“Anything is possible when you make it possible!” Those were the wiser-than-her year’s words from 8-year-old Lilly Bumpus, words she held onto when she beat childhood cancer, and a mantra she came back to when she set the national record for my Girl Scout Cookies in one season earlier this spring. Lilly shattered the record by selling 32,484 boxes of cookies, a truly astonishing feat. She beat the previous record by more than 8,000 boxes.

And, she’s using some of the proceeds to give back to other childhood cancer warriors in hospitals around the nation. Part of her tally was 5,000 donation boxes that will be going to other kids suffering from cancer, helping feed the homeless, and to deployed troops.

Lilly was born with a form of childhood cancer and has been cancer-free for 7 years, although the road has had its share of difficulties for her, according to her mom. Because of cancer, she can’t do physical activities like sports and cheerleading, so her mom got her involved in Girl Scouts so she could have some normal extracurricular activity. When she hit the 7-year cancer-free mark, her family shared her accomplishment:

“Let my Lilly remind you today, Don’t EVER give up on your dreams. No matter how big or small. No matter if it’s for your physical or mental Health… YOU ARE WORTH IT! Keep fighting and know when YOU prove the impossible is possible, you light a way for others to follow. Be the light. Always be the light.”

This was a hard year to sell for Girl Scouts since a lot of traditional methods were limited due to COVID. No more having dad sell boxes in the office when everyone is remote, no more door-to-door sales in most of the country. But, for the second straight year, troops could sell online, and Lilly was in a booth selling with every free moment, in addition to making cookie deliveries before and after school most days.

Her mom said “When I told her at the beginning of the season how tough it would be to sell this year, she told me, ‘Nothing is impossible if everybody chose to make it possible.'”

Lilly said it meant so much to her to see that final number.

Her mom thanked the community for their support when they officially broke the record. She also thanked other families of “cancer warriors” from around the country who helped their crusade by buying boxes from Lilly. She also said when she told Lilly that people overseas even bought boxes, Lilly replied:

“The world hates cancer just like we do mom. It’s time for us all to work together to end it! End it for once and for all”

Her mom responded by posting:

“Dear world…… you’re showing my 8 year old cookie hustling cancer survivor that together we can and will end cancer. That nothing is impossible when you make it possible!”

Lilly’s story and her hustle are incredible, and it will take people like her (and so many others) to end the scourge of childhood cancer.

It often feels like toddlers are some sort of other-world species doing their best human impressions. Actually, aside from the “other world” thing, that’s basically what toddlers are. They have all of the equipment to become humans, but none of the software. Toddlers wobble around absorbing information, learning from the people around them what it means to act like a person. The most beautiful thing about toddlers is just how little they understand about judgment from others – it’s a sort of freedom that leads them to do absurd things daily because, well, who cares?

Twitter user dadmann_walking zeroed in on one aspect of toddlerhood that leaves parents around the world completely baffled – their eating habits. Toddlers are in a constant phase of experimentation, doing whatever the heck they want to figure out the world around them. But somehow, even with that intense curiosity, toddlers are picky as heck when it comes to the foods they’re willing to eat. Parents regularly throw up their hands and cave to their little ones’ whims (within reason), happy that they’re at least eating something.

Dadmann_walking figured that maybe, just maybe, these toddlers were onto something. The father of three turned to Twitter with an odd request, one he quickly regretted.

“Tell me some really weird food combinations that your toddlers have eaten,” he wrote, “and i will choose some and make a video of me eating these things.”

Tell me some really weird food combinations that your toddlers have eaten and i will choose some and make a video of me eating these things.

— Dadman Walking (@dadmann_walking) March 31, 2021

According to his Twitter bio, dadmann’s youngest is six years old. He’s far removed from the toddler years and clearly hasn’t caught a kid drinking ketchup straight from the bottle in a while. The replies quickly poured in, and uh, they’re not pretty.

Haha

2yo insisted on sliced apples and ketchup for breakfast the other day.

— Jared (@jaredpatz) April 1, 2021

Hahaha

Sugar cookies with icing dipped in ranch.

— Tracy Pierceall 📚❤ (@Tracy_Pierceall) March 31, 2021

Hahahaha

My kid once mixed Cheerios into beef stew.
He also used to eat goldfish crackers with milk like a bowl of cereal.
And also manage to drink a cup of apple juice and a cup of milk simultaneously. Via 1 straw into each cup or double sippy cups.

