August 20, 2024 • 37 mins
Experiencing flavors from around the world is a priority for many consumers. Peanuts are a staple ingredient in traditional cuisines yet also find their way into new dishes with fresh takes on flavor pairings. Enjoying peanut foods is an easy way to pair familiar foods with the unfamiliar, ultimately allowing for more diverse palettes and opening the door to adventurous eating. Parents are also eager to raise more adventurous eaters. Diversifying a young palette can begin early with starting solids and including peanut foods in their diet. In this episode, we’ll explore exciting ways that consumers, restaurants and new parents are being adventurous with peanuts through interviews with Jennifer Anderson of Kids Eat In Color, Amanda Lemein of Golin, and content creator, chef, and cookbook author Jon Kung.
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Episode Transcript
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Lindsay Stevens (00:11):
Hi. Welcome back to the peanut Podcast. I'm
Lindsay Stevens.
Lauren Highfill Williams (00:14):
And I'm Lauren Highfield Williams.
Welcome to the latest episode ofthe podcast. This is also
Lindsay's last episode as cohost, Lindsay's three year
tenure has focused on key growerand industry projects, including
PQ magazine, news in a nutshell,and industry events. As of June
1, she's still going to be withus and has a new role and shifts
(00:35):
her focus to marketing andcommunicating to consumers and
working more closely with ourpartner agency Golin.
Lindsay Stevens (00:41):
the good news is that the podcast is in great
hands with Lauren and our newmarketing and communications
associate, Ashton Pellom.
Ashton's background is inbroadcast journalism and
multimedia production, includingworking as a reporter for the
NBC affiliate in Albany,Georgia. He owns his own video
production company, where heprovides filming, editing,
public relations, management andconsulting.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:00):
Ashton joined the team at an exciting
time and got to attend our Julyboard meeting in Savannah, where
we presented our plan for theprogram of work and budget for
the upcoming year. You can findout more about the meeting in
our show notes, but right now,welcome Ashton.
Ashton Pellom (01:14):
Thank you. Good morning, or Hi everyone. Hi
Lindsay, Hi Lauren. My name isAshton Pellom, as you guys
stated up. My background is inbroadcast news, so I've been a
TV news reporter, which parlayedinto a nice career in corporate
communications and marketing,whether it be from nonprofit
real estate or higher education,and now with the peanut board.
(01:37):
So just bringing my wealth ofknowledge of marketing and
communication and broadcastexperience to the peanut board,
the National Peanut board, andI'm happy to be here. Excited.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:46):
Great.
We're happy to have you,
Lindsay Stevens (01:48):
yeah, thanks, Ashton. I'm excited for you to
be more involved in the podcast.
Ashton Pellom (01:52):
Me too.
Lindsay Stevens (01:52):
Yeah. So now let's dive into this episode.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:55):
All right, so experiencing flavors
from around the world is apriority for many consumers.
Peanuts are a staple ingredientin traditional because
traditional cuisines, yet alsofind their way into new dishes
with fresh takes on flavorpairings. Enjoying peanut foods
is an easy way to pair familiarfoods with the unfamiliar,
ultimately allowing for morediverse palates and opening the
(02:16):
door to adventurous eating.
Parents are also eager to raisemore adventurous eaters.
Diversifying a young palate canbegin early with starting solids
and including peanut foods intheir diet.
Lindsay Stevens (02:28):
In this episode, we'll explore exciting
ways that consumers, restaurantsand new parents are being
adventurous with peanuts throughinterviews with Jennifer
Anderson of kids eat in color,Amanda lemayne of Golan and
content creator, Chef and cookauthor, John Kung
Lauren Highfill Williams (02:49):
first, we spoke with Jennifer Anderson,
the founder of kids eat incolor, which gives parents
support and guidance to helptheir kids eat better and thrive
at mealtime. Here's Jenniferwith a little about herself.
Jennifer Anderson (03:01):
My name is Jennifer Anderson. I'm the
founder of kids in color. I'm aregistered dietitian. I have two
boys who are very exciting, andI love talking about picky
eating and all things feedingkids
Lauren Highfill Williams (03:16):
With her background as a dietitian
and a mom, here's what theconcept of adventures eating
means to Jennifer,
Jennifer Anderson (03:21):
so if I think of a child who's going to be an
adventurous eater, I think aboutthat child who will try things
more or less on the firstexposure, and they're going to
try a bunch of different thingsat the potluck, or they're going
to eat this exact same food thattheir parents are eating in the
(03:41):
exact same form, and that sortof thing.
Lauren Highfill Williams (03:45):
If you are or ever have been a new
parent, you know howoverwhelming all of the advice
can be that you get. So we askedJennifer if she could give us
her top two pieces of advice tohelp raise so called adventurous
eaters. So first,
Jennifer Anderson (03:58):
I'd like to just kind of reframe this. Are
we really looking to get thatadventurous eater? Some kids are
going to be like that, and ifyou get that child like you won,
you won the eating lottery. Butmost of us aren't going to have
super adventurous eaters. Andwhat we really want is competent
eaters, kids who can meet theirnutrition needs, they can engage
socially and all the things theywant to do, right? So when I
(04:21):
think about that, two thingsthat are just at the top of the
list. One is eating together asa family as often as you can,
whether that's at breakfast, atdinner on the weekends, whatever
that is, the more the better forso many reasons. But it also can
reduce that picky eating becauseyou're modeling. Kids are in a
(04:44):
in a an environment wherethere's maybe, hopefully, a
little less pressure, there'smore connection with the family,
as long as these family mealsare calm. And the other thing is
having the food there, likeactually seeing the food. Yeah.
They have to be able to see it.
If it's not there, they willnever learn to eat it, I
guarantee you, because it'sliterally not even there, they
(05:04):
can't eat it. So modeling andexposure, those are the two big
things. The more they see thefoods, the more the foods become
comfortable, and the more theysay you eat them and they
connect with you, the safer theyfeel the meal, and the more
adventurous they can be.
Lauren Highfill Williams (05:20):
Being an adventurous eater isn't just
a fad or trend. It's actuallyvery important for children to
eat a variety of foods. Here'sJennifer with why,
Jennifer Anderson (05:28):
yeah, so there's a couple things here.
One is, we know, based on theresearch that we have now, the
gut microbiome, all those littlegood guys down there, they
really thrive on a variety soevery single different plant
food is going to feed adifferent bug, for lack of a
better term microbe in your gut,and the more plant diversity you
(05:51):
have in your diet, the better.
That said, we're dealing withpicky eaters, we're dealing with
kids, we're dealing withschedules, our own capacity,
budgets, so many things. So wejust do the best we can with
that. I try not to add pressureto ourselves. But variety is
important. Number of foods isimportant. The other two reasons
are. One is we want our kids toget the nutrients that they need
right as they're growing anddeveloping, and the more
(06:14):
different foods they have, themore variety they get, not only
of foods and fiber, right, butalso of the nutrients
themselves. So if your child iseating a variety from, you know,
a bunch of different foodgroups, a bunch of different
foods, there is a much higherlikelihood that they're going to
be meeting all of theirnutritional needs because of
(06:35):
that variety. And then the otherreason is, you know, there's so
many scary headlines this thatthe other, I mean, you name it,
there's a scary headline aboutsome new food I have over the
eight years that I've beendoing, kids eating color,
someone has asked me aboutvirtually every single food out
there is this poison? Is thistoxic? Is this bad? Like,
there's always a scary headlineout there. And every food has a
(06:57):
downside. There's always somenegative side to it, but when
kids eat a variety of foods,they are both lowering the risk
of those downsides as well asbenefiting from the nutritional
variety. So there's two sides tothat. The more variety, the
better.
Lauren Highfill Will (07:17):
Preventing food allergies plays into being
able to eat a variety of foodsas well. We know that
introducing peanut foods toinfants as early as four to six
months can help prevent a peanutallergy. The Dietary Guidelines
for Americans recommendsintroducing other commonly
allergenic foods around the sametime as other solid foods.
Here's Jennifer with herexperience.
Jennifer Anderson (07:39):
Yeah, so I'm not an allergist, so I really
can't speak to the allergyresearch side of that. That
would just not be my area ofexpertise. But based on the
allergist that we have workedwith, they have supported us in
suggesting an early introductionfor most children to to foods to
help prevent those allergies.
