Play Eats: Green Toys play dishes review

Green Toys is a newer company whose products are totally eco-friendly, made from recycled plastic. They're known for being kid-safe and durable.

Play Eats correspondent Carolyn (of almost half of Play Eats) has one of these sets and gives us a full report:

"This past Christmas yet another family friend sent Eloise even more play kitchen gear. Even though we already had more than enough play kitchen gear, I was thrilled with this gift -- the Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set. All Green Toys are made from recycled plastic, this particular product is made from high-density polyethylene or HDPE sourced from recycled milk jugs. Some of their other toys are made from recycled plastic bags. Their products are BPA, phthalate and PVC free and made in California. This set is safe for food contact and dishwasher safe. If Eloise wants to actually eat or drink from this set I am OK with that. I love that these dishes are dishwasher safe, especially during cold and flu season! They get lots of use.

In terms of construction, the Green Toys set has a cleaner, more simple design and feels heftier than the other plastic sets, the plastic is a little thicker and less likely to snap or break. Overall, the Green Toys set feels higher quality and is better finished, the molded seams are not as pronounced and all of the pieces are one solid piece of plastic -- compared to other sets, which are each made from 2 pieces of plastic that have been fused together and as a result seem like they may eventually break apart. The surface of this set has a slight texture, it's not completely smooth, which makes the pieces a little easier to grip, and makes it easier to wash crayon and marker off of them. It goes without saying that the Green Toys set is more gender neutral.

All the Green Toys Cookware and Dining set lacks is a teapot. If the set had a teapot it would be a complete play kitchen set. Green Toys also makes a tea set and there is a separate chef set that has 2 cooking utensils with the skillet and lidded pot. Green Toys should consider selling a total kitchen set with all of their various kitchen pieces packaged together in one box (made out of recycled cardboard naturally!)."

The verdict: Although the Green Toys play cookware sets are at a slightly higher pricepoint than others, the quality and safety of the products outweighs all of that. I love that they are toys you can actually use. How fun to take them outside in the Summer and have a real tea party!

Special thanks again to Carolyn for her thorough reviews and the photo!

Play Eats: Ikea play food and dishes review

I love Ikea. I have had a long-standing affair since junior high when a friend of mine had the catalogs at her house. As most people know, their stuff is super cheap, usually durable (depending on what it's made out of), and looks good. When Z was a baby, I drooled over the duktig dishware but didn't buy it right away. Fortunately, it was still around some time later and I was able to pick up a set of the cups and glasses (now in colors, ours are clear), and a set of the very cute teacups. My sister-in-law awesomely shared some silverware with us as they had plenty.

So far, the stuff has held up very well. It's suffered many a drop to our hardwood floors without a knick (yet). And at the price point, it wouldn't be the end of the world if we lost a saucer.

I decided not to buy the foods on our last visit to the nearest Ikea. We already have so much I couldn't justify spending anymore at that point. But luckily, Carolyn who reviewed the Pottery Barn Kitchen, has a couple of sets and offered some information:

"Like most things Ikea, the play foods are very affordable. As much as I would love to have all upcycled handmade wool felt food, I could buy all of the Ikea food for about $30 and I can throw it in the washing machine without worrying about it. Because it is fabric, it makes it easier to "eat" sandwiches than the hard wood or plastic play foods. The coolest part about the Ikea food is that some of the pieces such as the banana and lettuce have velcro on them so they can peel apart. The cake also comes apart into slices. The only letdown is the ice cream."

The verdict: Ikea play food is well priced for what you get so go for it if you are near the store. I'm not sure it's going to be a value if you have to pay for shipping. The duktig dishware is an amazing deal and worth the hour and 30 minute drive to go get it. It's cheaper than almost any other play sets out there and lovely.

Special thanks to Carolyn again! For the rest of Play Eats, click here.

Play Eats: Target's Play Wonder play food review

We now have a couple of these Target Play Wonder sets. We have gotten them on clearance for around $7.50/set, sometimes more, sometimes less. Target is always changing their packaging so you can get these cheap at least once a year.

The construction of the foods is quite nice. We haven't really had any problems with the paint chipping off or the fabric wearing. However, the "fabric" is so synthetic it's almost gross to touch it. I'm sure they made it out of this stuff so that it will stick to the hook side of velcro without pilling like acrylic felt. But it just feels cheap.