— degenerate friend (@krivar) April 6, 2021

Ok, well now I just feel bad

“tuna cone”. Tuna salad that is put into a mini ice cream cone (instead of ice cream)

-dont judge. I was desperate to get the kid to eat 🤣🤣. he ate it though!

— SheMathmatates (@SheMathmatates) March 31, 2021

Like an absolute champ, this dad kept his word. But first, he had to get some supplies.

i fully regret this tweet.

i’ll pick some out and see if i can do it tonight or tomorrow. basically all i need is milk, ketchup and yogurt and random food and dip it in those things.

— Dadman Walking (@dadmann_walking) March 31, 2021

In a two-part stomach-churning series, dadmann came through. “None of these foods should go together,” he begins. “None of them.”

Completely exasperated, he digs in. Hot dogs dipped in blueberry yogurt, so many things dipped in ketchup, banana dipped in ranch dressing, a peanut butter and mustard sandwich – understandably, he can’t even get most of these combos down. But the point is he tried, and for that, we’re both proud and horrified.

Watch at your own risk.
Part 1

NASTY FOOD YOUR TODDLERS EAT!!

PART 1 pic.twitter.com/gbA1LeEBgI

— Dadman Walking (@dadmann_walking) April 7, 2021

And (ugh) part 2

NASTY FOOD YOUR TODDLERS EAT

PART 2. pic.twitter.com/xL6zojzLIh

— Dadman Walking (@dadmann_walking) April 7, 2021

If there’s been one big change in parenting over the last year, it’s the willingness of dads to indulge their children in Tik Tok requests. It doesn’t matter how famous you are either, as we learned this month when famous TV angry chef man Gordon Ramsay appeared on his daughter’s Tik Tok for a “magic trick.” Except this trick was less of the magic variety, and more of the straight-up prank variety, as 19-year-old Tilly Ramsay went for it and left her famous dad with egg on his face, literally.

The setup is simple, Tilly claims she can make an egg disappear by balancing it on a bottle of water. After using some sleight of hand to remove the egg, he leans over the bottle of water to see where it is. She then squeezes the bottle, splashing her dad in the face. And then the egg makes its reappearance, now in her hand and being smashed over his head.

After hitting him with the prank, she took off running, presumably forever. In the Tik Tok she posted, she said she was still running far, far away, which would be my strategy too if Gordon Ramsay was my dad.

 

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The famous TV food guy shared it on his Instagram, saying someone did the dishes in their household last night. A paltry punishment for total humiliation, but also a sign of being a good dad, when you’re willing to play the total mark for your kid’s enjoyment. The clip has been viewed more than 15 million times.

However, this cannot stand as the end, as any good prank war veteran can tell you, the first battle is only the beginning. And Gordon owes it to dads everywhere to take back the upper hand.

Two chefs drove six hours to make a meal for a dying woman because that’s how insanely great they are. A Maryland resident, Brandon Jones, reached out to a restaurant his mother-in-law loved when she visited, Ekiben, to request the recipe of her favorite dish. His mother-in-law was in the final stages of lung cancer and didn’t have long to live, and had always said she when she was on her deathbed, she wanted to have that dish. So Jones planned to make the tempura broccoli dish for her in Vermont.

The owner/chef of Ekiben, Steve Chu, said he would not give him the recipe. He said he would do one better and literally drive six hours to make it for her in person. Jones asked if he was sure, Chu said “no problem, you tell us the date, time and location and we’ll be there.”

So on the day, Chu and co-owner Ephrem Abebe loaded up their pickup and made the trek north from Baltimore to Vermont. They set up a makeshift kitchen in the bed of their truck outside the house and worked through freezing temperatures to get the fryer working.

 

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They made the tempura broccoli and tofu nuggets with spicy peanut sauce with roasted garlic. When they were done, they boxed it up, rang the doorbell, and left it with the family.

 

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The lady was incredibly touched and the entire family was in tears over their generosity, and the chefs made so much they were able to have lunch the next day. The duo wouldn’t accept any payment. Not only that, but Chu said he recognized the 72-year-old woman from coming to the restaurant. “We see a lot of people in the restaurant, but she always stood out,” Chu told the Baltimore Sun. “She loves the food and always made sure to tell us. She’s an amazing, sweet lady.”

“To me, it was a huge honor to be able to help fulfill the family’s wishes. This is about her, not us. There was a lot of good, positive energy in doing this.”

That is a level of customer service that is truly extraordinary. To drop everything and make a 12-hour round trip just to bring some measure of happiness to a family that’s hurting is not something everyone would do.

