Pancakes will sometimes come out simultaneously burned and undercooked. Milk will undoubtedly be spilled. Encourage your kids to bring their unique personalities and vision into cooking without worrying about doing it “right.” If that means a few eggshells in the batter, so be it.
Say-Hello-To-Chili Hot Chocolate. Salad Bar In A Mason Jar. Mouse Nibbles. Stick Juice. These are just some of the new and eccentric recipes inside Misha and Vicki Collins’s new cookbook, The Adventurous Eaters Club.
After weeks and weeks of waiting, it is finally hitting the shelves. Full of beautifully vibrant photos and real strategies that draw from nutritional studies and childhood experts, The Adventurous Eaters Club comes ready to change the way families take on mealtime.
Before deep-diving into a sea of mystical and kid-friendly recipes, the book goes through the painful ventures Misha and Vicki went through when their kids were younger. For them, it was difficult to bring healthy food to the table without creating a war. This all changed when one day, Misha decided to bring his son’s stroller to the supermarket. At the time, he was only two.
When they got home, he realized that his son, West, had thrown some interesting ingredients into their bag. Instead of tossing the mystery items out – which included foods like Jerusalem artichokes and canned ham – the two worked together to cook what they had. Misha and Vicki quickly discovered that by letting their kids take some control in the kitchen, they were more willing to try things outside of their usual palette.
On top of their personal battles, they also go through the issues with American kid menus, as well as kitchen table bribery. In the second chapter of the book, they offer their ten secrets into making family meals not only adventurous, but happy too. There is also a chapter on essential kitchen tools, which is partnered with an important snippet on kitchen safety. It is an incredibly strong guide for families who really want to transform their kitchens into a place where kids can experiment and create.
Then come the recipes.
Some of them are bold. A few of them sound downright magical. Many of them are seemingly outlandish… But all of them bring the potential for having massive amounts of fun while making and discovering something new.
Each recipe has a similar format. On the left side of the page, there is an estimated serving size, as well as a list of ingredients. While there are measurements, it is important to note that following them is not required. As stated in the book, “these recipes are meant to be improvised on.” If you want to follow it precisely, you can. If you want to guesstimate and measure using your hands, that is perfectly okay too. And substitutions? You have Misha and Vicki’s “full permission to let your kids add, substitute, or swap” any of the ingredients.
After a small explanation about the recipe, in easy to understand terms, the book gives step-by-step instructions. Certain steps are specifically labeled as the “Kid’s job!”. Everything is written so parents know what to do, and kids find excitement while doing their part. For example, in one of the kid jobs in Nutty Milk, the instruction reads “Be the timer: when your grown-up starts the blender, start singing the alphabet. When you’re done singing, the blending is done!”
No matter what you’re looking for – new recipes that aren’t boring to make and devour, a way to change your child’s diet, adorable pictures of Misha and Vicki’s family – you will find something worth having within this cookbook. On top of those takeaways, purchasing this book will also help underserved children gain access to healthy food, as Misha and Vicki are donating one-hundred percent of their author profits to non-profit programs.
The Adventurous Eaters Club is now available through a variety of retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and IndieBound. To see a larger list of booksellers, look here. If you want a signed copy, two bookstores in Washington have announced special author events. If you cannot make one of the signings, both retailers have an option to pre-order a personalized copy that will be shipped out to you. You can find more information about these events down below.
November 8th, 2019 at 6:00PM – Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA
November 12th, 2019 at 7:00PM – Village Books in Bellingham, WA
Let us know your thoughts on Misha’s new venture at @CelebMix!
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