But again, this is definitelysomething you'd want to check in
(08:01):
with your child's pediatricianon. When I think about, you
know, these, this introductionsort of piece, when we're
thinking about all foods, right?
We want those adventurouseaters, or as close as we can
get to them. We want our kids tofeel comfortable and competent
(08:21):
around food. We want all thesethings, and going back to those
two most important things, it'sexposure at eating together,
right? So when we are thinkingabout those allergens and
introducing them early andincluding them in the family
meals and continuing to servethat variety of food as they get
(08:42):
older. That is so important. Andanother thing is, another
benefit of family meals isyou're not going to be eating
the same thing every day,probably because you as an
adult, probably going to getbored of it, right? I'm not
going to eat spaghetti everysingle day. I'm not that meal
prep person who's like, I'mgonna make all my lunches for
two weeks, and it's gonna be theexact same thing. I can't do
(09:04):
that. Most families, Mostfamilies can't. And when you are
including your child in themeal, they are gonna benefit
from that variety as well. Andso we don't have to, we don't
have to wait to introduce foodsto babies like you don't have to
introduce a food, and then waitthree days and then introduce,
you can introduce all the foods,you know, as your family eats
(09:28):
them to the baby, and then, youknow, intentionally include
things like peanuts and, youknow, allergens and that sort of
thing. They sell these littlebaby food Mills, and you just
put dinner in the baby foodmill, and you grind it up. So,
if you, you know, if you're apure a person, this provides a
textured parade puree for yourbaby. If you're a, you know, a
(09:49):
baby-led weaning person, theremight be times where you don't
want to, especially cut up thefood, or you're in a place where
you can't do the self feedingthing, you know, all that stuff.
Um. Yes, you can just grind itup. It's so easy. Stick the
ground, stick a little mill inyour diaper bag, and you're good
to go. But yeah, feed the babywhat you're eating to the best
(10:11):
of your ability. It doesn't meanyou're it doesn't mean you're
going to ruin the baby if youever use baby food or special
food.
Lauren Highfill Willia (10:17):
Jennifer shared with us a couple of easy
ways that parents can preparefoods, particularly with peanut
butter, for their infants oryoung kids.
Jennifer Anderson (10:25):
So I just went through like, three jars of
peanut butter trying to recreatethis peanut butter cookie that I
used to make, like 15 years ago.
And I don't know where therecipe went and and I remember
them being magical, but Ihaven't quite figured it out
again. But in the meantime, Ihave found, I did discover,
like, a great cookie recipe.
(10:47):
It's just like, half honey, halfpeanut butter. That's it. You
like, put them, put them on thecookie sheet. 350 for you know,
until they look done-ish. Letthem cool completely on the
sheet. That's like a nice moist,like cookie, super sweet, but
that's it. Peanut, that's it. Ithink I little bit of little bit
(11:11):
of chewiness to them, my kids ortotally love them. So that's my
new discovery of the week. Andanother fun thing we just did
this last week. My, you know, myson had not eaten very well for
dinner, and we always do bedtimesnack. That's part of our
mealtime routine. And so Iusually think about, you know,
(11:33):
what do they have for dinner?
Was it substantial? If not, I'mgoing to provide a more, you
know, substantial bedtime snack.
If not, you know, you know,piece of fruit or whatever. So
he hadn't even eaten very muchat dinner. So I, I thought, we
gotta, you gotta amp up theprotein, the calories, all the
things. So I cut a banana, like,just into little, like, coins,
(11:54):
right? And then drizzle peanutbutter on top. And he said, Oh,
can I have chocolate chips. So,you know, it's like a little
chocolate chip on every one ofthose. Now, he's, he's 11, so
he, he like he knows about thechocolate chips. He knows about
all the things. If he was two,there would be no need. But that
is like a long standing lovedsnack in our house, especially,
(12:18):
you know, when you want to takesomething like a piece of fruit,
and make it a complete mallsnack that's actually gonna keep
them full for a while. Yeah. Sothose are two my favorites. And
then I mean, with babies, I feellike you just put that peanut
butter in whatever, any sort ofcreamy, any sort of creamy, or
the food mill. Could always dothe food mill. Add it into
(12:40):
whatever you just ground uplittle bit peanut butter.
Lindsay Stevens (12:50):
Next, I spoke with Amanda Lemein from our
marketing agency Golin. Here'sAmanda with a little about
herself.
Amanda Lemein (12:56):
I'm a registered dietitian at Golin. VP of
nutrition and wellness is myofficial title. So as you can
imagine, that includes being thesubject matter expert for
anything food and nutrition thatthe agency is working on, and a
big part of my role is alsomedia relations. I have a fair
(13:19):
amount of experience in mediarelations, particularly in the
health and wellness space, andthat is also a big part of what
I do for the National PeanutBoard. So overseeing any
nutrition claims, working withUSDA on that messaging and
claims, working very closelywith Lauren and Markita, mostly
(13:40):
on the consumer side, consumernutrition side, but a little bit
on the allergy side, andprevention of allergy side with
them as well.
Lindsay Stevens (13:50):
For some this could be the first time they're
hearing about adventurouseating. So here's Amanda with
her interpretation of what thatmeans.
Amanda Lemein (13:57):
Adventurous eating is really all about
expanding pallets, being alittle bit more adventurous in
the types of foods that we eat,and inserting peanuts into that
conversation in a way thatreally is quite natural to
peanuts as they exist incuisines all around the world.
And to Americans the immediatethought when we think of peanuts
(14:17):
and peanut butter, of course, isof peanut butter and jelly. But
peanuts are so much more thanthat. And what I love about this
campaign is it allows peanuts toreally shine, and allows us to
share with consumers all thedifferent cuisines that you can
enjoy peanuts in. I think awhile back, we used to refer to
peanuts as humble a lot, andwhile I think that's a wonderful
(14:40):
adjective. I also think thiscampaign in particular shows off
that we are indeed humble yetvery versatile and very cultured
too, and that peanuts can takeyou all around the world and
really expand your palate. Andthat's what we are showing off
with adventurous eating.
Lindsay Stevens (15:02):
According to Amanda, as the general
perception of health andwellness shifted away from
weight loss, diets have becomeless restricted. Here's Amanda
with more.
Amanda Lemein (15:10):
I think consumer Nutrition has taken on a new
persona within the last five ishyears, we used to see, maybe
five to 10 years ago, we sawnutrition as purely weight loss
focused and a little bit morerestrictive. And now I think
(15:32):
consumers are so much more opento what food can do for them in
a very non restrictive way, andI think that that opens the
doors to enjoying diversecuisines. Instead of recreating
a recipe or recreating a cuisineto fit into whatever specific
(15:53):
diet you might be following, Ithink people are much more open
to enjoying their food andtherefore trying different
cuisines. And so I think thatthat is a big part of why people
are more interested in expandingtheir palates lately, too,
within the last several years.
And that also trickles down totheir children. I have two young
kids. I can certainly attestthat it can be really difficult
(16:16):
to get your kids to eat certainfoods, but millennial parents,
Gen Z parents, are very excitedand interested in getting their
kids to eat anything and eatwith them as a family, and I
think this campaign is perfectfor expanding a family's palate
overall.
Lindsay Stevens (16:38):
When it comes to picky eaters, peanuts and
peanut butter could be a goodstepping stone and becoming more
adventurous. Here's Amanda.
Amanda Lemein (16:45):
I don't feel like consumers were ever picky about
peanuts or peanut butter, butthey like put peanuts and peanut
butter in a box, right? Almostlike the humble peanut
conversation, where it was likethe inexpensive nut, the one we
were all familiar with the onewe all know, the one that sticks
is PB and J, right? And I thinkwe have seen a shift a little
(17:06):
bit aligning with that interestin expanding palettes and
understanding other culturalcuisines and what they really
are, traditionally, not in likean Americanized way or a
westernized way, but like a truecultural cuisine, and seeing
that that can fit in with foodsthat we are familiar with, like
(17:28):
peanuts and peanut butter. Youknow, we always say in our in
our adventurous eating campaign,that peanuts are the perfect
bridge to try something new,because they can be the familiar
food amongst the unfamiliar, andI think that shift in the
persona of peanuts has certainlyled us to this campaign too,
(17:51):
because we're moving away fromthe humble peanut and what
consumers may be considered safeto seeing that this is the
bridge to something moreexciting, because it is safe to
me, and I've tried it in thiscontext, and now I can try it in
something that's a little morediverse and exciting and new to
me too.