Few industries have been crushed over the last year like restaurants, but people like Chu and Abebe are ones you hope can make it through to the other side. And Ekiben must be amazing if it’s literally been someone’s dying wish.

Cooking TV shows are having a moment, and while there are many good ones (an obligatory nod to British people getting cute with baking), the GOAT is clearly “Chopped” on the Food Network. From the framework of the game, the judges, the contestants, it’s got it all. And now the network is doubling down on that recipe by moving the bar even HIGHER.

Chopped is getting a spin-off where at least one special basket ingredient will be known ahead of time; cannabis. “Chopped 420” is taking our favorite cooking show to new heights (it never stops!) as we get all the things we love about the show, with the added wrinkle of cooking with cannabis.

To do this show properly, you need the right host for the job, and here they knocked it out of the park by choosing comedian Ron Funches. Not only is he wildly hilarious, but he’s truly a delight of a person (and a great dad!).

So happy to finally announce that I’m now part of the #Chopped Family and will be hosting #Chopped420 on @discoveryplus 4/20 2021. 🔪 💨 https://t.co/7oUYgd1Suc

— Funch (@RonFunches) March 17, 2021

The rest of the formula will look familiar, four chefs competing through an appetizer, main course and dessert round, the $10,000 grand prize, etc etc. The judges for the new show will include Esther Choi, Luke Reyes, Sam Talbot, and Tacarra Williams, among others.

The new series will be the “first time in Chopped history” that contestants will “utilize cannabis to enhance their dishes,” Food Network president Courtney White said in a statement. “Viewers are in for a wild ride.”

The show will debut on Discovery+ (a super underrated contender in the streaming wars) on 4/20 because of course, it will.

Spring is here, and now maybe the most “spring” gimmick of all time, a brand new marshmallow soda from Pepsi. And not just any marshmallow, it’s a collab with the GOAT of decorative Easter candy, as Pepsi is releasing a Peeps flavored cola. That’s right, for some reason, we are getting a Pepsi x Peeps flavor.

Not only are we getting the limited edition cola, but much like Peeps themselves, we’re getting it in different colors. The sweet Peeps soda will come in yellow, pink, and blue mini cans. Perfect for Easter baskets!

We’re “More Than OK” with our newest #PEPSIxPEEPS flavor. Take a photo of you & your PEEPS candy enjoying spring tagging @pepsi w/ #HangingWithMyPEEPS + #PepsiSweepstakes for a chance to win our cans.

RULES: https://t.co/VLRKt7WPPr pic.twitter.com/pqx1CeALuv

— Pepsi (@pepsi) March 25, 2021

“After what has been a very difficult year, many consumers are looking for new things to smile about,” a Pepsi spokesman said in a statement. “We know our consumers love our limited product drops, and we believe that PEPSI x PEEPS will deliver an iconic and delicious pairing that has the potential to become a fan favorite.”

 

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How can you beat an iconic and delicious pairing? Honestly, it doesn’t sound bad. Cola is sweet, marshmallow is sweet, it could work. It’s like coffee-flavored Coke, it’s an intriguing combo. Throw in a cute can and you can do a lot worse for a novelty drop.

It’s also got some major FOMO potential, as it’s only available through a Twitter contest. You can grab the limited-edition flava by using the #HangingwithmyPeeps and #PepsiSweepstakes hashtags to show how you celebrate spring. Pepsi will pick 3,000 winners, and then you can pretend the soda is the greatest thing ever just to make all your friends jealous.

We’ve done it, we have reached peak Baby Yoda! The little guy became a pop culture sensation shortly after his debut in season 1 of “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ and went from a must-have toy to just about everything else. And now, The Baby Yoda wave has crested, with his own sushi roll.

The head sushi chef at Wave Asian Bistro and Sushi in Florida came up with the perfect Grogu inspired salmon sushi roll, which The Child himself would approve of. You can watch head sushi chef Alexis Morgan make edible Grogu from start to finish.

 

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Think of where we have been with the Baby Yoda craze. It started when Star Wars fans couldn’t even get their hands on toys, since Disney rolled them out slowly (in an effort to prevent spoilers). That led fans to chopping the heads off angel cookies to make Baby Yoda cookies, and even Ba-Yo cocktails.

Then we got the toys we so richly wanted, including LEGO versions for kids, animatronic versions, and even super expensive high-end toys for collectors. After a second season of “The Mandalorian”, Star Wars fans even got a lot more of The Child’s backstory. Grogu has a name, a dark past, and even a reunion with a Star Wars legend, one that seemingly will take him off the show for a while.

