The Montessori Kitchen
Cooking Together to Nurture Your Child's Curiosity, Confidence, and Love of Food
Will be published approx. on 13. October 2026
256 pages
E-Book
978-1-5235-2848-6 (ISBN)
Description
The kitchen is the perfect home Montessori learning environment, and now award-winning cookbook author Kristen Miglore teams up with bestselling Montessori author Junnifa Uzodike to create a perfect guide for parents and kids to play and learn together through cooking.
The kitchen is the perfect playground for children to tackle new skills and experience everything-the play, the science, the math, the magic-that cooking and baking have to offer. New groceries coming in and out. Colorful vegetables being washed and prepped and cooked. Different ingredients being scooped and measured and transformed, with so many points along the way to see, smell, touch, taste, and listen. And endless opportunity for conversation with their grown-ups. The newest book in the bestselling Montessori series offers parents a new way to think about time spent in the kitchen with their young kids with over 50 delicious, nutritious, unexpected interactive recipes. The fun starts before baby is born, with wholesome, easy foods for the pregnant and postpartum parent. The book takes parents through those early months in the kitchen wearing and talking to baby while prepping dinner, to creating baby- and toddler-friendly corners in the kitchen, to developing those first kitchen skills, eating together, and fostering their growing independence. Children can learn about flavor and practice spreading with Beet Tahini Dip, explore texture with Spinach Meatballs with Saucy Spaghetti, and experiment with spice variations with Zucchini Spice Muffins. As they grow, they can prep and measure out ingredients for Sunday Blueberry Pancakes, and roll the dumplings for Sweet Potato Gnocchi. And through it all, families learn about the Montessori way of parenting-and connecting-in the kitchen.
The kitchen is the perfect playground for children to tackle new skills and experience everything-the play, the science, the math, the magic-that cooking and baking have to offer. New groceries coming in and out. Colorful vegetables being washed and prepped and cooked. Different ingredients being scooped and measured and transformed, with so many points along the way to see, smell, touch, taste, and listen. And endless opportunity for conversation with their grown-ups. The newest book in the bestselling Montessori series offers parents a new way to think about time spent in the kitchen with their young kids with over 50 delicious, nutritious, unexpected interactive recipes. The fun starts before baby is born, with wholesome, easy foods for the pregnant and postpartum parent. The book takes parents through those early months in the kitchen wearing and talking to baby while prepping dinner, to creating baby- and toddler-friendly corners in the kitchen, to developing those first kitchen skills, eating together, and fostering their growing independence. Children can learn about flavor and practice spreading with Beet Tahini Dip, explore texture with Spinach Meatballs with Saucy Spaghetti, and experiment with spice variations with Zucchini Spice Muffins. As they grow, they can prep and measure out ingredients for Sunday Blueberry Pancakes, and roll the dumplings for Sweet Potato Gnocchi. And through it all, families learn about the Montessori way of parenting-and connecting-in the kitchen.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Junnifa Uzodike | Kristen Miglore
The Montessori Kitchen
A Parent's Guide to Nurturing Your Child's Curiosity, Confidence, and Connection to Food
Book
approx. 10/2026
Workman Adult
€31.50
Not yet published
Persons
Kristen Miglore is a New York Times bestselling cookbook author and was the founding editor of Food52. After being nominated for a James Beard Award for Food52's Genius Recipes column, she wrote the cookbooks Genius Recipes, Genius Desserts, and Simply Genius, all IACP Award winners. She contributes regularly to The New York Times and her writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appétit, Real Simple, and The Atlantic. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and her favorite cooking teachers, her young daughter and son.
Junnifa Uzodike, an AMI-trained Montessori teacher, sits on the executive board of AMI. She runs a Montessori school, Fruitful Orchard, in Abuja, Nigeria, where she lives with her husband and three young children.
Junnifa Uzodike, an AMI-trained Montessori teacher, sits on the executive board of AMI. She runs a Montessori school, Fruitful Orchard, in Abuja, Nigeria, where she lives with her husband and three young children.
