Speaker 1: Hello, and good morning, Madison. How are you doing today? Good?
Speaker 2: How are you?
Speaker 1: Absolutely fantastic. I got to tell you, my wife and
I love watching cooking shows that feature kids, and along
comes your book. Oh my god, this here is so
in tune with what's really going on when it comes
to young lives.
Speaker 2: Oh thank you. We're so excited to be releasing our
first cookbook, and we know that our Highlights and High
Five magazine readers are super tuned into our recipes, so
it only makes sense for us to be combining the
creativity of cooking with kids curiosity for science.
Speaker 1: Well, that's a fun part about this is that, I mean,
even as adults, do we ever really think about the
science that goes into cooking something?
Speaker 2: There is so much science behind the food you eat,
and we've captured all the questions that kids and grown
ups have wondered. You know, why do onions make your
eyes water? Or how much water is in a watermelon?
So we're answering all the fun questions. That it's done
in a super approachable and kid friendly way that kids
and parents can love and learn from.
Speaker 1: And there's so many different things that you can do
as we can get closer to the spring months and
then into the hot summer months. I mean to have
a pucker punch with those little gummy worms in there. Yes,
this is my kind of thing that was.
Speaker 2: Such a fan favorite among our kids taste testers. I mean,
who doesn't want to try putting candy in some punch.
It's like the perfect summary drink. So there's a little
something for everyone, whether you're a picky eater or whether
you're a little bit more adventurous. We've got you know,
your fun pucker punch type of stuff, and then we've
got you know, healthier options too, So there's everything to
choose from.
Speaker 1: Well, the popsicle stick is going to be used inside
of this, and what I mean by that is is
you've got cocoa spoons here. I think this is great
for kids to invent something that they can, you know,
they can call their own and then go out and
share it with friends.
Speaker 2: Yeah, when we created this one, we really kept the
giftable nature in mind. It feels like something that you
would wrap up and give to a neighbor or a
friend or a teacher. And the great thing about it
is because you can customize each and every one of
those coco spoons you can think about what that specific
person likes and make it perfect for their taste. So
we tried to keep all of our recipes open ended
so that you can tailor everything to your own taste.
And this is a great example where you get to
think of others in their taste as well.
Speaker 1: And it's not the same welld macaroni and cheese and
chicken McNuggets. Oh no, I mean you give us the
opportunity to have pizzas and so many other things.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, there's so much stuff in there. And if we
do throw a chicken nugget in there, they are dino
chicken nuggets that are walking on a tortilla moon in
space with their little cheese helmets. Everything is super playful
and humorous and approachable for our readers.
Speaker 1: You ask a very important question inside this book. Why
are some foods sticky? I want to know why is that?
Is it because of the sugar?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so for a lot of them, it is the sugar.
And the marshmallow dinos are one of my favorite sticky recipe.
You get to learn all kinds of science behind your food.
You can learn about how the marshmallows are. You can
balance them by making sure that the center of gravity
stays between the dinosaur's feet. So we've got all kinds
of fun facts and explanations of the science behind your
food woven throughout.
Speaker 1: I can totally see school teachers adding this to their classroom.
Speaker 2: Yes, it is totally. There's so many opportunities for critical
thinking and really getting kids to think like a scientist.
So in that same marshmallow dinosaur recipe I was talking about,
it's great because kids can hypothesize what they think might work,
they can test it out, and if it doesn't work,
they really get into this problem solving mindset that a
lot of kids aren't used to. So this is a
great way to kind of introduce them to the ways
of thinking like a scientist. But it's done in a
really low stakes and fun way.
Speaker 1: See. I would love to see what the research is
going to be as you grow forward with this, and
how many kids will actually jump into you know, stem
research and all that kind of stuff, because I mean
everything here is about using your imagination to grow.
Speaker 2: Our readers are such incredible learners. They are already scientists.
They are just waiting for an opportunity like this to
unleash all of their curiosity.
Speaker 1: And creativity, And there's so many incredible good foods here.
For instance, like you know, the very very mixed salad
and you've got to seize your nugget salad in the
and the green dream salad. I mean it's I mean,
the salad is a good You know, kids will run
away from stuff like this, but when they look like,
look at this, they're going to say, no, I want
that totally.
Speaker 2: And that's a great example of another one that's super
open ended. So we want for you know, your pick,
your eaters to be able to customize it so their taste.
That's why we show so many options of all of
our recipes, and we also want for you to be
able to use what you have on hand. Every parent
has experienced that moment where you know, you go into
the pantry and you realize you're missing an ingredient. And
we've got a motto at highlights here that there's no
wrong way to cook. It's all about the fun. So
we really want for kids to get creative and make
every single recipe their own.
Speaker 1: As a kid, I couldn't stand cucumbers, but as an adult,
I crave them. Look at what you guys are doing
with your cucumbers. You've got so many different things in
here that we can add to it to make it fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And the great thing about that, going back to
the customizing, if you are the kid who doesn't like cucumbers,
maybe you swap it out for a carrot slide, yeah.
Or maybe you decide you don't want to use cucumbers
as your base, maybe you want to use some kind
of fruit like an apple or a banana. So there's
endless possibilities when it comes to your taste and getting creative.