So it stands to reason the Baby Yoda craze will begin to hit the downslope. With less Grogu on TV, there’ll be less demand for the little green guy, and thus wild creations like his own salmon roll are some of the last big hurrahs for the force-wielding youngster.

When I was a kid, every year we would give our grandfather beef jerky for the holidays as a gift. He loved jerky, and it was an easy gift for a bunch of kids to buy and give. Back in those days, original was the main (and only) flavor and the idea of a jerky subscription box was still many years away, so it wasn’t like we had to make a lot of tricky decisions.

I’m not sure what my grandfather would think of some of the flavors in today’s best beef jerky subscription packages, but I can guarantee he wouldn’t have argued with receiving jerky every month in the mail.

There’s a lot to like about beef jerky. Who are we kidding? There’s a lot to love about beef jerky. It’s delicious, it has a great texture, and it’s a fun snack. Don’t tell the kids, but beef jerky puts their beloved fruit snacks and Rick and Morty Pringles to shame. (Although if Rick and Morty dabble in sponsoring a Szechuan flavored beef jerky, we’ll be first in line.)

Bottom line: We love jerky. We’re sharing our love of jerky with you by creating this list of the best jerky subscription boxes.

Remember, the best beef jerky subscription makes a perfect Father’s Day gift. Dad will receive a reminder of how much the kids care 12 times per year, after all, rather than only on that special, special day in June.

LOLJerky Subscription Box

LOLJerky subscription boxes emphasize quality over quantity, giving the beef jerky snob the perfect collection of flavors and textures each month. LOLJerky sources its beef from local farms, seeking to boost quality.

Choose among one, two, four, or eight bags of jerky each month with your subscription. Some flavors this beef jerky subscription has featured in the past include:

• Spicy teriyaki
• Baby blues BBQ
• Korean BBQ
• Sriracha honey

Best of all, with “LOL” in the name, when you suggest to the kids that they give this to you as a best Father’s Day gift, they might actually remember it.

Buy for $22 per month on LOLJerky

Jerky Subscription Beef Jerky of the Month Club

When looking at brands, sometimes you don’t want a crazy, clever name. You just want the brand name to tell you exactly what you’re receiving. For example, when you visit TheDad.com, you know exactly what you’re receiving. At one time, though, when you visited WhiteHouse.com, you were definitely not receiving what you were expecting. (WhiteHouse.org is where you should’ve visited … at least that’s what you were thinking while you were serving your detention after visiting WhiteHouse.com on the school computer.)

When you are ordering a product from Jerky Subscription, thankfully, you’re receiving exactly what you are expecting — one of the best beef jerky subscription options.

Jerky Subscription uses only American-raised beef for its products, which are available in subscriptions of two, four, six, or eight bags each month.

It focuses on small-batch craft jerkies that give customers unique flavors and excellent quality.

Some of the flavors shipped in the past include:

• Cowboy pepper
• Sesame teriyaki
• Fiery hot
• Lemongrass
• Habanero ale

Buy for $20 on Amazon

Jerky Snob Jerky Subscription Box

Being a snob may still have a slightly negative connotation, but this word certainly doesn’t have the same meaning it had a generation ago. These days, if you’re a beer snob, a whiskey snob, and a wine snob, it only means you demand a certain level of quality from these products. (It also means you really like alcohol.)

So when you order the Jerky Snob brand as a best beef jerky subscription, you’re telling others that you demand the best from your beef jerky. Jerky Snob offers subscriptions with two, four, or eight bags per month.

Jerky Snob focuses on unique flavors and textures. It also occasionally includes exotic jerky meats, such as elk or boar, in addition to the beef jerky. Some of the flavors of jerky in past boxes include:

• Wicked Boston original
• Bold and smoky BBQ
• Baja
• Orange teriyaki

Buy for $18 on Amazon

Jerky.com Beef Jerky of the Month Club

You’d expect a Jerky.com jerky subscription box to give you more ordering options than others, and you’d be right.

When seeking the best beef jerky subscription box from Jerky.com, you can select one, two, four, six, eight, or 12 bags per month. Jerky.com also offers an exotic jerky subscription, and — brace yourself — a Jerky of the Week Club. They know our weakness. We love jerky, and we eat all of it as fast as we can, so we always need more. (Let’s just hope they don’t introduce a Jerky of the Hour Club, or we’re in big trouble.)

