Did you know that spaghetti has Adultitis-fighting superpowers? As long as you keep it off of plates, that is. 🍝

This is one of the more polarizing ideas I’ve ever shared in any of my speaking programs. The thought of eating a spaghetti dinner sans plates either causes people to roll their eyes in disgust or exuberantly start planning when to do it.

Those who are hesitant are mostly concerned about the spectacular mess they imagine will be created. Granted, this is not a Martha Stewart-approved event, but it’s not as bad as you might think. Some have their fears alleviated when we suggest using a plastic tablecloth that can be rolled up and thrown away afterward. In many ways, this makes cleanup easier than most dinners! Doing it outdoors as part of a picnic is also a way to minimize the mess.

As you might expect, children, who are weary from always being reprimanded to be more “civilized” at the dinner table, love Barbarian Spaghetti immensely. But it is a great gift to give grown-ups, too. We spend way too much time worrying about what other people think, and that can be pretty exhausting. It’s fun to give others the permission to have fun, be a little silly, and not take themselves so seriously.

I can assure you that in each case, the only one disappointed with the outcome is Adultitis.

But routines do have a nasty habit of becoming…routine. We put together a free Escape Adulthood Guide with some heaping portions of simple, inexpensive ideas for making mealtime more fun and keeping Adultitis out of the kitchen.

You can download it here. Enjoy!

It can be easy to think of country clubs as the sort of places where Adultitis might like to hang out. Granted, it’s not a windowless cube farm, but it can invite a particular strain of Adultitis that implores us to take ourselves a little too seriously and make sure we don’t get our princess dress wet.

But Chef Brian at the Rockford Country Club is a Champion of Childhood who’s keeping Adultitis on its toes. In celebration of back to school season, Brian created a menu that put some epicurean twists on old childhood favorites, a “culinary homage to cafeteria classics.” Here are some of the things he came up with:

• A beautiful, creamy, scratch-made grilled cheese & tomato soup with a grilled cheese crouton.
• A salad with bacon, pistachios and cranberry Jell-O croutons. (Yup, you read that right: Jell-O croutons!)
• Thai PB and J pork chop with jasmine rice and vegetable spring roll.
• Lobster mac & cheese. (Eat it, Kraft.)
• “Fish sticks” featuring Chilean sea bass, coated in a crunchy Goldfish cacker crust and cooked to perfection.
• A gourmet take on the classic TV dinner featuring homemade meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes, with peas and carrots, and a scratch-made brownie.

It sounds delicious to us! We need to convince Chef Brian to create the menu for our next Escape Adulthood Summit!

There are many places that might be more prone to Adultitis than others. But whether you work in a cafeteria, a country club, or the Chrysler Building, there is always room for delighting people with a little childhood fun. Kudos to this creative chef for serving up a delicious example!

What is your favorite example of a business that did a great job of incorporating the sprit of childhood into the mix?

A Champion of Childhood is someone instilled with the soaring spirit of childhood who rallies against rules that don’t exist while engaging in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine the slavery of Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. We like shining a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against Adultitis. See more here.

When you’re a kid, dressing up all fancy for dinner is exciting. Although it can be fun for grown-ups too, it doesn’t take long for Adultitis to creep in when one begins to worry about which fork to use or whether or not you have spinach in your teeth. The premise of an Olde Timey Dinner — one of the highlights from the 2014 Escape Adulthood Summit — is to keep the fun and ditch the pretense.

You don’t need to attend an Escape Adulthood Summit to experience the fun of Ye Olde Timey Dinner. Here are some tips for hosting your own:

WHAT to EAT

You can serve whatever you want, but the most important thing is to use the good china. If you need some convincing, read this. Even Kraft Macaroni & Cheese takes on gourmet status when served on fancy plates. (If you don’t have any fancy plates, just put the lights down low and light a few candles — instant fancy!)

If you need some inspiration, we had fun putting a childlike spin on the traditional seven-course format with the following menu:

Appetizer: PB&J Sushi Rolls
Soup: ABC Vegetable Soup
Salad: Fruit Shish-kabob with Drizzled Yogurt Sauce
Sorbet: Dreamsicle
Fish Entree: Fruity Pebbles Encrusted Tilapia with Strawberry-Mango-Jalapeño Salsa and green beans
Meat Entree: Bacon Cheeseburger Slider with house made Potato Chips
Dessert: Key Lime Tart

WHAT to WEAR

Get gussied up! We provided pearl necklaces, top hats, DIY bow ties, feather-adorned flapper girl headbands and fake mustaches for attendees to complement their jeans and t-shirts. Feather boas and long gloves are naturals as well. Nothing wrong with requiring guests to wear real dress-up clothes, if that floats your boat. Of you could challenge people to come outfitted with the fanciest clothes they can find at a second hand store, with the requirement of bringing the receipt as proof.