Lindsay Stevens (18:12):
As part of our adventurous eaters campaign,
this year, we hosted theexplorers market at a popular
food market in Brooklyn, NewYork called smorgasbord. Here's
Amanda with more.
Amanda Lemein (18:21):
The peanut explorers market is all about
showing how peanuts show up incuisines around the world.
Smorgasburg has many differentfood vendors who offer a variety
of authentic cultural cuisines,and we partnered with all of
these different vendors to showoff how peanuts can appear in
(18:43):
anything from a Vietnamese coldbrew with a peanut cold foam to
a paella using peanut oil andtopped with peanuts and peanut
sauce. And John Kung is a chefand content creator that we
partnered with who is ChineseAmerican and has a his cooking
(19:07):
style is called Third Culturecooking, and it's really
blending his two backgrounds, aChinese American into his own
unique cooking style. And heoften uses peanuts in a lot of
his cooking and gets tons ofgreat content out of his amazing
peanut recipes. So that that inperson event the peanut
(19:32):
explorers market has reallyallowed us to bring adventurous
eating to life in front of areally captivated and interested
foodie audience with the help ofChef John I wasn't at the event
this weekend, but one anecdotalstory that we have heard from
our friend Christina billows isthat so many of the consumers in
(19:56):
New York this weekend were soexcited to try all these dishes.
And so excited to try, you know,the really spicy, flavorful
foods and the more indulgentfoods. But what they were most
excited about was the peanutplant, and to learn more about
the plant how peanuts are grown,fascinated that that is how a
peanut is grown. And so, again,I just think that like aligns so
(20:20):
nicely with the idea that thishumble nut that we're all we as
Americans are so familiar withcan fit into a global food scene
like it did this weekend, andstill draw plenty of interest to
where it all begins to with theplant.
Lindsay Stevens (20:40):
While joining a popular food market in New York
might not be feasible foreveryone in the peanut industry,
Amanda has creative ideas forhow peanut brands and
organizations can apply thisidea of adventurous eating on
the local level.
Amanda Lemein (20:52):
On NPB's website, we have so many great recipes
that go beyond what many of usare most familiar with or most
comfortable with day to day. AndI think tapping into those
recipes that are less familiar,maybe to our marketers
themselves too, is a great wayto show off the versatility of
peanuts and, you know, so manydifferent cuisines. Of course,
(21:16):
working with diverseinfluencers, I think is really
important, but maybe aninfluencer who can speak
authentically to a certain typeof cuisine or recipe that you
want to show off can onlybenefit us and layer in that
extra context and that differentperspective to that cuisine that
(21:39):
I think is so important and andgood for everyone to hear and
understand. But I think alsojust sort of like looking
locally, what are some of thethings that you're seeing take
off in your local atmosphere?
What are things that people getexcited about here in Chicago
and I think so many otherplaces, people get very excited
(22:00):
about farmers markets and goingto those markets and talking to
the farmers themselves, and justdeveloping that relationship and
that sense of community. So ifthere's something like that that
peanuts can be inserted into,and these, these recipes that
we've been talking about, canalso play a part in that,
(22:22):
creating more of a communityaround the localization of
peanuts, but then theglobalization of how far they
can they can reach in terms ofrecipes and cuisine. I think
that's, you know, just anotherway to reach consumers in more
unique ways.
Lauren Highfill Willia (22:51):
Finally, we spoke with John Kung a chef,
cookbook author and contentcreator from Detroit. Here's
John with a little background onthemselves.
Jon Kung (22:59):
I have been in the industry, or I had been in the
industry for about 12 years now.
I'm a self taught cook, and Ijust kind of worked my way up
through doing my own pop ups,working for other people's pop
ups, to working for otherpeople's restaurants, and then
managing my own small privatekitchen in the city of Detroit
before the pandemic.
Lauren Highfill Williams (23:20):
As Amanda mentioned, John's
culinary style is called ThirdCulture cooking, which we feel
goes hand in hand withadventurous eating. Here's what
Third Culture cooking is,according to John.
Jon Kung (23:30):
Third Culture cooking is, I'd like to describe it as
an informed kind of fusion. Soif you are a person of Third
Culture, you pretty much spentyour entire life bouncing back
and forth between differentcultures in your daily life. So
for example, me, I grew up in aChinese household, but that
household was in Canada or theUnited States, and so my home
(23:54):
life was very based and rootedin Chinese family tradition. But
then, like as soon as I left thedoor, I crossed a little
cultural threshold, and I neededto know how to change up my way
of communicating, my way ofunderstanding the world, my way
of appreciating different thingslike art and food. And there are
people like me all over thiscountry and of all different
(24:19):
ethnicities and cultures. Andit's interesting because we all
have very similar livedexperiences, even though, like
we may not even speak, are thesame second language or first
language as it were. Yeah, it isa very interesting way of living
through life, and I do believethat our creative and cultural
(24:39):
output is very rich because ofit.
Lauren Highfill Williams (24:42):
John has a unique take on what
adventurous eating means tothem.
Jon Kung (24:46):
Adventurous eating, to me, is simply the understanding
that to taste something and notlike it is not the end of the
world. It is a moment. That goesby. It is here. It's gone. It's
whatever. You don't ever have togo through it again. But if you
(25:08):
taste something new and you likeit, that is a new love that you
have for the rest of your life.
And adventurous eatersappreciate that risk. It's just
like, it's the only way thatI've been able to describe it,
like what qualifies anadventurous eater is like they
just understand the benefits oftrying new things. And as far
(25:30):
as, like, a weird or strangepeanut combination, combinations
is actually reminds me of astory that that I went through
like, when I was like, I think16 years ago. I interned at a 24
hour noodle house in Macau inChina. And in that kitchen I saw
(25:52):
chef bring out, like, somebought some, like, glass jars of
American peanut butter. I wasshocked, and I like, didn't
really understand for a second,and then it clicked in my head.
I was like, oh, was is this for,like, the Dandan noodles, or
Dandan mien? And then the chefwas like, Oh my gosh, you're so
(26:15):
clever. And I was like, first ofall, that made me feel great,
because traditionally, we usesoybean paste, but at this
restaurant, they found that thesweetness of the American peanut
butter really meshed well withthe soy sauce, the cilantro, the
chili oil that was eventuallyput in the broth and the
noodles. And so they were usingAmerican peanut butter in this
(26:38):
for very, very famous, veryhistoric and very well loved
noodle dish in China. So thatkind of like threw me off,
because, like, the last place Iever thought I would see peanut
butter American peanut butterwas in this, like, 24 hour
noodle shop in the middle ofChina. But yeah, it that that
(26:58):
was one, like weird peanutcombination that came to mind.
Lauren Highfill Willi (27:07):
According to John, platforms like Tiktok
and Instagram make it easy forchefs to try out new dishes and
influences when they cook.
Here's John with more aboutthese Third Culture meals.
Unknown (27:17):
I think the great thing about like short for me to like,
Tiktok, Instagram reels, YouTubeshorts, is that people can so
easily take control of theirnarratives now, like especially
when it comes to food and ourfood journeys and our cultural
dishes and our creative outputs.
We don't really need to befiltered by any editor. We don't
(27:43):
need to be vetted by any onepublication, one website, one TV
show anymore, or TV network, asit were. We can just literally
share these foods that we loveand live with, and it's great to
see the response for that.
People are curious. They want toknow more, and they want to know
(28:06):
from the source and as ThirdCulture people here in the
United States, there are so manyof us now, especially within
like my generation, themillennials and then every
younger generation. We'rebecoming a more like
multicultural society, and fromthat, we're developing like
foods that would never existoutside of here. So on the
(28:30):
horizon, we have these ThirdCulture foods of all kinds,
like, for me, it's Third CultureChinese, but it could also be
Third Culture Oaxacan. It couldbe Third Culture Nigerian, it
could be Third CultureEthiopian, Thai, Vietnamese,
whatever it will be, thesecombinations and this
intermingling of cultures thatbecause nowhere else has this
kind of proximity, nobody elsehas, or very few other countries
(28:54):
has neighboring communities theway that We do it's like gonna
be the future of American food.