Some of the available beef jerky flavors include

• Hickory
• Honey pepper
• Teriyaki
• Pale ale beer
• Montreal style

Buy for $16 on Jerky.com

Sumo Jerky Subscription Box

With a name like Sumo Jerky, you may expect mega-sized bags and boxes of beef jerky to arrive in the mail … maybe enough to actually last for the entire month, but probably not. (Did we mention we really like jerky?)

Well, the bad news is the Sumo Jerky subscription box is about the same size as others on our list, offering three, six, or 12 bags per shipment. However, Sumo Jerky focuses on delivering rare brands of jerky, interesting flavors, and small-batch options, creating some unique taste opportunities.

You’ll pay for between three and 12 months of your subscription at one time, rather than monthly.

Some of the flavors in past Sumo Jerky boxes include:

• Mango habanero
• Hickory smoked
• Teriyaki
• BBQ mesquite

With Sumo Jerky, we’d recommend wearing pants instead of a loincloth when meeting the delivery person at the door with your monthly box. After that, when you’re eating the jerky, though? It’s up to you. Go nuts.

Buy for $29 on Sumo Jerky

Club Jerky Subscription Box

For those who like small-batch jerkies with a variety of flavors, Club Jerky will ship these tough-to-find brands to your home every month. Select either two or four bags per month with the subscription package.

And for those who hate the way jerky tends to stick in their teeth, this subscription comes with Club Jerky toothpicks. There are even trading cards in some boxes. (We guarantee the Club Jerky jerky tastes far better than the baseball trading card gum from back in the day.)

Some flavors found in past boxes include:

• Orange Baja
• Whiskey BBQ
• Baja carne asada
• Bacon jalapeno

Buy for $20 on Cratejoy

Stick in a Box Jerky Subscription

Stick in a Box tells us that we should “get our meat in a box like a king.” We’re not arguing. Having someone else give us meat each month is a damn fine idea.

This subscription offers anywhere from two to 21 bags of jerky in the box each month, depending on your subscription level. For those who want to feel like a king, go for 21 bags.

Some of the flavors available include:

• Jalapeno beef
• Western style
• Teriyaki

Buy for $32 on Cratejoy

Buffalo Bills Classic Beef & Exotic Jerky Subscription Box

Maybe beef jerky isn’t adventurous enough for you. If so, Buffalo Bills has you covered with elk, turkey, boar, and venison.

However, the main meat you’ll receive is beef in many different flavors. This box is for the big eater or for the family to share. (Yeah, right.) It ships with 10 different snacks per month. It sticks primarily to Buffalo Bills branded jerkies and sausage sticks, but you will receive a few other brands each month.

This box is the best beef jerky subscription package for someone who prefers the Buffalo Bills brand, rather than for someone who prefers trying new brands constantly.

Some of the flavors you may receive include:

• Mesquite
• Black pepper
• Hickory smoked
• Barbeque
• Teriyaki

Buy for $60 on Amazon

Box of Jerks Beef Jerky Subscription

Box of Jerks chooses to focus its bags of jerky on those with a lot of taste and a lot of character. These craft jerkies come from suppliers from across the United States.

Pick among three, five, or seven bags per month with your subscription. All of the jerky from Box of Jerks comes from the United States. Box of Jerks makes it easy to subscribe for yourself or to give the subscription box as a gift. (Hint, hint.)

Some of the flavors available include:

• Peppered stout
• Voodoo hot sauce
• Black pepper

Buy for $23 on Box of Jerks

Nativo Beef Jerky Subscription Box

For those who are less interested in trying different small-batch jerkies, exotic jerkies, or odd flavors of jerkies, the Nativo Beef Jerky subscription box is made with you in mind. Your monthly box contains only Nativo branded jerkies of different flavors.

Nativo focuses on its own manufacturing process and on delivering the best quality from its own brand, rather than relying on other producers to fill out the box.

It’s also a little less expensive than some others on our list, delivering six bags per month for $21. We’ll never argue with receiving more jerky for less money.

Some of the flavors available include:

• Adobo
• Hickory
• Hot habanero
• Lemon pepper
• Chile de Arbol

Buy for $21 on Cratejoy

Although we only recommend picks we really love, we may earn a commission on purchases made through links from our site.

No one innovates quite like the makers of candy. It’s really one of two paths to survive in a cutthroat sweets industry. You either lean heavy into nostalgia and make candy that reminds people of their childhood, or you dump a bunch of chocolate on the “rules” because you just don’t care.

