News

Bean Sprouts launches kid-friendly cooking app

March 7, 2014

For parents looking to get picky eaters excited about trying healthy new foods, Bean Sprouts — a kid-friendly fast casual cafe and cooking school — has created a new experiential learning app: Bean Sprouts: Cooking Fun for Kids.

Designed for children 8 and under, the app features a cast of silly pea and bean characters who guide users through playful recipes such as Crocamole and Snack Man, star in food games and magically appear in videos, according to a company press release. The app offers a play-by-play of how to create the most popular "Imaginibbles" recipes from Bean Sprouts Café and the award-winning book it inspired, "Bean Appétit: Hip and Healthy Ways to Have Fun with Food."

In honor of National Nutrition Month, the app is free March 7-9 in the iTunes online store for iPhones and iPads. After the promotional period, the app will cost $0.99, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Junior League's "Kids in the Kitchen" initiative, according to the release.

Bean Sprouts: Cooking Fun for Kids, teaches kids how to make fun, good-for-you foods like Crocamole — guacamole hummus disguised as a crocodile — and Snack Man — a pineapple and blueberry snack that looks like the lead character of a famous video game — said Shannon "PEA-casso" Seip, co-founder of Bean Sprouts Café and Cooking School, co-author of Bean Appétit, and mom of two boys.

"Bean Sprouts aims to spark kids' appetites by making healthy food fun. Our new app is an extension of our mission — an engaging, playful way to get kids excited about trying new tastes, especially vegetables," she said.

In addition to dressing up characters with silly accessories and facial features (called Build-a-Bean), kids can test their "Pea Brain" with food-themed puzzles and memory games. The app, designed by app developer Playrific, also includes:

• Spill the Beans: Quirky conversation starters with a food theme, such as "If rain could fall in any flavor, which flavor would you choose?"
• Mmmmatch 'em Up: Kids improve their food IQ by matching vegetables.
• MasterPEAs: As an artist draws a food scene with a pencil, kids try to guess what it is. How long will it take to figure it out?
• Bean an Artist: Kids discover their inner artist by coloring fun Bean Sprouts characters.
• Bean Bags: A silly scavenger hunt to make trips to the supermarket more fun
• And Imaginibbles: Yummy, good-for-you reciPEAs and videos.