Local Covington homeschooling mother-of-three, Chanel Miller, celebrated the release of the first book in her three-part childrens cookbook series, “Kid De Cuisine,” at Bread and Butter Bakery in Covington on Tuesday.

Now available on Miller’s website, them3andme.com, “Kid De Cuisine: Hadasah’s Breakfast Delights,” is a dry erase, interactive cookbook and learning aid that teaches children as young as three years old to cook almost independently using colors and pictures. Included with the purchase of the book are color-coded measuring cups, a child-safe knife, a dry erase marker, an apron and a chef’s hat.

In addition to simple, child-friendly breakfast recipes, the book includes a short story and activities that review colors, counting and simple math.

Miller, who enjoys writing and previously worked at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s child study lab, explained her hopes of the cookbook bringing families together and providing enriching memories via cooking.

“I feel like that relationship between a parent and a child sometimes, because of everyday life, it’s rushed,” Miller said. “We’re working and going, or even if you’re a stay at home mom, it encompasses a lot. [The cookbook] has a dual purpose by – ‘Not only am I spending time with you and we’re together, but at that same time, I’m also encouraging you to be independent. I’m encouraging you to take the lead and to know that you can do things by yourself.’”

It just takes practice, sometimes cooking can be a daunting task or teaching it. But practice makes perfect in a sense. At the end, I want kids to be able to say, ‘I don’t cook with mom, mom cooks with me.’ I want families to have fun and enjoy.”

“Kid De Cuisine: Hadasah’s Breakfast Delights’’ includes recipes such as a raspberry waffle sandwich, overnight oats, honey nut parfaits, blueberry muffins, a smoothie and more. Miller shared her process in how she chose the book’s recipes and her reasons for featuring them.

“The specific recipes that’s within the book are things that we kind of do already – these are things that my kids like to cook or my kids like to eat,” Miller said. “I wanted the recipes to be easy for young kids. We do have some that have to go in the oven. And we have a parent icon to tell the parents and kiddos, ‘You need your parents help,’ but majority of them are simple, easy recipes. I wanted recipes that didn’t take as long to cook. I wanted to allow parents, if they had the time, to have something that only takes about 30 minutes in the morning. If you read the story with your kiddo and maybe do one activity, at best, maybe an hour for the whole recipe.”

Each book in Miller’s three-part cookbook series will be dedicated to her three daughters. “Kid De Cuisine: Hadasah’s Breakfast Delights” was inspired by her daughter, Hadasah’s independent nature and interest at an early age to begin cooking. The remaining books in the series will include recipes pertaining to meals during other parts of the day and are planned to be released within the next year or two.

For those interested in purchasing “Kid De Cuisine: Hadasah’s Breakfast Delights,” it can be found on Amazon (search the book’s title) as well as them3andme.com.