Opinion
Family kitchen - a daily thriller in the kitchen
by Anna Sandner
Planning instead of panic: How well does this guide help in everyday kitchen life?
27.11.2025
Translation: machine translated
The family cookery book "Familienküche - Ganz entspannt: Plan, shop, cook" is a short course in healthy eating and home economics between two book covers - including lots of recipe ideas.
The title «Familienküche - Ganz entspannt: Plan, shop, cook» by Claudia Krüger really appealed to me. This is exactly how I would like to cook for my family: completely relaxed! So far, despite a lot of practice, it's been a bit of a struggle when three different flavours are waiting to be tasted after a full day at work. Time to revolutionise my life as a part-time family cook.
My hope: over 60 recipes and a comprehensive guide to help me cook over the next few days.
What the family cookery guide offers
The book starts with an information section that amazes me. I had expected an introductory section. However, I was surprised that it takes up half the book and that the actual recipes only appear on page 110. So it's reading first instead of cooking.
The book starts with a few frequently asked questions about cooking for the family, which are answered briefly and then refer to the relevant pages in the book for more in-depth information. This is followed by a detailed introduction to healthy eating. Basics that I am well aware of, but which are nicely summarised here to bring everything relevant back to the point. Then: information on how to find the right diet for my family. There are also tips on stockpiling, stress-free meal planning and the sensible use of kitchen appliances.
Source: VBZ
Overall, there is no lack of good advice and background information. After a while, however, it becomes too much theory for me; I finally want concrete recipe ideas. And the guide has quite a few of them. What I like: There is not only inspiration for main courses, but also a chapter each for breakfast, salads, soups and desserts.
Pragmatic guide: functionality before looks
I love flicking through recipe books and being inspired by the visual delights. This guide doesn't make that easy for me. Because there are not illustrations for all the dishes. Of course, I can visualise what to expect from the recipe and the ingredients. But a nice picture of the food helps me to decide whether I want to try it.
Source: VBZ
There are helpful icons that make it clear at a glance how much time and shopping you need, for example. The book provides calorie and nutritional information for each recipe. I also find little tips on variations, storage and processing interspersed throughout.
Less inspiration than I had hoped for but still found what I was looking for
However, I could argue about the suitability of some of the recipes for families. I might make salmon casserole with green asparagus for myself, but I don't need to tell my son about it. At the same time, I lack new ideas: Main courses here include potato salad, pasta salad, potato and carrot sticks with herb quark. You can definitely eat them, but they don't quite fall into the category «proper dinner». Unfortunately, this greatly reduces the number of «usable» dishes.
Source: Anna Sandner
Nevertheless, I found what I was looking for and was finally able to pull out a few ideas and test them on my family guinea pigs. The chicken pot, for example, tasted great (although as a vegetarian, I had to fish out the pieces of meat). And the homemade gourmet fillet also went down well. A dish that has been on our menu for a long time, albeit in the ready-made version from the chiller cabinet. It tastes so much better fresh and with ingredients we've chosen ourselves.
A solid guide rather than an inspiring collection of recipes
«Family cooking - completely relaxed: Plan, shop, cook» from the consumer advice centre offers a «short course» in healthy eating and home economics. The information is well-founded and reliable, which I really appreciate. The very detailed guide section leaves no questions unanswered and provides helpful tips and background information. Novice cooks and anyone who wants to get to grips with healthy eating for the first time will find this a helpful guide in the kitchen.
Source: Pedro Fortadoo
However, anyone who is basically familiar with healthy food and is experienced in cooking will probably find little that is new. The collection of recipes is less extensive than it appears at first glance, but it does contain well-known, solid dishes. If you are hoping for something more exotic and new ideas beyond potato salad and lentil soup, this is not the place for you.
In a nutshell
Mini degree programme in nutrition and home economics
This is a real everyday helper that not only provides you with recipes, but also background knowledge and practical solutions. If you're tired of standing in front of the fridge every day, this book is a reliable companion - but you shouldn't expect gourmet cuisine or foodie glossies.
Pro
- Solid recipe collection more for cookery novices
- Helpful tips for pre-cooking and utilising leftovers
- recipes for breakfast and desserts in addition to main courses
- Well-founded, well-structured guide with basics on healthy eating
Contra
- Few new ideas for experienced cooks
- sparse illustrations for the recipes
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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