Some have it both ways, like Reese’s, who will never stop making the Peanut Butter Cups you know and love. Even the seasonal delicacies (the eggs are the best, and I will fight anyone who stands for trees or pumpkins) will be a holiday staple for decades. But they also know how to branch out, and next month they’ll be selling their first all Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter cup.

 

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That’s right, they are giving you the same peanut butter filling you love, and replacing the chocolate shell with…more peanut butter. In some respects, it sorta feels like they are selling you globs of peanut butter in a wrapper. But that’s the goal here.

A Reese’s brand manager said the Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cup (as an aside, the Lovers Cup sounds like some sort of inappropriate trophy) is just for a certain population.

“While launching a Reese’s Cup with absolutely no chocolate might come as a shock, we’re giving the truest peanut butter fans something to go wild about,” she said.

The brand launched the product on National Peanut Butter Day (March 1 if you don’t have your calendar handy) but will roll it out everywhere in April. It’ll be available in the standard, king size, and mini forms, but only for a limited time.

Because even some great Peanut Butter Loves have to end.

Every dad knows the pain of cooking dinner for a picky eater. But, there are picky eaters and there are clinically diagnosed picky eaters, the latter of which sent one parent to the extreme to keep him healthy. And it was a waffle company that helped the boy in a major way.

10-year-old Jerico Roman was diagnosed with autism early in life and struggles with extreme oral aversion and eating challenges. He works with multiple feeding therapists, but all his progress is typically lost when he gets sick (even with a cold). It gets so bad he’ll go days without eating or drinking (sometimes up to 12 days without eating) and he has to relearn how to do it all over again.

But, there was one food he would eat, Nature’s Path Maple Cinnamon waffles. And almost as soon as they found something palatable for him, the company discontinued them. Frantically, his mom set up a GoFundMe to try and acquire as many of the waffles left in circulation as she could.

“Asking for help is completely out of my comfort zone but I have no other choice. I am hoping we can get help to find more waffles for him,” his mom wrote. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who helps.”

Nature’s Path saw it and jumped into action. They started by trying to buy Jerico time, and their team took on a Waffle Hunt of their own until they were able to track down a warehouse in Illinois that still had several cases. They brought these to his doorstep.

It was our absolute pleasure, we are so happy we were able to help. And wonderful to meet Jenna & Jerico in person today! (Even if it was only from a distance) Enjoy the waffles Jerico! 🧇🧇🧇 https://t.co/xkom7AbY9w

— Samantha Falk (@samantha_falk) February 4, 2021

This also bought the company time to help him find a long-term solution, as they worked arduously to adapt the recipe so his mom could replicate them at home, thus never having to worry about finding them on long-forgotten shelves again.

With the last remaining cases anywhere secure with Jerico, the company had to find a way to adapt a recipe that uses many commercial ingredients to one his mom could make at home.

The CEO said his R and D team nailed it. They delivered the recipe and the ingredients to his mom.

Great news and outstanding team effort! Special thanks to @samantha_falk and our R&D Team for making this possible. 💚 https://t.co/SPdbPfH9DP

— Nature’s Path Foods (@NaturesPath) March 6, 2021

“They came up with the perfect recipe that taste’s just like the waffles you could buy in the store,” the CEO said. “It means the world to us to be able to help. Many at the company were really affected by their story, and we are so happy we were able to help in some small way.”

For his part, Jerico’s mom said the boy is not aware of the great Waffle Hunt, and the final solution. She’s just happy he’s eating on a regular basis and continues to make great progress. And as her supply dwindles, she can rest easy knowing she’s got the recipe to keep the waffle train going.

There exist two main camps of people where Guy Fieri is concerned: those who love him and those who are learning to love him. From his frosted spikes to his penchant for referring to everything as “gangsta,” he’s a character. But, honestly, we’re down with any dude who has the cajones to dub himself the Mayor of Flavortown or feeds first responders. Plus, have you heard the delightfully cringey jokes he cracks? Or those classic Guy Fieri quotes, like, “It’s funkalicious”? Peak dad. (We know — we can smell our own.) So, yeah, we reside comfortably in the “love” Guy Fieri camp. The dude is entertaining AF. He’s also pretty damn relatable. We, too, wake up in the morning thinking about food.

He basically embodies all that the word dad has become, including being a badass father figure. He’s a vocal advocate for teaching kids to cook — and not just in a “pass the whisk” kind of way. He wants your kids in the kitchen creating, sauteing, and setting things on fire. We’re here for it. (Our homeowners’ insurance… not so much.)

