Food

Mark Bittman

The Challenge

Busy, Gen-X parents may watch cooking shows, but ​when it comes to cooking for their families, they ​don’t know very much about basic cooking ​techniques.

The Solution

We went to Mark Bittman, author of How To Cook ​Everything, and The Minimalist in The New York ​Times for short but sage tips on how to cook the ​most basic dishes. (Who knew you shouldn’t pierce ​your potatoes before baking?) The novice cooks ​who knew Bittman’s reputation from his books, TV ​show and columns ate up this feature.

Cooking with Kids

The Challenge

The goal was to create a special-interest holiday ​publication for Nick Jr. Family Magazine readers, but ​give it a life that would make it last long after Santa ​had come and gone.

The Solution

Since cooking and holidays so often go hand-in-​hand, a holiday cookbook for parents and kids made ​sense. To give it longevity, we created a year-long ​holiday guide with kid-friendly recipes for ​Valentine’s Day through Christmas. To ensure ​continued use, it included a year’s worth of original ​birthday cakes themed to each month. As an added ​value for parents and kids, there were simple games ​and activities to amuse kids while the food was ​cooking.

The Makeover Moms

The Challenge

Nick Jr. Family Magazine parents wanted to give ​their kids healthy foods, but didn’t want to spend a ​lot of time (or money) fussing. Many of them were ​first-time cooks.

The Solution

Janice Bissex and Liz Weiss, The Meal Makeover ​Moms, offered ten realistic ways to up the nutrition ​of basic kid-friendly dishes, without upping the ​bother. Presenting simple recipes in an easy-to-see ​format emphasized how simple it is to make small, ​but impactful, changes.

Jamie Oliver

The Challenge

A good attitude is as important as good recipes. To ​prove to concerned parents and Nick Jr. Family ​Magazine readers that kids really will eat healthy ​food, we needed to promote cooking as a fun, ​family adventure.

The Solution

The national craze for healthy food is possibly ​surpassed only by the craze for celebrity chefs. ​Naked Chef Jamie Oliver and his kids made perfect, ​albeit messy, cover subjects. At the shoot, Jamie ​cooked, re-styled our styling, and talked for an hour ​while daughters Poppy and Daisy waited for lunch. ​No surprise, they ate everything he made. (We did ​too!)