We want to be your go-to for resources that make cooking more inclusive. But while we’re building out our content, we want to share what else is out there. Plus, you deserve options that best meet your needs! There aren’t a lot - that’s why we started Cookable Kitchen. We’ve shared our favorites below along with our review.
Cookbooks (print and e-book)
Title: Let's Cook! 55 Quick and Easy Recipes for People with Intellectual Disability
Authors: Elizabeth D. Riesz, Anne Kissack
What we love: This is our favorite adaptive cookbook currently available. It has a good variety of recipes and is conscious about nutrition. Recipes include serving guides for what to serve together to create a balanced meal. There are key safety instructions and pictures throughout. It also includes photos and lists of all the tools you need to make a recipe. It is spiral bound, which means it lays flat.
Room for improvement: We would like to see more recipes for more all-in-one meals. We would also like an easier way to tell skills needed for a recipe.
Title: Visual Recipes: A Cookbook for Non-Readers
Author: Tabitha Orth
What we love: This is one of the few cookbooks designed specifically for non-readers. Every step is a picture - there are no written instructions. We have found nothing similar that is as detailed.
Ideas for improvement: The pictures are a bit small. The number of pictures may feel overwhelming for some.
Title: Lifestyle Easy Cookbook
Author: The Independent Living Skills, Inc
What we love: You can find a PDF online for free. There is also a print version you can buy. Color coding helps you follow steps, choose recipes, and measure. Pictures are helpful. This book includes several internationally inspired meals. There is a focus on using fresh ingredients and nutritious choices.
Ideas for improvement: This book was published in Australia. While many foods are similar in the U.S., differences may make some ingredients hard to recognize for U.S. readers. This book may be advanced for those new to cooking or who have significant safety concerns. Many of the recipes include knife skills, and some terms may be unfamiliar.
Title: Special Day Cooking: A Life Skills Cookbook
Author: Beverly Worth Palomba
What we love: Text is large and easy to read, recipes are simple to follow. There are recipes for beginners and those with more advanced skills.
Room for improvement: We would like to see more of a focus on nutrition, meals, and making healthy choices. More pictures would also be helpful.
Title: I Can Cook: A Visual Cookbook
Author: Mickey Fryer
What we love: There are several recipes for beginner cooks as well as more advanced recipes. Recipes are short so do not feel overwhelming. There are pictures for most steps.
Ideas for improvement: Quantities are not always included for ingredients. This could be a benefit for people who struggle with numbers and need a simpler recipe. We would like to see more vegetables included in recipes and more of a focus on nutrition.
Title: Cooking by Color: Recipes for Independence
Author: Joan E. Guthrie Medlen
What we love: Recipes use color coding to help communicate measurements and steps. Language is simple, clear, and easy to follow. Recipes chosen are conscious of nutrition.
Room for improvement: This book is very short. We would just like to see more recipes!
Titles:
Look n’ Cook: Color-coded Picture Cookbook
Look n’ Cook Microwave
Author: Ellen Sudol
What we love: There are two books in the “Look n’ Cook” series. The first uses several cooking methods, while the second uses only the microwave. These books use color cues for measuring and temperature. Illustrations include tools and foods and show each step. There are nice visual shopping lists included for each recipe. Pages are laminated so that they can wipe clean.
Ideas for improvement: Sometimes the pages feel a bit cramped. We found it confusing that two-page recipes read different than one-page recipes. For two page recipes you read across the whole layout instead of going from one page to the next like in most books. But some may find that layout more helpful. We would like to see a little more focus on balanced nutrition.
Websites
Look, Cook, and Eat
https://www.lookcookandeat.com/
What we love: This is our favorite site for adaptive recipes. Each recipe has a photo list of ingredients and tools needed as well as audio options to have them read to you. You can download text only instructions for each recipe, and there are videos of each recipe. There is a good variety of recipes to meet different tastes. We especially love that people with disabilities are active included in their community. For about $30 per year, it’s a great deal.
Ideas for improvement: The site navigation takes a little getting used to. We’d like it if the videos had a captioning option. We'd also like if the text recipes were broken down into single steps instead of paragraphs. It would be nice if videos could somehow pause between each step.
Accessible Chef
What we love: This site celebrates disability. It is one of the most mature websites making accessible cooking content. We love that it was a passion project started by a sibling (we can relate!). There are a growing number of recipes to suit different skill levels. The instructions are easy to follow and use simple language. There are some options with healthy foods. There is also a recipe creator tool that allows you to create your own recipes using their format.
Ideas for improvement: There are user submitted recipes, which we love, but they do not seem to be reviewed for consistency. Some of the tools, measurements, and/or foods may be difficult for many users to recognize. Recipes work well printed or on a bigger screen but get pretty small if you are trying to use them on a phone.
Apps
I get it… cooking
http://igetitapps.com/app/i-get-cooking/
What we love: This is app helps people create their own recipes. You can create a screen for each step that includes a picture, voice recording, and text. There is a small library of skills and tools to help you learn some of the kitchen basics.
Ideas for improvement: This app is only available for iPhone. There are a couple of pre-loaded recipes, which means it could take a long time to get set up and create each recipe. We’d like if there were a basic set of recipes to choose from to help you get started. We find the navigation of the app somewhat confusing and a bit clunky.
Curriculum
Title: Simply Visual Recipes: Cooking through the year
Author: Alyssa Shanahan
What we love: You can buy recipes and curriculum in smaller sets to try out, or you can buy them all in a bundle. These recipes are geared toward teachers but could also be used at home. We like that the recipes are simple and easy to follow. We love that this is made for teachers by a former special education teacher.
Ideas for improvement: Non-readers may still need a lot of help. There are visual cues for each step, but they aren't always clear demonstrations. However, the simplicity may be helpful for those who are overwhelmed by rich images.
Title: Look n’ Cook
Author: Ellen Sudol, The Attainment Company
What we love: The Look n’ Cook books we mentioned above can be purchased separately. A full curriculum set including lesson plans and activities can also be purchased through the Attainment Company. A DVD with video demonstration of the recipes is included in the curriculum kit or can be purchased separately.
Ideas for improvement: This set is wonderful for instructors who have a budget to purchase curriculum materials. Home users may also find these resources useful, but they are quite expensive.
Title: Look n’ Cook
Author: Ellen Sudol, The Attainment Company
What we love: The Look n’ Cook books we mentioned above can be purchased separately. A full curriculum set including lesson plans and activities can also be purchased through the Attainment Company. A DVD with video demonstration of the recipes is included in the curriculum kit or can be purchased separately.
Ideas for improvement: This set is wonderful for instructors who have a budget to purchase curriculum materials. Home users may also find these resources useful, but they are quite expensive to but for home.
You must be logged in to post a comment.