Lauren Highfill Williams (29:05):
John worked with us as part of our
explorers market activation thatAmanda told me about. Here's
John with more.
Jon Kung (29:11):
Yeah, this past Saturday at Smorgasburg, at
Williamsburg, it was such anamazing time. There were like
over 10 different peanut centricvendors there, and they kind of
put like a peanut twist on someof their dishes. So for example,
there was like a peanut coldfoam Mocha, Vietnamese coffee.
That's one thing from 88 coffee,a poppin' peanut chicken bites
(29:36):
from big Mott's spicy style,peanut paella. And also a peanut
butter and jelly baklava thatwas there too. That was super
cool. Sadly, if you're listeningto this right now, you missed
it, but there is actually awebsite that you could try. It's
also for if you're not in NewYork City, the explorers
(29:57):
challenge is available online atexplorepeanuts.com, and that is
like an online quiz. Well, theywill rank how adventurous of an
eater you are, and based off ofyour score, they will be giving
you a bunch of different recipesthat you can choose from based
on how adventurous it thinks youare.
Lauren Highfill Williams (30:22):
Today we heard about adventurous
eating being something as simpleas Jennifer’s description of a
kid trying a new food during afamily dinner. Or it can tie
into a newer concept of thirdculture cooking, like Jon
described. And it’s excitingthat adventurous eating ties
into preventing food allergiesin the youngest eaters so that
they can enjoy all the foods theworld has to offer as they grow
(30:44):
like Amanda discussed. We hopethat today’s episode inspired
you to be a bit more adventurousin your own eating habits and
that you might just be ready totry that Peanut Paella! Lindsay,
we were really excited aboutsome other examples of
Adventurous Eating that came upon the foodservice side from a
recipe contest we recentlysponsored. Can you tell us about
(31:04):
that?
Lindsay Stevens (31:05):
Yeah, Lauren, it was so exciting to see these
recipes from our food servicerecipe contest. We worked with
this organization called Foodworks, and they sent us these
great recipes that won thecontest. One of them is like a
tofu peanut butter pizza, whichsounds really cool. There's like
a spicy orange marmalade donutthat seems awesome. And then
(31:25):
there was like another, like, itwas a different type of chicken
pizza, which was really cool.
But, like, they made the chickenusing like, soy. So it's all
like, vegetarian. It's reallycool. Yeah, they were. It was
really cool to see thedirections actually to make the
tofu on the peanut butter pizza.
So it was a really cool recipecontest. And it was really
amazing to see all the differentways that peanuts and peanut
(31:47):
butter can be used in differentcuisines and stuff. Which, if
you want to see these recipes,we have them all linked in our
show notes, so you can checkthose out and see how cool they
are. They are food service size,though, so they're not made for
like they're not portioned outfor kitchens like yours or mine.
They're more portioned out forrestaurants kitchens so, but
very cool, and it was a reallycool contest.
Lauren Highfill Williams (32:06):
Yeah, super inspiring recipes, and I
think with that, you know,peanut butta pizza that won,
they ended up using peanuts inlike five different ways, which
is pretty amazing. So definitelyworth checking out the recipes
on the website.
Lindsay Stevens (32:20):
Absolutely.
Well, so Lauren, I actually hada question for you. You have two
kids, so I was wondering ifeither of your kids are
adventurous eaters, and ifyou've tried out any of this
stuff while you were trainingthem to eat.
Lauren Highfill Williams (32:32):
I think I really connected with
talking with Jennifer for thisepisode and her ideas of like,
it's the goal. We want our kidsto be adventurous eaters, but
and try everything on theirplate all the time, but we have
to be realistic. It's you can'tgo from zero to 60 overnight.
(32:53):
It's a process. So I am thankfulthat I don't have super picky
children. But my oldestdaughter, she's eight, she is
she's pretty gung ho forvegetables in particular, and
she's a great example for heryounger brother, who is three
years old, and we like to say islearning to like vegetables. He
(33:16):
is still on a path, so we'll putthe green beans on his plate
every time his sister has some,and most of the time they just
sit there. But every once in awhile, he gives it a try and
makes a face, and we say, goodjob for trying. You might like
it next time. So we just try tokeep it, you know, low pressure
and eating is about fun and, youknow, experiences and being
(33:39):
together. So, I have faith thatit's gonna that we're gonna have
some adventurous eaters on ourhands in the future.
Lindsay Stevens (33:46):
Yeah, no, it reminds me of what John said
when he said, an adventurouseater, in his opinion, is
someone who's willing to takethat, you know, quick moment of
time to see if they likesomething or not, and know that
if they don't like it, it's notthe end of the world, and they
can try something else newlater, so.
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:01):
Yeah, yeah, really low key, low
pressure experimentation that'sKeeping it positive. Those are
the most important things!
Lindsay Stevens (34:09):
Yes, so Lauren, as you know, it's my last
episode, and I have a peanutpodcast centric question for
you, and I think we want tobring Ashton back into this so
he can get accustomed to thesetrivia questions we have at the
end of the episode.
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:22):
Yeah
Ashton Pellom (34:22):
I'm here. I'm ready for it. Let's go.
Lindsay Stevens (34:24):
Okay, so my question to you today is, how
many guests have been on thepeanut podcast, including this
episode?
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:34):
That's a tough one.
Ashton Pellom (34:35):
How many episodes have there been?
Lindsay Stevens (34:37):
Ashton, come on. You should know this. We're
on 29
Ashton Pellom (34:40):
Okay, gotcha. Um,
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:42):
yeah, and we do, I would say, like
three to four, four averageguests per episode. I'm gonna
have to dig down. I have to lookat my my calculator. No lie,
Lindsay Stevens (34:53):
there's a lot of math going on here with
y'all.
Ashton Pellom (34:55):
Oh yeah, about to say, I'm gonna, I'm just gonna
take a wild guess and say about,let's say two. 250 oh
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:00):
my gosh, wow,
Lindsay Stevens (35:02):
250. Okay, okay.
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:04):
I was I, I think that was an
overestimation. But then I justbroke the calculator out, and
that number is still really highof what I was thinking. So I'm
gonna say 115 based on three orfour guests per episode.
Lindsay Stevens (35:22):
Well, I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting y'all
to get us much lower. So this,this number feels less
impressive now. We've had 97guests, which I thought was a
lot, until we broke out 150 and250 so yeah, but yeah, 97 people
have been on our podcast to talkabout peanuts and different ways
(35:43):
to, you know, use peanuts andall of that. It's really cool.
Ashton Pellom (35:47):
That's no that's definitely a lot of guests, a
lot of guests.
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:50):
That's amazing. I feel like we should,
like, really do it up maybe fornext episode, when we'll have
our 100th guest. You know, wecan really celebrate that.
Lindsay Stevens (35:58):
No pressure to whoever the 100th guest is.
Ashton Pellom (36:00):
Yes.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:01):
I know, right. Oh, my goodness.
Well, that was a really coolstat and trivia question. Thanks
for pulling that out, Lindsay,and you have been such a
valuable part of this team, andso happy that you're continuing
to, you know, make your mark onthe National Peanut Board, and
we'll, we'll miss you on thepodcast, but glad we still have
(36:22):
you at the office.
Lindsay Stevens (36:22):
oh my gosh, like, it's like a tear. Oh my
gosh, thank you, Lauren, thatmeans the world. I missed the
podcast a lot. It was, it was socool to I feel like I've learned
so much by being a part of this.
It really felt like each episodewas like a different lesson in
like, peanuts that I got tolearn. So it was really cool.
And, you know, this was just anawesome experience. I can't wait
(36:43):
to pass the torch.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:45):
Yeah, wonderful.