That said, these sets are super cute. We have had a lot of fun making different pizzas with the toppings (and they have faces!). The little pizza cutter has been a huge hit as well. The pancake set came with some fakin' and two pats of butter so there's a lot of realism without being over the top. I love the little jar of maple syrup.

The verdict: Definitely pick these up if you see them on sale. You can get a lot of pieces to stock your kitchen. Don't buy them full price unless you have to. The quality just isn't there and you can get the Melissa and Doug stuff for around $15 and it will last longer.

Play Eats: Melissa and Doug play foods review

We have several sets of Melissa and Doug foods. We started with the Cutting Fruits box and then split the Cutting Foods box with my niece (I mentioned before the carrot that I thought was a hot dog creeping me out). While their products are now made in China (some people have a problem with that), I do trust that this company is safe. Everything in these two sets is wooden and I did expect some of the paint to wear off (although it's really not bad at all considering how much use these have gotten). The velcro that holds the sections together is strong and we haven't had any problems. I don't have any problems with either of these sets (or any other Melissa and Doug items we have). I do see different levels of quality with different items, however. The watermelon seems to be made of a much softer, lighter wood and some of the foods have much less detail than others. Overall, for the price, these sets can not be beat. Some craft stores even carry this brand. Top a 40% or 50% off coupon to that and you can really get a bargain. Also check stores like TJ Maxx.

Our favorite set, by far, is these Bake and Decorate cupcakes. I got these from Amazon this Christmas during one of their daily deals for $10. They are awesome. The little icing tops are made of plastic and the tubes of icing are actually dry erase markers. These have kept the toddler busy for hours. As long as you erase with a paper towel shortly after decorating, these clean very easily. The first time we used them we left the marker on overnight and we had to really rub to get it off. The velcro patches hold wooden candles but we never use them. I had thought I might sew some felt berries to use instead but, well, that hasn't happened yet.

The Verdict: Melissa and Doug foods are good quality toys at an excellent price point. If you can catch these on sale, even better. They hold up well to heavy play and are good for a variety of ages. Most of the food sets come in a little crate which is excellent for storing other stuff.

For the rest of Play Eats, click here.

Play Eats: Garden Fresh Fruits and Veggies play food review

We bought this set (brand uncertain) because they are called "peel-able." We really liked the idea of being able to learn about how the fruits and veggies have layers and the peas seemed cool. While the pea pod certainly is one of the best parts of this set, the veggies aren't "peel-able." You can pull apart the pieces but the plastic is hard, and peeling implies some flexibility.

So this set was not used for the first year we had it because it was just a hot mess for chubby hands. Now that Z is almost 3, it's getting a lot of use. The only odd thing is that the scale of these pieces, while play scale, is not relative to the other pieces in the same set. They are otherwise very realistic: the peach has a pit (painted), and the orange has sections.

The verdict: We paid almost $20 for this set. It's now down to just over $15 at Amazon and eligible for free prime shipping so an excellent deal. It comes with a knife and an adorable little canvas bag. In a year of heavy use, nothing has broken and everything is still looking quite new.

Play Eats: Haba play food review

Overall, I'm impressed with the quality of Haba play foods.  I bought these "dog dogs" for Z for Christmas. I also bought a cute set of biscuits for my niece (also ten bucks).  Both sets are very nice and the tins are a nice bonus. I've also seen Haba foods at fancypants toy stores in the bigger cities that we visit and they are well made, some of felt, some of wood.

But seriously? These sets were ten bucks.  Each. 10 bucks? I photographed these with the quarter so you can see how small they are. Amazon sells a potato for 5 dollars. One potato. That's just not in my budget.

The fault isn't entirely on Haba, however. The website I bought them from (a site that has a bunch of similarly overpriced kids stuff) did not include the size. But I've never seen play foods this small so in my mind, they were much larger. (Note: The Haba foods not in tins seem to be more realistic to a play food scale).

The verdict: I feel that there are a lot of companies making play foods that are at much much better price points with similar quality and better scale. But if you are looking for quality over price or any other factor, go for Haba.