So, we come bearing gifts: Some truly hilarious, inspiring, and amusing Guy Fieri quotes. Let each one drench you in goodness, like taco grease in a hot skillet or that first pour of a cold beer. We dare you to reach the end without having even more respect for this Columbus native, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy’s Grocery Games, and Mayor of Flavortown. Slap some sunglasses on the back of your head and enjoy.

1. “Holy moly, Stromboli!”
2. “I could put this on a flip-flop and it would taste good.”
3. “If you’re cooking and not making mistakes, you’re not playing outside your safety zone. I don’t expect it all to be good. I have fat dogs because I scrap that stuff out the back door.”
4. “Cooking is like snow skiing: If you don’t fall at least 10 times, then you’re not skiing hard enough.”
5. “I wake up in the morning thinking about food.”
6. “Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.”
7. “If it tastes really good, and it’s funky, it’s funkalicious.”
8. “I love watching; I love getting all the science about food. That’s one of my favorite things.”
9. “I wanna be the ambassador to Chimichanga Flavortown.”
10. “I’m a five-seasons griller. I don’t care what the weather is like. My hair is impervious to any kind of dampness, so I don’t have too much to worry about.”
11. “Peace, love, and taco grease!”
12. “[Those] fried green tomatoes — brother, that’s a symposium of flavor.”
13. “This is gangsta!”
14. “Don’t ever use lighter fluid. It’s un-American. Amateurs, losers, and idiots use lighter fluid.”
15. “Preparing food is one of life’s great joys, but a lot of times, parents ask their kids if they want to cook with them and then tell them to go peel a bag of potatoes. That’s not cooking — that’s working!”
16. “His seafood is so fresh, it’ll slap ya!”
17. “We’re takin’ you on a road-rockin’ trip down to Flavortown, where the gravitational force of bacon warps the laws of space and time.”
18. “Pig candy.”
19. “I’ve always been an eccentric, a rocker at heart. I can’t play the guitar, but I can play the griddle.”
20. “This is money!”
21. “Sometimes you pull up to a place, and you just know it’s going to be good.”
22. “It’s never too late to get good at something.”
23. “Shut the front door!”
24. “No matter how tough the meat may be, it’s going to be tender if you slice it thin enough.”
25. “You’ve got balls inviting me here.”
26. “We’re riding the bus to Flavortown!”
27. “Some people are just born to cook and talk.”
28. “What a hot frisbee of fun!”
29. “Capital T tasty!”
30. “Kids want to sauté, to cut the pizza, to see how the ingredients come together. If you let them do the fun stuff, they’ll develop skills and interests that will stay with them forever.”
31. “Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.”
32. “Cooking is like snow skiing: If you don’t fall at least 10 times, then you’re not skiing hard enough.”

There’s not much good to say about the year we’ve spent in the shadow of Covid 19. But if you look close enough there are some pleasant surprises. From dads starting their own business to people showing up for each other like never before. And in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, you can find a family that was able to use their creative spirit to elevate people often overlooked. 

Dan Storey is a dad and self-taught amateur chef known in his hometown for his chili, which has won numerous awards and cookoffs. His wife, Kim says that he “creates masterpieces out of thin air. He approaches cooking as a science and really loves to do it.” But the real star of the Storey’s kitchen isn’t Dan. It’s his 13-year old daughter, Kitty.

Kitty is a teen with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and Autism who loves to experiment in the kitchen with her dad. Since April of 2020, the two of them have hosted a YouTube cooking channel, Cooking With Kitty, where they have spent the year teaching others how to prepare an increasingly impressive variety of amazing dishes.

“Kitty truly enjoyed her Independent Living Skills class at school,” her mom says. The program helps teach life skills such as grocery shopping and cooking for kids in Special Education. For Kitty, the class was also a huge part of her Occupational Therapy, which helps her with fine motor skills. When school was in session, the teacher would take the kids on trips to the local grocery store to buy ingredients, and follow up with a lesson on preparing the meals. But when the pandemic forced schools to close, families everywhere had to adapt fast. An unexpected result was that Kitty, Dan, and Kitty’s mom Kim found a new outlet for creativity.

Teachers would email recipes to make at home, and in order to show their work, Kim began filming Dan and Kitty cooking them together.