Lindsay Stevens (36:47):
Well, thank you again for listening to the
peanut podcast. Our show'sengineer and sound designer is
next gen. We'd also like to notethat our guest segments may be
edited for length and clarityand to comply with USDA
guidelines.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:58):
And as always, don't forget to
subscribe to the podcast on theplatform you're listening on,
and if you would like to findout more about what we've talked
about today, then go to NationalPeanut board.org/podcast, we'll
see you later on this summer forour next episode in September,
bye bye,
Lindsay Stevens (37:14):
bye!
Ashton Pellom (37:15):
bye!
Hi. Welcome back to the peanut Podcast. I'm
Lindsay Stevens.
Lauren Highfill Williams (00:14):
And I'm Lauren Highfield Williams.
Welcome to the latest episode ofthe podcast. This is also
Lindsay's last episode as cohost, Lindsay's three year
tenure has focused on key growerand industry projects, including
PQ magazine, news in a nutshell,and industry events. As of June
1, she's still going to be withus and has a new role and shifts
(00:35):
her focus to marketing andcommunicating to consumers and
working more closely with ourpartner agency Golin.
Lindsay Stevens (00:41):
the good news is that the podcast is in great
hands with Lauren and our newmarketing and communications
associate, Ashton Pellom.
Ashton's background is inbroadcast journalism and
multimedia production, includingworking as a reporter for the
NBC affiliate in Albany,Georgia. He owns his own video
production company, where heprovides filming, editing,
public relations, management andconsulting.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:00):
Ashton joined the team at an exciting
time and got to attend our Julyboard meeting in Savannah, where
we presented our plan for theprogram of work and budget for
the upcoming year. You can findout more about the meeting in
our show notes, but right now,welcome Ashton.
Ashton Pellom (01:14):
Thank you. Good morning, or Hi everyone. Hi
Lindsay, Hi Lauren. My name isAshton Pellom, as you guys
stated up. My background is inbroadcast news, so I've been a
TV news reporter, which parlayedinto a nice career in corporate
communications and marketing,whether it be from nonprofit
real estate or higher education,and now with the peanut board.
(01:37):
So just bringing my wealth ofknowledge of marketing and
communication and broadcastexperience to the peanut board,
the National Peanut board, andI'm happy to be here. Excited.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:46):
Great.
We're happy to have you,
Lindsay Stevens (01:48):
yeah, thanks, Ashton. I'm excited for you to
be more involved in the podcast.
Ashton Pellom (01:52):
Me too.
Lindsay Stevens (01:52):
Yeah. So now let's dive into this episode.
Lauren Highfill Williams (01:55):
All right, so experiencing flavors
from around the world is apriority for many consumers.
Peanuts are a staple ingredientin traditional because
traditional cuisines, yet alsofind their way into new dishes
with fresh takes on flavorpairings. Enjoying peanut foods
is an easy way to pair familiarfoods with the unfamiliar,
ultimately allowing for morediverse palates and opening the
(02:16):
door to adventurous eating.
Parents are also eager to raisemore adventurous eaters.
Diversifying a young palate canbegin early with starting solids
and including peanut foods intheir diet.
Lindsay Stevens (02:28):
In this episode, we'll explore exciting
ways that consumers, restaurantsand new parents are being
adventurous with peanuts throughinterviews with Jennifer
Anderson of kids eat in color,Amanda lemayne of Golan and
content creator, Chef and cookauthor, John Kung
Lauren Highfill Williams (02:49):
first, we spoke with Jennifer Anderson,
the founder of kids eat incolor, which gives parents
support and guidance to helptheir kids eat better and thrive
at mealtime. Here's Jenniferwith a little about herself.
Jennifer Anderson (03:01):
My name is Jennifer Anderson. I'm the
founder of kids in color. I'm aregistered dietitian. I have two
boys who are very exciting, andI love talking about picky
eating and all things feedingkids
Lauren Highfill Williams (03:16):
With her background as a dietitian
and a mom, here's what theconcept of adventures eating
means to Jennifer,
Jennifer Anderson (03:21):
so if I think of a child who's going to be an
adventurous eater, I think aboutthat child who will try things
more or less on the firstexposure, and they're going to
try a bunch of different thingsat the potluck, or they're going
to eat this exact same food thattheir parents are eating in the
(03:41):
exact same form, and that sortof thing.
Lauren Highfill Williams (03:45):
If you are or ever have been a new
parent, you know howoverwhelming all of the advice
can be that you get. So we askedJennifer if she could give us
her top two pieces of advice tohelp raise so called adventurous
eaters. So first,
Jennifer Anderson (03:58):
I'd like to just kind of reframe this. Are
we really looking to get thatadventurous eater? Some kids are
going to be like that, and ifyou get that child like you won,
you won the eating lottery. Butmost of us aren't going to have
super adventurous eaters. Andwhat we really want is competent
eaters, kids who can meet theirnutrition needs, they can engage
socially and all the things theywant to do, right? So when I
(04:21):
think about that, two thingsthat are just at the top of the
list. One is eating together asa family as often as you can,
whether that's at breakfast, atdinner on the weekends, whatever
that is, the more the better forso many reasons. But it also can
reduce that picky eating becauseyou're modeling. Kids are in a
(04:44):
in a an environment wherethere's maybe, hopefully, a
little less pressure, there'smore connection with the family,
as long as these family mealsare calm. And the other thing is
having the food there, likeactually seeing the food. Yeah.
They have to be able to see it.
If it's not there, they willnever learn to eat it, I
guarantee you, because it'sliterally not even there, they
(05:04):
can't eat it. So modeling andexposure, those are the two big
things. The more they see thefoods, the more the foods become
comfortable, and the more theysay you eat them and they
connect with you, the safer theyfeel the meal, and the more
adventurous they can be.
Lauren Highfill Williams (05:20):
Being an adventurous eater isn't just
a fad or trend. It's actuallyvery important for children to
eat a variety of foods. Here'sJennifer with why,
Jennifer Anderson (05:28):
yeah, so there's a couple things here.
One is, we know, based on theresearch that we have now, the
gut microbiome, all those littlegood guys down there, they
really thrive on a variety soevery single different plant
food is going to feed adifferent bug, for lack of a
better term microbe in your gut,and the more plant diversity you
(05:51):
have in your diet, the better.
That said, we're dealing withpicky eaters, we're dealing with
kids, we're dealing withschedules, our own capacity,
budgets, so many things. So wejust do the best we can with
that. I try not to add pressureto ourselves. But variety is
important. Number of foods isimportant. The other two reasons
are. One is we want our kids toget the nutrients that they need
right as they're growing anddeveloping, and the more
(06:14):
different foods they have, themore variety they get, not only
of foods and fiber, right, butalso of the nutrients
themselves. So if your child iseating a variety from, you know,
a bunch of different foodgroups, a bunch of different
foods, there is a much higherlikelihood that they're going to
be meeting all of theirnutritional needs because of
(06:35):
that variety. And then the otherreason is, you know, there's so
many scary headlines this thatthe other, I mean, you name it,
there's a scary headline aboutsome new food I have over the
eight years that I've beendoing, kids eating color,
someone has asked me aboutvirtually every single food out
there is this poison? Is thistoxic? Is this bad? Like,
there's always a scary headlineout there. And every food has a
(06:57):
downside. There's always somenegative side to it, but when
kids eat a variety of foods,they are both lowering the risk
of those downsides as well asbenefiting from the nutritional
variety. So there's two sides tothat. The more variety, the
better.
Lauren Highfill Will (07:17):
Preventing food allergies plays into being
able to eat a variety of foodsas well. We know that
introducing peanut foods toinfants as early as four to six
months can help prevent a peanutallergy. The Dietary Guidelines
for Americans recommendsintroducing other commonly
allergenic foods around the sametime as other solid foods.
Here's Jennifer with herexperience.
Jennifer Anderson (07:39):
Yeah, so I'm not an allergist, so I really
can't speak to the allergyresearch side of that. That
would just not be my area ofexpertise. But based on the
allergist that we have workedwith, they have supported us in
suggesting an early introductionfor most children to to foods to
help prevent those allergies.
But again, this is definitelysomething you'd want to check in
(08:01):
with your child's pediatricianon. When I think about, you
know, these, this introductionsort of piece, when we're
thinking about all foods, right?