Speaker 1: Speaking of those bananas, you also get very creative with those.
I mean I never even thought about putting peanut butter
and jelly on a banana.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a favorite among our kid taste testers.
Are one of our kid taste testers, Oliver. His mom
said that this was a great one where she could
kind of sneak in some new foods for him. So
he might be used to eating like a peanut butter
and jelly banana that's maybe a little bit normal and
safe for him, but then the banana that has some
cucumber and mint on it might have been a little
bit wackier for him. So it was a great opportunity
to say, just try one bite, and if you don't
like it, you haven't wasted all of this time and
these supplies, you know, dumping into something that you don't like,
and if you don't end up liking it, you can
always revert back to your safety zone and go back
to that peanut butter and jelly banana.
Speaker 1: Don't you think that this book introduces kids to cooking,
which then introduces them to accountability, because if you're going
to go in the kitchen and cook something, you have
to clean it up as well. It's almost like there's
a connection of all things here.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, this book is truly packed with life skills, and
that's a great example of one. We're also teaching kids
all kinds of critical thinking and problem solving skills that
are really essential to growing them as young learners. So
it's more than just learning lessons of science in this book,
it's life lessons that all kids and grown ups need.
Speaker 1: Now, I put a waffle cone, you know, crunched it
up inside my ice cream, But you put corn chips? Ooh,
what happens with that?
Speaker 2: These were also spicy corn chips, oh, which is a
really fun idea we've you know, it takes bravery to
try something like that, to try these wackier combinations, And
it was so interesting to see our kid taste testers'
reactions to them. Sometimes it was a really strong dislike
and sometimes it was like, hey, I'm kind of surprised,
but I really enjoyed that. So this is a great
way to get kids out of their comfort zone and
try new things.
Speaker 1: A lot of people don't realize how incredible pickles really
are for your body. I mean, because it's a probiotic.
The thing is, though you add a protein to it
by adding peanut butter. That's a good combination.
Speaker 2: Yes, a pickle and peanut butter sandwich is featured in there,
and that's another one that has very polarizing results. Even
within our own Highlights community. We have staff members who
are totally pro peanut butter pickle, and we've got our
grownups and kids who are maybe not all for it.
Speaker 1: And you're not afraid to teach the kids how to
cook either, I mean, because look at this cheese sandwich.
Oh my god, I want that kind of melted cheese
on mine totally.
Speaker 2: And this is a great example where families can cook together.
The kid can prepare the grilled cheese and the grown
up can help them grill it. It's something that we
love for the whole family to get involved with doing together.
So we've got your simpler recipes that younger siblings can
join in with. We've got your recipes that maybe require
an oven, and we always ask for them to help
an adult with anything hot or sharp, so parents and
grandparents and other grown ups can get involved. It's a
family activity.
Speaker 1: And you know what's really interesting about your book. And
last time I even heard of this was way back
when I took home mech when I was in the
tenth grade. Frozen yogurt baked Alaska. Why is that falling
off the map? I mean, and now, but you're putting
it back on there.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's so fun and kids get to learn about
insulating properties and how exactly does that ice cream not melt?
So it's super fun for them to dive into the
science of how their food is working. And then they
get to taste it and see it in action as
they're making it themselves.
Speaker 1: And then to make banana bread. What listeners need to
understand is that if you go to your grocery store
and you go into the produce section, a lot of
those leaders in that produce section have bananas that they're
putting to the side. For people who want to make
banana bread, you don't have to pay the high price
for bananas. Go get like a big bag for like
a buck.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's a great example where we wove in
an experiment with that recipe too, So kids can write
messages on a banana pill and they can watch how
it browns, and then they get to use that same
banana to make the banana bread. So we're trying to
keep it minimal waste, and you're getting to experience two
activities in.
Speaker 1: One man teaching kids how to or even just showing
them how to do one of these delicious boards. This
to me is like grown up stuff. So this is
going to make them feel like that they're older than
what they really are, which is a positive. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And it's really a great opportunity for kids to get
creative and decorative. Not all of cooking has to be
so traditional where there's measuring and you have to be precise.
This is a great example of one where kids can
let their creativity soar, and you know, they can play
around with different flavors they might like together they can
play around with the way that things look, so it's
a great creative exercise.
Speaker 1: Glow in the dark Gelatin. How come I even have
this when I was a kid?
Speaker 2: Super fun? And aren't the little candy eyes.
Speaker 1: Just the most adorable day? I mean, there's so many
things in here. I want to see how many adults
actually jump into this book before their kids do, because
this really is for all ages. If you just want
to just play in the kitchen.
Speaker 2: It is, and I can promise you, kid or adult,
there is something to learn. Kids are going to be
shouting out the favorite fun fact that they've learned from
this book for weeks after they start reading it. Wow.
Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about you
and everything that you're doing at Highlights?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they can check out Highlights dot com or they
can find the Ultimate Science Cookbook anywhere the books are sold.
Speaker 1: Please come back to this show anytime in the future.
The door is always going to be open for you. Madison.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much. It was lovely talking with you.
Speaker 1: Will you'd be brilliant today? Okay, thanks you too.