Content
Introduction
- Let's change the way we see children in the kitchen
- A brief history of Montessori
- How to use this book
- Some key Montessori principles-and how they show up in the kitchen
- How to cook a recipe with your child the Montessori way
- Who we are
Chapter 1: Nourishing Food for New Mothers
(Pregnancy to 6 Months)
- Where the relationship with food begins in Montessori
- Before your baby is born
- After baby arrives
Recipes
- Ginger Molasses Tea
- Almond Butter Berry Smoothies
- Honey-Nut Bars
- Powerball Cookies
- Seaweed Soup (Miyeokguk)
- Dal Minestrone
- Cheddar and Green Chile Frittata
- Warm Chicken and Rice SalaD
Chapter 2: First Solids
(6 to 12 Months)
- Introducing solid food: the Montessori approach to an important milestone
- Preparing the environment
- Where to eat
- An introduction to baby-led weaning
- More tips
- To observe
Recipes and More
- Soft fruits and veggies for little fingers
- Nana's Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Banana Muesli Pancakes
- Beet Tahini Dip
- Bright Green Kale Pasta
- Salmon Cracker Cakes
- 6 quick meals for babies
- Spinach Meatballs with Saucy Spaghetti
- Lamb with Sweet Potatoes and Yogurt
Chapter 3: Exploring and Taking Control
(12 to 18 Months)
- Cooking with your toddler: the Montessori approach
- The toddler-friendly kitchen
- Hands-On Activity: Setting Up a Toddler Dishwashing Station
- How to start cooking with a toddler
- Eating together
- How to think about picky eating
- To observe
Recipes and More
- Solu's Almond Milk
- Mango Chia Pudding
- Purple Oats with Berries and Cinnamon
- Hands-On Activity: Hard-Boiled or Jammy Eggs
- 9 ways to top hard-boiled or jammy eggs
- Scoop and Swirl Yogurt Bark
- Torn and Roasted Mushrooms
- Smashed Potatoes
- 6 ways to make toast a meal
- Hands-On Activity: Citrus-Herb Salmon
- Blueberry Yogurt Pops
Chapter 4: Getting Active in The Kitchen And Beyond
(18 Months to 3 Years)
- Reframing the terrible twos
- Joining the team
- Connecting the kitchen to the outside world
- Eating together
- To observe & to practice
Recipes and More
- Hands-On Activity: Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice
- Roasted Applesauce
- Hands-On Activity: Egg In a Heart-Shaped Hole
- Puffy Pancake with Raspberries and Lemon
- Arepas
- 9 fun snacks to make together
- Hummus
- Hands-On Activity: Crisper Drawer Noodle Soup
- Juicy Tomato Caprese Salad
- A Big Pot of Beans
- Hands-On Activity: Crispy Roasted Snacking Beans
- Tiny Spiced Cookies (Kuidnoten)
- No-Churn Honey-Lemon Ice Cream
Chapter 5: Learning And Understanding the World Through Food
(3 to 4 years)
- A Montessori milestone
- The age of play
- Eating together
- Skills to show precisely & to practice
Recipes and More
- Hands-On Activity: Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Parfaits
- Pantry Hunt Granola
- Sunday Blueberry Pancakes
- Hands-On Activity: Omelets For Little Ones
- Za'atar and Cheese Flatbreads (Manakeesh)
- Hands-On Activity: Butterflies On A Log
- Lemony Cauliflower Salad
- Hands-On Activity: 3 Fun Dips For Crunchy Vegetables
- Seedy Cheese Crackers
- Fish with Tomatoes and Olives
- Zucchini Spice Muffins
- Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
Chapter 6: The Arrival of Independence
(5 to 6 years)
- Toward the second plane of development 000
- Cooking together 000
- Eating together 000
- To practice 000
- What's next 000
Recipes and More
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Dates
- Sweet or Savory Crepes (Bliny)
- Fluffy Whole Grain Waffles
- Extra-Crispy Grilled Cheese with Fresh Tomato Soup
- Niçoise Salad with Smashed Anchovy Dressing
- Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- Perfect Stovetop Popcorn
- Rainbow Vegetable Traybake
- Party Pizza
- Sweet Nature Carrot Cake
- Oat Cookies and Hot Cocoa
Appendixes
- Real Montessori Families
- Resources
- Thank-Yous
- Recipe Index
- Index
