’s Flavor Journal was. All the information we needed was inside this journal: the recipes, facts, and information about Rome and the food.
Inside The Flavor Journal
First, let’s look at what is inside the Flavor Journal. Inside, Sam and Sofia give a little introduction. Then, the two kids are off on an adventure using their red scooter to transport them to different locations in seconds. For this stop, they are in Rome, Italy.
Then, Sam and Sofia give some information about sites they’ve seen while in Rome. They share some of the historical monuments and then segway into the food. This sets you up to begin your cooking adventure.
As you look through the journal, you learn interesting facts about Italian food. For instance, did you know that Italians do not put pepperoni on their pizza? I can say even I learned a lot about Roman food.
Also, inside were four recipe cards: two meals, a side, and even a dessert!
There was also a shopping list. I LOVED the shopping list. It made it super easy to see what we already had in our pantry and what we would need to buy.
The Recipes Included in the Cooking Subscription Box
We received four delicious recipes.
- Pizza Bianca
- Bucatini All’Amatriciana
- Cacio E Pepe
- Chocolate Semifreddo
The front of each card gives you a description of the food item, difficulty level, how many it serves, and total time. There is also a note to parents on which parts of the recipe will need adult supervision.
Inside each recipe, you have easy-to-follow directions, extra hints, and tips to help with more challenging skills.
For instance, the Chocolate Semifreddo provides information on what it means to “fold” whipped cream into the chocolate.
There are even pictures to help. I love that it helped explain cooking techniques that kids (and parents) may not be familiar with.
Another great feature of the recipe cards is that they give you substitutions for items we may not be able to find locally. For example, we realized after a search of our local area that we couldn’t find guanciale. However, the recipe said to substitute with pancetta if we couldn’t find it.
Overall Thoughts on the Recipes
Overall, we loved the recipes. They were tasty. We still need to make one of the pasta dishes, but we enjoyed the ones we’ve made so far. We discovered that we really like the Romano cheese made with sheep’s milk. It is tangy and tastier too!
Even my son enjoyed the recipes. He said, “It is a lot of fun because we get to try out recipes we would never have made on our own.” This was great to hear from my picky eater.
It’s true. We probably would never have tried these recipes or learned about them. However, we learned a lot about Italian cooking that we didn’t know before. Plus, the kids learned a few new cooking techniques.
The real question you may be wondering, though, is if this cooking subscription box is appropriate for teens. After all, it is rated for 7+.
Without a doubt, I believe Kitchen Adventures is appropriate for ages 7+.
Younger kids, those closer to seven, may need more assistance from a parent. But, on the other hand, teenagers like my 13 (almost 14-year-old son) and 16-year-old daughter may be able to do most of it with little assistance.
The food is real food. It most certainly isn’t a watered-down recipe. Plus, kids learn about and use real ingredients you’d find in the country you’re studying. I was pretty impressed!
The Project Included Inside the Box
As with other Little Passport boxes, kids have a fun hands-on project to complete. For Kitchen Adventures Rome, Italy box, kids make a double-sided Marble Maze. This maze is a cute pasta bowl designed like old Roman pottery.
The marble maze comes with all the pieces needed, detailed instructions, and pictures. The instructions are lengthy, but the images are very helpful.
My teens could put the maze together alone, only asking for clarification a couple of times. Younger kids may need more assistance.
The maze is cute. The top piece of the maze is removable, so kids have two mazes: a pasta side and a road. Younger kids may appreciate it more than teenagers.
Also included with the project were pieces to build a recipe stand.
Kitchen Adventures: A Fun Cooking Subscription Box for Kids
Little Passports and America’s Test Kitchen Kids have created an excellent cooking subscription box for kids. There are many benefits to the program.
- It is well laid out.
- Includes valuable facts and information about the culture and food you are studying.
- Gives you a useful kitchen tool to use with your recipes.
- Contains delicious recipes.
- Provides an easy-to-use shopping list.
- Kids have a fun hands-on project to make with their families.
- Teaches real cooking skills to families.
- It is excellent for 7+ (even teenagers).
I think families will love this cooking subscription box.
Now it is your turn to check it out for yourself. You can click my affiliate link below to go straight to the Little Passports to learn more. You can also get your own Kitchen Adventures cooking subscription box for your family or someone you love!
Happy Homeschooling!
