We live in an era of food trends and 'hacks' focused on making something new out of the familiar. Whether it's special orders at Starbucks that make drinks taste like sweets, or a way to fashion a Big Mac at McDonald's whilst paying for just a double cheeseburger, there are all kinds of weird and wonderful ways to treat your palate and your wallet.
At-home recipe quirks are all the rage too, but this one from actor, model and entrepreneur Blake Lively is sure to raise a few eyebrows.
If you've ever made your own lemonade, you might have had a little experiment to see how to balance out the sweetness and sharpness properly. It's almost a certainty, however, that you haven't tried the Blake Lively method.
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"I just really like butter. Anything butter. Butter is in our lemonades," she told Delish.
"It’s my little secret. My little umami. I know it’s a weird thing. It just gives it a little je ne sais quoi."
If that incredible revelation wasn't enough, wait till you hear how many meals Lively routinely cooks each day.
Cooking for kids can be an absolute nightmare. It can be tricky enough to get them to consistently eat their greens, finish their plates, or manage to eat something without staring at an iPad, and that’s before you consider their fickle palates and the ease with which they decide they no longer like something they’ve been eating for years.
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For most families, there’s no question that everyone sitting down at the table will be eating the same meal. After all, we’re all time poor, and when you’ve got kids your resources are likely always under some strain.
In other words, if your kids aren’t happy with the family meal, then for most parents that’ll be just too bad.
For the kids of the rich and famous, it seems there’s more leeway. Many celebrities will have personal chefs amongst their house staff, thereby outsourcing the headache of whipping up nutritious and healthy grub that their kids will actually eat, and it also opens the possibility of those kids each getting their own bespoke meals.
Some celebrity parents claim not to lean on the staff for such things, as is the case with Blake Lively who reckons she’ll make a different meal for each of her four children.
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"I always was like, 'I’m gonna be the parent that’s gonna make one meal, and you’re gonna get what you get, and they’re gonna love it," she said, per Delish. "They have such different palates."
Lively, star of It Ends with Us, Gossip Girl, The Town, and many more besides, is also an entrepreneur who’s founded brands like Betty Buzz, Betty Booze, and Blake Brown Beauty.
With so many ventures on the go it’s hard to imagine how she can have the time to cook four separate meals, but she told Delish that her picky kids have necessitated it.
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"I do really love to cook so I do end up making different things for different kids," she said.
"Their palates change. They try a lot when they’re little, and then they just wanna go into beige foods. There’s that period. And then they start trying things again. Even my palate changes so much. It’s fun. I love cooking."
You’d have to really love cooking to slave away in the kitchen for however long it takes to prepare four separate meals, but she’s evidently very committed.
As far as those changing palates go, it seems they’ve inspired some unconventional ideas in Lively’s kitchen.
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Anyone who’s followed the teachings of Marco Pierre White will already know how magical butter can be in a recipe, but even that much-decorated chef might have balked at where Lively puts hers.
Which revelation do you find harder to swallow: cooking four meals each night for picky kids, or putting butter in lemonade?
Rachael Davis