“Kitty has such a fun personality and such a great sense of humor, and some of the videos started turning out pretty good. So, I started sharing them on my social media pages. I received such a great response from friends and family. I even had some of them tell us that we should create a YouTube channel for her. After a bit of hemming and hawing over it, we decided to go for it.”

The early episodes of Cooking With Kitty are pretty straightforward; simple recipes like fruit salad and Swedish meatballs, cooked in the crockpot. Forty episodes later (and counting) the Storeys have continued to up their game, and with Dan’s natural talent, Kitty is becoming dang near a gourmet chef.

“As we went on we realized that Kitty was capable of a lot more than what we even realized. With guidance from her Occupational Therapist…we started introducing new skills every week in her episodes. A lot of the episodes are foods that we eat on a regular basis. But, after so many episodes you need to figure out something new. That’s where recipes like Chicken Biryani and Moroccan Chicken Bowls started coming in.”

The family took a break in January, but Season 2 is already in full swing, and Kitty and Dan have gained a lot of recognition. Along with local news showing Kitty some love, she was nationally recognized and featured by The National Down Syndrome Society, and YouTube featured her during their National Day of the Girl Celebration.  But if there’s one thing cooler than getting on news, it’s getting your own donut. Cranky Al’s, a local favorite donut shop, filmed an episode with Kitty to create the “Kitty Donut” during Down Syndrome Awareness Month, with proceeds going to the local Down Syndrome Association chapter. They sold about 3,000!

“The response that we have gotten from the community has been overwhelming and so heartwarming. I was contacted by another Mom whose son also has a dual diagnosis. He is non-verbal. She told me that they started watching episodes of Cooking With Kitty together in an effort to motivate him to want to try to do what Kitty does. Not only is he making progress with his cooking and OT skills…..but he has been trying to verbalize simple words such as “pot” and “pan”. I broke down completely when I heard that…Representation matters so very much. It is so important for people like Kitty to see themselves in the media…doing typical activities just like everybody else. And, it is also so very important that other people recognize that our kids are not an old, antiquated stereotype.  We’re not quite sure where this journey will take us….but as long as we know that people are enjoying what we do, and that it’s helping not only Kitty….but kids like her….we’ll keep on doing it.”

At the heart of the show is family. Mom films while Dad and Kitty cook. And over time the production values have grown as much as the culinary skills. But even with a sleek channel intro, you can tell the coolest thing for Kitty is the chance to work with people she loves. Her favorite episode is a toss-up between making a Rainbow Pride Cake with her uncles and Fancy Grilled Cheese with her BFF Allie. Allie and Kitty have been friends since they were 3, but Uncle Shawn created all the graphics for the show, so it’s a tough call. 

The best part though: “We found that if Kitty helps to prepare the meal, she is willing to eat whatever it is she prepared.” A kid who will eat anything? Absolutely amazing. 

I don’t understand healthy cereal. Sure, as a parent who is desperately attempting to feed a nutritious breakfast to my kids, it makes sense. But as an adult, I only want chocolatey, sugary cereals that taste great in the morning or at night.

My kids, despite my efforts to get them to eat healthy foods, seem to agree. They love it when I sneak some Cocoa Krispies or Fruity Pebbles into the house, and by far their favorite cereal is Lucky Charms. But only half of it.

Because they only eat the marshmallows.

They just want the sweet, sugary stuff, and now, thanks to a partnership between Cold Stone Creamery and General Mills, they can get it. In ice cream form!

On Monday, the ice cream chain announced a special limited edition Lucky Charms flavor of ice cream available at their stores, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

It’s called “Ice Cream at the End of the Rainbow” and features the green-tinted Lucky Charms-flavored ice cream, packed with twice the marshmallows as in the popular cereal. The ante is further upped by a topping of whipped cream and a sprinkling of gold glitter. This all comes inside a green waffle cone or bowl, or you can order a “Sprinkle With Charms” shake instead. The Lucky Charms leprechaun must be furious!

“Cold Stone Creamery is delighted to partner with General Mills this month to bring the magic beyond the cereal bowl and introduce this limited time flavor,” Sara Schmillen, vice president of marketing at Kahala Brands™, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, said in a press release. “Guests of all ages will enjoy the nostalgia of this combination, and it’s sure to bring some luck your way!”

The flavor is a perfect complement to the beer we’ll be swilling in a couple of weeks, and even after St. Paddy’s has passed, the Lucky Charms Ice Cream at the End of the Rainbow flavor will be available at all Cold Stone Creamery stores until March 31. Which gives my kids an entire month to bug the hell out of me for ice cream.