The Adventurous Eaters Club: Mastering the Art of Family Mealtime

Full Disclosure: I do not have picky kids. I have a picky husband who sneers at vegetables like he's six, as well as a weakened immune system and depression that can make basic self-care difficult. One of the major signs is my eating habits, both if/when I eat and what I eat. When you don't want to eat but know you're required to, when you don't feel like cooking but are required to eat... convenience and impartiality are the name of the game.The cookbook appealed for a variety of reasons:1) Trying to get my husband to eat a vegetable or salad.2) Battling depression is much like wrangling a kicking-and-screaming toddler into obedience when you're already too tired to live.3) Even when I'm not actively sick, I often feel like I'm coming on with something or just starting to get over it. Imagine living your life always feeling like you're just getting over the flu. Or a cold other people get over in a week lasts a month for you.4) Whatever can make my life easier while also being healthy is something I'm willing give a try.I got the cookbook yesterday and flipped through it, laughing at the 'recipes only a kid would think up' food nightmares that had a full-body shudder of horror run through me. (The breakfast popsicles. They haunt me.)Like Misha, I grew up poor and raised by a single mother. I've looked through cookbooks before only to roll my eyes and shove them back on the shelf because they're healthy living for /rich people/, not /regular people/. Regular people who work at least 40-hours a week, have kids and pets and a whole second other job that is day-to-day life, and hope they get six-hours of sleep before they have to get up and do it all again. I was somewhat wary of that with this book, as well, but given the entire point is including kids in the preparation of meals and such thought it might not be that.Majority of the recipes are fairly straight forward with minimal ingredients and a reasonable pantry/fridge list. Some things made me pull a :/ face because of cost (nuts and seeds are expensive, yo), "what is that? I've never even heard of that," or just the reality normal people don't have gardens in their backyards full of fresh herbs and pea plants. There's a yawning gulf of disconnect between your reality and mine, so the blaise' "Oh it's easy (for them), you just buy this stuff that (for you) is expensive, and go in the garden (you don't have) to get other ingredients (you can't grow)" always frustrates and really rankles me about cookbooks.But despite my irritation with the ever widening gap in tax brackets and feeling like you're screaming underwater and being misunderstood by someone who cheerfully thinks they understand--- I did like what I saw when flipping through this last night. I was so tired when I finally got home I could barely see straight, so the second half of the book is a vague blur. I'll have to go through it again and try to meal plan and make a grocery list for Friday.I am excited for it, though, and hopeful regarding the change they made in their household and hoping something similar will take place in mine. There's food I've never had because I don't know how to cook it or what you do with it, so I've never tried, like fresh brussel sprouts??? or artichoke??? or beets????? that my experience with is: comes in a bag and boiled with no flavor, it's a dip at restaurants, and Sandra Bullock's character didn't like them in her salad in Two Weeks Notice (also, they come pickled and I tried that once and my soul left my body to go sob alone in the void and never trust or love again).I'm hoping with the help of the Collins clan's unusual way of thinking might help lure two adults toward something they would otherwise distrust or be intimidated by. If they can be brave enough to try the 'recipes only a kid would think of,' I think we can manage the recipes that won't send anyone to the E.R. or worshiping the porcelain throne.

Great cook book, wonderful recipes and I love the personal touches throughout of Misha and family.

I have no children. I’m an autistic adult who likes a certain actor/writer/agent of chaos and who needs to incorporate more vegetables into my life. I’m also not the most skillful chef. I looked into it.There are points in the book that I think miss the broader point of food Justice that Misha seems to espouse now, (idk maybe I’m giving him too much credit there), and I’ve gotten feedback from some parents that this book feels judgy in parts even if the recipes are useful. The point shouldn’t be to feel shame in processed food, so I’m unsure why the writing was so heavy there.That said!!The recipes *are* really easy and accessible and I am trying them. I’ve also been buying it for parents I know, since that’s the target market. It does seem to be useful for autistic kiddos and any other kids with feeding issues.For what it’s worth, it’s also great for autistic adults who live on their own and find cooking incredibly challenging.I’m looking forward to the rice puddings the most!

I'm giving this book five stars because it actually caused my six year old AND me to become more adventurous eaters. We tried artichokes! Full disclosure: we did not like them, but with the book's encouragement we both tried several leaves with different dips to make sure.(Listen, it's time we unmasked this global conspiracy to pretend that they are a real food. I wish Amazon had a way to give a five-star rating to this cookbook while also expressing my extreme displeasure over artichokes, but I think we don't yet have the technology to really go after artichokes the way that we need to.)But back to the book (which only references artichokes on one page). The biggest, best thing this book gave my family is that now my kid tries a bite of everything on the table at every meal. We don't force her; there's no fighting or begging or bribing. We follow the advice in the book and it really works, and she likes the new system as much as we do. THIS IS HUGE.Thanks, Misha and Vicki, for nudging us a little further into adventurous eating. I hope you write more books so I can buy them and review them and keep you updated on the artichoke situation.

I love to cook & feed people, read cookbooks for fun & own way too many. This one is special.Twelve hours after I read the first 20 pages of this book, before I even got to any of the recipes, this book changed our relationship to food. And while the recipes, tips for involving kids &keeping them safe in the kitchen are very valuable, it's the combination of simply presented research and the joyful, loving, respectful, fun, family-oriented, philosophy that makes my heart sing.As much as I've tried to embody these things as a parent, I've found myself unsure about bucking the norms at times, and falling into typical patterns. I so WISH I'd had this book when my teen was little, so with no time to lose, I dove right in. After reading 20 or so pages, the very next day my kid's power struggles around food and my own feeding it jumped right out at me, and I took the opportunity to gently introduce avocado. Interestingly, she tried to fall into her normal fight with me, but I resisted judging, cajoling, etc & respected her agency. And within 12 hours of reading those pages I had both empowered my kid AND MY KID DECIDED SHE LIKES AVOCADO!It's a lovely thing to see her hold that power in her own hands, and not to get in the way of it (sniffle).Grateful to Vicki and Misha Collins for this beautiful, charming, funny labor of love. The little stories, comments, personalities, etc. make it such a pleasure to read. I'm awed at the generosity of these two...with the profits going to fight hunger.I'm also super excited about the ways the sense of adventure, fun, respect, and love embodied here will refresh and remind me to be the kind of parent I've always tried to be.

Loved it! Just bought it because I like Misha

Mas que un libro de recetas es una guía educacional de alimentación para quienes tienen hijos.Hay datos sobre desnutrición infantil, obesidad infantil y como se puede generar una armonía en la nutrición de los niños. Aparte todas las recetas son desarrolladas para que ambos tengan una tarea especifica como separar semillas, untar mantequilla etc y asi se crea una mejor relacion entre alimentación, infancia y paternidad.

思っていたよりもコンパクトで良い装丁に感動しました。写真がとても美しく鮮やかです！図鑑ぽい感じと言ったらわかりやすいでしょうか。英語が読めるでもなくミーシャコリンズさんが出していると言うことに引かれて購入したのですが、英語のレシピ本は計量単位やオーブンの温度表記、作り方の書き方に違いがあったり、そんな風に現されるのかとおもしろく勉強のしがいがあります。 辞書を片手に読み始めたいと思います。予定よりも早く到着しましたし内容も大変良好です。購入して良かったです！

Great book for helping parents and kids navigate new tastes & textures....without tantrums. It also fosters a love of cooking and creativity with food.

Lo compré sólo porque lo escribió Misha Collins, sin embargo trae recetas muy sencillas de hacer y me da buenas ideas para variar los alimentos y no sean aburridos.