We want those adventurouseaters, or as close as we can
get to them. We want our kids tofeel comfortable and competent
(08:21):
around food. We want all thesethings, and going back to those
two most important things, it'sexposure at eating together,
right? So when we are thinkingabout those allergens and
introducing them early andincluding them in the family
meals and continuing to servethat variety of food as they get
(08:42):
older. That is so important. Andanother thing is, another
benefit of family meals isyou're not going to be eating
the same thing every day,probably because you as an
adult, probably going to getbored of it, right? I'm not
going to eat spaghetti everysingle day. I'm not that meal
prep person who's like, I'mgonna make all my lunches for
two weeks, and it's gonna be theexact same thing. I can't do
(09:04):
that. Most families, Mostfamilies can't. And when you are
including your child in themeal, they are gonna benefit
from that variety as well. Andso we don't have to, we don't
have to wait to introduce foodsto babies like you don't have to
introduce a food, and then waitthree days and then introduce,
you can introduce all the foods,you know, as your family eats
(09:28):
them to the baby, and then, youknow, intentionally include
things like peanuts and, youknow, allergens and that sort of
thing. They sell these littlebaby food Mills, and you just
put dinner in the baby foodmill, and you grind it up. So,
if you, you know, if you're apure a person, this provides a
textured parade puree for yourbaby. If you're a, you know, a
(09:49):
baby-led weaning person, theremight be times where you don't
want to, especially cut up thefood, or you're in a place where
you can't do the self feedingthing, you know, all that stuff.
Um. Yes, you can just grind itup. It's so easy. Stick the
ground, stick a little mill inyour diaper bag, and you're good
to go. But yeah, feed the babywhat you're eating to the best
(10:11):
of your ability. It doesn't meanyou're it doesn't mean you're
going to ruin the baby if youever use baby food or special
food.
Lauren Highfill Willia (10:17):
Jennifer shared with us a couple of easy
ways that parents can preparefoods, particularly with peanut
butter, for their infants oryoung kids.
Jennifer Anderson (10:25):
So I just went through like, three jars of
peanut butter trying to recreatethis peanut butter cookie that I
used to make, like 15 years ago.
And I don't know where therecipe went and and I remember
them being magical, but Ihaven't quite figured it out
again. But in the meantime, Ihave found, I did discover,
like, a great cookie recipe.
(10:47):
It's just like, half honey, halfpeanut butter. That's it. You
like, put them, put them on thecookie sheet. 350 for you know,
until they look done-ish. Letthem cool completely on the
sheet. That's like a nice moist,like cookie, super sweet, but
that's it. Peanut, that's it. Ithink I little bit of little bit
(11:11):
of chewiness to them, my kids ortotally love them. So that's my
new discovery of the week. Andanother fun thing we just did
this last week. My, you know, myson had not eaten very well for
dinner, and we always do bedtimesnack. That's part of our
mealtime routine. And so Iusually think about, you know,
(11:33):
what do they have for dinner?
Was it substantial? If not, I'mgoing to provide a more, you
know, substantial bedtime snack.
If not, you know, you know,piece of fruit or whatever. So
he hadn't even eaten very muchat dinner. So I, I thought, we
gotta, you gotta amp up theprotein, the calories, all the
things. So I cut a banana, like,just into little, like, coins,
(11:54):
right? And then drizzle peanutbutter on top. And he said, Oh,
can I have chocolate chips. So,you know, it's like a little
chocolate chip on every one ofthose. Now, he's, he's 11, so
he, he like he knows about thechocolate chips. He knows about
all the things. If he was two,there would be no need. But that
is like a long standing lovedsnack in our house, especially,
(12:18):
you know, when you want to takesomething like a piece of fruit,
and make it a complete mallsnack that's actually gonna keep
them full for a while. Yeah. Sothose are two my favorites. And
then I mean, with babies, I feellike you just put that peanut
butter in whatever, any sort ofcreamy, any sort of creamy, or
the food mill. Could always dothe food mill. Add it into
(12:40):
whatever you just ground uplittle bit peanut butter.
Lindsay Stevens (12:50):
Next, I spoke with Amanda Lemein from our
marketing agency Golin. Here'sAmanda with a little about
herself.
Amanda Lemein (12:56):
I'm a registered dietitian at Golin. VP of
nutrition and wellness is myofficial title. So as you can
imagine, that includes being thesubject matter expert for
anything food and nutrition thatthe agency is working on, and a
big part of my role is alsomedia relations. I have a fair
(13:19):
amount of experience in mediarelations, particularly in the
health and wellness space, andthat is also a big part of what
I do for the National PeanutBoard. So overseeing any
nutrition claims, working withUSDA on that messaging and
claims, working very closelywith Lauren and Markita, mostly
(13:40):
on the consumer side, consumernutrition side, but a little bit
on the allergy side, andprevention of allergy side with
them as well.
Lindsay Stevens (13:50):
For some this could be the first time they're
hearing about adventurouseating. So here's Amanda with
her interpretation of what thatmeans.
Amanda Lemein (13:57):
Adventurous eating is really all about
expanding pallets, being alittle bit more adventurous in
the types of foods that we eat,and inserting peanuts into that
conversation in a way thatreally is quite natural to
peanuts as they exist incuisines all around the world.
And to Americans the immediatethought when we think of peanuts
(14:17):
and peanut butter, of course, isof peanut butter and jelly. But
peanuts are so much more thanthat. And what I love about this
campaign is it allows peanuts toreally shine, and allows us to
share with consumers all thedifferent cuisines that you can
enjoy peanuts in. I think awhile back, we used to refer to
peanuts as humble a lot, andwhile I think that's a wonderful
(14:40):
adjective. I also think thiscampaign in particular shows off
that we are indeed humble yetvery versatile and very cultured
too, and that peanuts can takeyou all around the world and
really expand your palate. Andthat's what we are showing off
with adventurous eating.
Lindsay Stevens (15:02):
According to Amanda, as the general
perception of health andwellness shifted away from
weight loss, diets have becomeless restricted. Here's Amanda
with more.
Amanda Lemein (15:10):
I think consumer Nutrition has taken on a new
persona within the last five ishyears, we used to see, maybe
five to 10 years ago, we sawnutrition as purely weight loss
focused and a little bit morerestrictive. And now I think
(15:32):
consumers are so much more opento what food can do for them in
a very non restrictive way, andI think that that opens the
doors to enjoying diversecuisines. Instead of recreating
a recipe or recreating a cuisineto fit into whatever specific
(15:53):
diet you might be following, Ithink people are much more open
to enjoying their food andtherefore trying different
cuisines. And so I think thatthat is a big part of why people
are more interested in expandingtheir palates lately, too,
within the last several years.
And that also trickles down totheir children. I have two young
kids. I can certainly attestthat it can be really difficult
(16:16):
to get your kids to eat certainfoods, but millennial parents,
Gen Z parents, are very excitedand interested in getting their
kids to eat anything and eatwith them as a family, and I
think this campaign is perfectfor expanding a family's palate
overall.
Lindsay Stevens (16:38):
When it comes to picky eaters, peanuts and
peanut butter could be a goodstepping stone and becoming more
adventurous. Here's Amanda.
Amanda Lemein (16:45):
I don't feel like consumers were ever picky about
peanuts or peanut butter, butthey like put peanuts and peanut
butter in a box, right? Almostlike the humble peanut
conversation, where it was likethe inexpensive nut, the one we
were all familiar with the onewe all know, the one that sticks
is PB and J, right? And I thinkwe have seen a shift a little
(17:06):
bit aligning with that interestin expanding palettes and
understanding other culturalcuisines and what they really
are, traditionally, not in likean Americanized way or a
westernized way, but like a truecultural cuisine, and seeing
that that can fit in with foodsthat we are familiar with, like
(17:28):
peanuts and peanut butter. Youknow, we always say in our in
our adventurous eating campaign,that peanuts are the perfect
bridge to try something new,because they can be the familiar
food amongst the unfamiliar, andI think that shift in the
persona of peanuts has certainlyled us to this campaign too,
(17:51):
because we're moving away fromthe humble peanut and what
consumers may be considered safeto seeing that this is the
bridge to something moreexciting, because it is safe to
me, and I've tried it in thiscontext, and now I can try it in
something that's a little morediverse and exciting and new to
me too.
