Calling everyone everywhere to kindness through cooking! We’re joining the #GivingTuesdayNow movement by making food and gratitude our priority on May 5, 2020. After all, cooking brings people of all races, faiths, and political views together across the globe. The spirit of #GivingTuesdayNow is central to the idea that generosity gives everyone the power to make a positive change in the lives of others and that it is a fundamental value anyone can act on. We couldn’t agree more with this philosophy.

Do you struggle with a picky eater at home? Do you feel like getting them to eat real fruits and vegetables is a kitchen battle you can’t win? Probably most parents in America would answer yes to both of these questions. However, at ChopChop Family, we are strong believers that children don’t have to stay or become picky-eaters and that family cooking and eating time can be more than easy—it can be fun! That’s why the recently released book, “Kid Food,” caught our attention in a big way.

They say that many hands make light work, and when it comes to holiday cooking, we’d like the work to be as light as possible. However, sometimes having extra hands in the kitchen can be extra work, especially if those hands are attached to young cooks who are still honing their skills. We still believe that there are plenty of ways kids can help cook for the upcoming holidays. Below are some of our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes that everyone in the family can help prepare. This year, let kids pick out one of these recipes and make it for the big meal. It might not make the work as light, but if kids start cooking now, in a few years, they’ll be able to make these dishes on their own. And that’s something to be thankful for.

One of our favorite things about cooking is that it teaches kids not only kitchen skills but also cultural literacy. Throughout ChopChop Magazine, you’ll find recipes derived from all over the world that anyone can try at home. And, in our local ChopChop Test Kitchen, we teach classes that feature these recipes as well. That’s why we were elated to learn about best-selling author Deanna Cook’s cookbook, “Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures.” The cookbook (which is released today!) shows how food is a fun way to celebrate diversity. Through its step-by-step photos and tips, it helps kids gain practical kitchen skills in creative, interactive ways all while discovering cuisines from a variety of cultures.

We’ve cooked up something new! This month we launched the newest member of the ChopChop Family, Skillet. With ChopChop we reach kids and families, with Seasoned we reach older adults, and now we are excited to reach a new demographic of young adults who are living on their own.

As a gay immigrant of color, Nik Sharma is in many ways the ultimate outsider. But with his infectious passion for food and his sheer inventiveness at the stove, he creates recipes that appeal to everyone. Growing up in Bombay, India, with a Hindu father and a Christian mother, Nik was introduced as a child to the blending of culinary traditions and flavors. When he later spent time cooking with his husband’s mother in the American South, he came to know yet another style of cooking. “I started to play with ingredients that were new to me,” he says, “and transformed them with the techniques I learned in India. My two distinct worlds were coming together through aroma and taste.”

You know our vibrant photos that you see of our recipes and of kids and families cooking together? Well, they didn’t just magically appear…Thanks to our talented photographer, Carl Tremblay, as well as our gifted food stylist, Catrine Kelty, we have a plethora of photos that show how delicious real food truly is. We asked Catrine Kelty about her background, experience with food styling, advice for others wanting to be food stylists, and other fun questions. Come for a free public food styling demo with Catrine at Faneuil Hall Marketplace (4 S. Market St., Boston, MA) on October 17 at 5:30 p.m.