Lindsay Stevens (18:12):
As part of our adventurous eaters campaign,
this year, we hosted theexplorers market at a popular
food market in Brooklyn, NewYork called smorgasbord. Here's
Amanda with more.
Amanda Lemein (18:21):
The peanut explorers market is all about
showing how peanuts show up incuisines around the world.
Smorgasburg has many differentfood vendors who offer a variety
of authentic cultural cuisines,and we partnered with all of
these different vendors to showoff how peanuts can appear in
(18:43):
anything from a Vietnamese coldbrew with a peanut cold foam to
a paella using peanut oil andtopped with peanuts and peanut
sauce. And John Kung is a chefand content creator that we
partnered with who is ChineseAmerican and has a his cooking
(19:07):
style is called Third Culturecooking, and it's really
blending his two backgrounds, aChinese American into his own
unique cooking style. And heoften uses peanuts in a lot of
his cooking and gets tons ofgreat content out of his amazing
peanut recipes. So that that inperson event the peanut
(19:32):
explorers market has reallyallowed us to bring adventurous
eating to life in front of areally captivated and interested
foodie audience with the help ofChef John I wasn't at the event
this weekend, but one anecdotalstory that we have heard from
our friend Christina billows isthat so many of the consumers in
(19:56):
New York this weekend were soexcited to try all these dishes.
And so excited to try, you know,the really spicy, flavorful
foods and the more indulgentfoods. But what they were most
excited about was the peanutplant, and to learn more about
the plant how peanuts are grown,fascinated that that is how a
peanut is grown. And so, again,I just think that like aligns so
(20:20):
nicely with the idea that thishumble nut that we're all we as
Americans are so familiar withcan fit into a global food scene
like it did this weekend, andstill draw plenty of interest to
where it all begins to with theplant.
Lindsay Stevens (20:40):
While joining a popular food market in New York
might not be feasible foreveryone in the peanut industry,
Amanda has creative ideas forhow peanut brands and
organizations can apply thisidea of adventurous eating on
the local level.
Amanda Lemein (20:52):
On NPB's website, we have so many great recipes
that go beyond what many of usare most familiar with or most
comfortable with day to day. AndI think tapping into those
recipes that are less familiar,maybe to our marketers
themselves too, is a great wayto show off the versatility of
peanuts and, you know, so manydifferent cuisines. Of course,
(21:16):
working with diverseinfluencers, I think is really
important, but maybe aninfluencer who can speak
authentically to a certain typeof cuisine or recipe that you
want to show off can onlybenefit us and layer in that
extra context and that differentperspective to that cuisine that
(21:39):
I think is so important and andgood for everyone to hear and
understand. But I think alsojust sort of like looking
locally, what are some of thethings that you're seeing take
off in your local atmosphere?
What are things that people getexcited about here in Chicago
and I think so many otherplaces, people get very excited
(22:00):
about farmers markets and goingto those markets and talking to
the farmers themselves, and justdeveloping that relationship and
that sense of community. So ifthere's something like that that
peanuts can be inserted into,and these, these recipes that
we've been talking about, canalso play a part in that,
(22:22):
creating more of a communityaround the localization of
peanuts, but then theglobalization of how far they
can they can reach in terms ofrecipes and cuisine. I think
that's, you know, just anotherway to reach consumers in more
unique ways.
Lauren Highfill Willia (22:51):
Finally, we spoke with John Kung a chef,
cookbook author and contentcreator from Detroit. Here's
John with a little background onthemselves.
Jon Kung (22:59):
I have been in the industry, or I had been in the
industry for about 12 years now.
I'm a self taught cook, and Ijust kind of worked my way up
through doing my own pop ups,working for other people's pop
ups, to working for otherpeople's restaurants, and then
managing my own small privatekitchen in the city of Detroit
before the pandemic.
Lauren Highfill Williams (23:20):
As Amanda mentioned, John's
culinary style is called ThirdCulture cooking, which we feel
goes hand in hand withadventurous eating. Here's what
Third Culture cooking is,according to John.
Jon Kung (23:30):
Third Culture cooking is, I'd like to describe it as
an informed kind of fusion. Soif you are a person of Third
Culture, you pretty much spentyour entire life bouncing back
and forth between differentcultures in your daily life. So
for example, me, I grew up in aChinese household, but that
household was in Canada or theUnited States, and so my home
(23:54):
life was very based and rootedin Chinese family tradition. But
then, like as soon as I left thedoor, I crossed a little
cultural threshold, and I neededto know how to change up my way
of communicating, my way ofunderstanding the world, my way
of appreciating different thingslike art and food. And there are
people like me all over thiscountry and of all different
(24:19):
ethnicities and cultures. Andit's interesting because we all
have very similar livedexperiences, even though, like
we may not even speak, are thesame second language or first
language as it were. Yeah, it isa very interesting way of living
through life, and I do believethat our creative and cultural
(24:39):
output is very rich because ofit.
Lauren Highfill Williams (24:42):
John has a unique take on what
adventurous eating means tothem.
Jon Kung (24:46):
Adventurous eating, to me, is simply the understanding
that to taste something and notlike it is not the end of the
world. It is a moment. That goesby. It is here. It's gone. It's
whatever. You don't ever have togo through it again. But if you
(25:08):
taste something new and you likeit, that is a new love that you
have for the rest of your life.
And adventurous eatersappreciate that risk. It's just
like, it's the only way thatI've been able to describe it,
like what qualifies anadventurous eater is like they
just understand the benefits oftrying new things. And as far
(25:30):
as, like, a weird or strangepeanut combination, combinations
is actually reminds me of astory that that I went through
like, when I was like, I think16 years ago. I interned at a 24
hour noodle house in Macau inChina. And in that kitchen I saw
(25:52):
chef bring out, like, somebought some, like, glass jars of
American peanut butter. I wasshocked, and I like, didn't
really understand for a second,and then it clicked in my head.
I was like, oh, was is this for,like, the Dandan noodles, or
Dandan mien? And then the chefwas like, Oh my gosh, you're so
(26:15):
clever. And I was like, first ofall, that made me feel great,
because traditionally, we usesoybean paste, but at this
restaurant, they found that thesweetness of the American peanut
butter really meshed well withthe soy sauce, the cilantro, the
chili oil that was eventuallyput in the broth and the
noodles. And so they were usingAmerican peanut butter in this
(26:38):
for very, very famous, veryhistoric and very well loved
noodle dish in China. So thatkind of like threw me off,
because, like, the last place Iever thought I would see peanut
butter American peanut butterwas in this, like, 24 hour
noodle shop in the middle ofChina. But yeah, it that that
(26:58):
was one, like weird peanutcombination that came to mind.
Lauren Highfill Willi (27:07):
According to John, platforms like Tiktok
and Instagram make it easy forchefs to try out new dishes and
influences when they cook.
Here's John with more aboutthese Third Culture meals.
Unknown (27:17):
I think the great thing about like short for me to like,
Tiktok, Instagram reels, YouTubeshorts, is that people can so
easily take control of theirnarratives now, like especially
when it comes to food and ourfood journeys and our cultural
dishes and our creative outputs.
We don't really need to befiltered by any editor. We don't
(27:43):
need to be vetted by any onepublication, one website, one TV
show anymore, or TV network, asit were. We can just literally
share these foods that we loveand live with, and it's great to
see the response for that.
People are curious. They want toknow more, and they want to know
(28:06):
from the source and as ThirdCulture people here in the
United States, there are so manyof us now, especially within
like my generation, themillennials and then every
younger generation. We'rebecoming a more like
multicultural society, and fromthat, we're developing like
foods that would never existoutside of here. So on the
(28:30):
horizon, we have these ThirdCulture foods of all kinds,
like, for me, it's Third CultureChinese, but it could also be
Third Culture Oaxacan. It couldbe Third Culture Nigerian, it
could be Third CultureEthiopian, Thai, Vietnamese,
whatever it will be, thesecombinations and this
intermingling of cultures thatbecause nowhere else has this
kind of proximity, nobody elsehas, or very few other countries
(28:54):
has neighboring communities theway that We do it's like gonna
be the future of American food.
Lauren Highfill Williams (29:05):
John worked with us as part of our
explorers market activation thatAmanda told me about. Here's
John with more.
Jon Kung (29:11):
Yeah, this past Saturday at Smorgasburg, at
Williamsburg, it was such anamazing time. There were like
over 10 different peanut centricvendors there, and they kind of
put like a peanut twist on someof their dishes. So for example,
there was like a peanut coldfoam Mocha, Vietnamese coffee.
That's one thing from 88 coffee,a poppin' peanut chicken bites
(29:36):
from big Mott's spicy style,peanut paella. And also a peanut
butter and jelly baklava thatwas there too. That was super
cool. Sadly, if you're listeningto this right now, you missed
it, but there is actually awebsite that you could try. It's
also for if you're not in NewYork City, the explorers
(29:57):
challenge is available online atexplorepeanuts.com, and that is
like an online quiz. Well, theywill rank how adventurous of an
eater you are, and based off ofyour score, they will be giving
you a bunch of different recipesthat you can choose from based
on how adventurous it thinks youare.
Lauren Highfill Williams (30:22):
Today we heard about adventurous
eating being something as simpleas Jennifer’s description of a
kid trying a new food during afamily dinner. Or it can tie
into a newer concept of thirdculture cooking, like Jon
described. And it’s excitingthat adventurous eating ties
into preventing food allergiesin the youngest eaters so that
they can enjoy all the foods theworld has to offer as they grow
(30:44):
like Amanda discussed. We hopethat today’s episode inspired
you to be a bit more adventurousin your own eating habits and
that you might just be ready totry that Peanut Paella! Lindsay,
we were really excited aboutsome other examples of
Adventurous Eating that came upon the foodservice side from a
recipe contest we recentlysponsored. Can you tell us about
(31:04):
that?
Lindsay Stevens (31:05):
Yeah, Lauren, it was so exciting to see these
recipes from our food servicerecipe contest. We worked with
this organization called Foodworks, and they sent us these
great recipes that won thecontest. One of them is like a
tofu peanut butter pizza, whichsounds really cool. There's like
a spicy orange marmalade donutthat seems awesome. And then
(31:25):
there was like another, like, itwas a different type of chicken
pizza, which was really cool.
But, like, they made the chickenusing like, soy. So it's all
like, vegetarian. It's reallycool. Yeah, they were. It was
really cool to see thedirections actually to make the
tofu on the peanut butter pizza.
So it was a really cool recipecontest. And it was really
amazing to see all the differentways that peanuts and peanut
(31:47):
butter can be used in differentcuisines and stuff. Which, if
you want to see these recipes,we have them all linked in our
show notes, so you can checkthose out and see how cool they
are. They are food service size,though, so they're not made for
like they're not portioned outfor kitchens like yours or mine.
They're more portioned out forrestaurants kitchens so, but
very cool, and it was a reallycool contest.
Lauren Highfill Williams (32:06):
Yeah, super inspiring recipes, and I
think with that, you know,peanut butta pizza that won,
they ended up using peanuts inlike five different ways, which
is pretty amazing. So definitelyworth checking out the recipes
on the website.
Lindsay Stevens (32:20):
Absolutely.
Well, so Lauren, I actually hada question for you. You have two
kids, so I was wondering ifeither of your kids are
adventurous eaters, and ifyou've tried out any of this
stuff while you were trainingthem to eat.
Lauren Highfill Williams (32:32):
I think I really connected with
talking with Jennifer for thisepisode and her ideas of like,
it's the goal. We want our kidsto be adventurous eaters, but
and try everything on theirplate all the time, but we have
to be realistic. It's you can'tgo from zero to 60 overnight.
(32:53):
It's a process. So I am thankfulthat I don't have super picky
children. But my oldestdaughter, she's eight, she is
she's pretty gung ho forvegetables in particular, and
she's a great example for heryounger brother, who is three
years old, and we like to say islearning to like vegetables. He
(33:16):
is still on a path, so we'll putthe green beans on his plate
every time his sister has some,and most of the time they just
sit there. But every once in awhile, he gives it a try and
makes a face, and we say, goodjob for trying. You might like
it next time. So we just try tokeep it, you know, low pressure
and eating is about fun and, youknow, experiences and being
(33:39):
together. So, I have faith thatit's gonna that we're gonna have
some adventurous eaters on ourhands in the future.
Lindsay Stevens (33:46):
Yeah, no, it reminds me of what John said
when he said, an adventurouseater, in his opinion, is
someone who's willing to takethat, you know, quick moment of
time to see if they likesomething or not, and know that
if they don't like it, it's notthe end of the world, and they
can try something else newlater, so.
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:01):
Yeah, yeah, really low key, low
pressure experimentation that'sKeeping it positive. Those are
the most important things!
Lindsay Stevens (34:09):
Yes, so Lauren, as you know, it's my last
episode, and I have a peanutpodcast centric question for
you, and I think we want tobring Ashton back into this so
he can get accustomed to thesetrivia questions we have at the
end of the episode.
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:22):
Yeah
Ashton Pellom (34:22):
I'm here. I'm ready for it. Let's go.
Lindsay Stevens (34:24):
Okay, so my question to you today is, how
many guests have been on thepeanut podcast, including this
episode?
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:34):
That's a tough one.
Ashton Pellom (34:35):
How many episodes have there been?
Lindsay Stevens (34:37):
Ashton, come on. You should know this. We're
on 29
Ashton Pellom (34:40):
Okay, gotcha. Um,
Lauren Highfill Williams (34:42):
yeah, and we do, I would say, like
three to four, four averageguests per episode. I'm gonna
have to dig down. I have to lookat my my calculator. No lie,
Lindsay Stevens (34:53):
there's a lot of math going on here with
y'all.
Ashton Pellom (34:55):
Oh yeah, about to say, I'm gonna, I'm just gonna
take a wild guess and say about,let's say two. 250 oh
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:00):
my gosh, wow,
Lindsay Stevens (35:02):
250. Okay, okay.
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:04):
I was I, I think that was an
overestimation. But then I justbroke the calculator out, and
that number is still really highof what I was thinking. So I'm
gonna say 115 based on three orfour guests per episode.
Lindsay Stevens (35:22):
Well, I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting y'all
to get us much lower. So this,this number feels less
impressive now. We've had 97guests, which I thought was a
lot, until we broke out 150 and250 so yeah, but yeah, 97 people
have been on our podcast to talkabout peanuts and different ways
(35:43):
to, you know, use peanuts andall of that. It's really cool.
Ashton Pellom (35:47):
That's no that's definitely a lot of guests, a
lot of guests.
Lauren Highfill Williams (35:50):
That's amazing. I feel like we should,
like, really do it up maybe fornext episode, when we'll have
our 100th guest. You know, wecan really celebrate that.
Lindsay Stevens (35:58):
No pressure to whoever the 100th guest is.
Ashton Pellom (36:00):
Yes.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:01):
I know, right. Oh, my goodness.
Well, that was a really coolstat and trivia question. Thanks
for pulling that out, Lindsay,and you have been such a
valuable part of this team, andso happy that you're continuing
to, you know, make your mark onthe National Peanut Board, and
we'll, we'll miss you on thepodcast, but glad we still have
(36:22):
you at the office.
Lindsay Stevens (36:22):
oh my gosh, like, it's like a tear. Oh my
gosh, thank you, Lauren, thatmeans the world. I missed the
podcast a lot. It was, it was socool to I feel like I've learned
so much by being a part of this.
It really felt like each episodewas like a different lesson in
like, peanuts that I got tolearn. So it was really cool.
And, you know, this was just anawesome experience. I can't wait
(36:43):
to pass the torch.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:45):
Yeah, wonderful.
Lindsay Stevens (36:47):
Well, thank you again for listening to the
peanut podcast. Our show'sengineer and sound designer is
next gen. We'd also like to notethat our guest segments may be
edited for length and clarityand to comply with USDA
guidelines.
Lauren Highfill Williams (36:58):
And as always, don't forget to
subscribe to the podcast on theplatform you're listening on,
and if you would like to findout more about what we've talked
about today, then go to NationalPeanut board.org/podcast, we'll
see you later on this summer forour next episode in September,
bye bye,
Lindsay Stevens (37:14):
bye!
Ashton Pellom (37:15):
bye!
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