WHAT to LISTEN TO

Music is an important element of Ye Olde Timey Dinner. We found a collection of hits from the 1920s, which was a perfect soundtrack. You could also dig out some jazz or classical music, depending on what kind of mood you’re looking for.

WHAT to TALK ABOUT

We put tent cards at each table that encouraged diners to pepper their conversations with old fashioned words and phrases. (See top photo.) Frankly, it was one of the best parts of the whole affair. Keep in mind that a thorough understanding of each word is not required. Bonus laughter came when someone blurted out the word nonsensically. You can download the tent cards we used right here. (Just print them on card stock, cut them down the middle, fold ’em in half and you’re good to go.)

So that’s the gist of an Olde Timey Dinner. The goal of this article is to get you started, but we also hope that you put your own spin on the concept and share your ideas in the comments below!

Don’t dilly dally on this opportunity to starve Adultitis. May your shenanigans raise a ruckus to remember!

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you certainly know of our proclivity for Ugly Treats. We wholeheartedly encourage people to make disgusting-looking cookies, cakes, and other desserts…just for fun.

Well, an astute reader recently reminded me that dessert doesn’t have to be the only food group up for an ugly makeover. She pointed me to an article highlighting 21 Truly Upsetting Vintage Recipes. Below are a few of my favorites:

Liver Sausage Pineapple

Imagine mixing together liver sausage, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mayonnaise and gelatin into the shape of a pineapple. Then imagine the people you made it for hating you forever.

Monterey Soufflé Salad

This one looks totally great; I’m just not a fan of pimentos. Or mixing seafood and lemon Jell-O. But that’s just me.

Super Salad Loaf

If you want to be happy when company comes…then don’t make this.

Granted, each of these dishes look like they’ve been beaten repeatedly with the ugly stick. The truly upsetting aspect is that none of theme are intended to be so. These are real, legitimate recipes developed by sincere, well-intentioned (and possibly blind) people.

However, there’s nothing saying you can’t change that intention.

What if you had a dinner party featuring ugly cookies that was proceeded by an ugly main course? You could take and use these exact recipes as your guide!

Just remember, treat gelatin as the workhorse it is!

While there is a chance no one will have an appetite by the time you unveil what’s for dinner, one thing is certain: Adultitis will find another home to occupy on that day!

About once a month, the parents would pull out a bunch of unusual kitchen utensils and pile them on the table. Things like spatulas, spaghetti forks, soup ladles, whisks, potato mashers and giant serving spoons were on display. Each child was instructed to select one item from the pile.

And then they would have to eat their entire dinner using just that utensil.

To make things even more interesting, the mother kept the dinner menu a secret.

This is an idea that I got from an elderly couple in Virginia several years back. Their kids loved it so much, that now that they’re older, they do it with the grandkids. We’ve fondly nicknamed it “Spatula City.”

It’s a simple concept, really. But as usual, the best ones usually are.

If you’ve ever been to one of my speaking programs, you’ve probably heard this idea. The big question is, have you tried it?

What do you get when you mix geology students and Jell-O? Amazing Adultitis-fighting fun to inspire us all!

When Meredith Rhodes Carson was studying geology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, one of the highlights was the annual Jell-O Cook-Off in which contestants created geologically-inspired, gelatin-infused masterpieces. The photo at right is a copy of a stained glass window in Weeks Hall on campus. Some of the categories included: Tallest Jell-O, Best Representation of a Faculty Member, Most Wisconsin (one winning entry was actually made with beer), and Most Aerodynamic. (One infamous entry, a drumlin-shaped Jell-O with Rice Krispies in it, was launched off of the balcony of Weeks Hall FOUR times before complete destruction.) The only real rules was that entries had to be primarily Jell-O, not necessarily edible.

We strongly advocate the making of ugly cakes and cookies; why not bring Jell-O into the mix?

In talking to Meredith after one of my presentations, I was fascinated by her scientific knowledge of Jell-O. Or at least what you need to know to compete in a cook-off at a high level! Since I figured you might find yourself inspired to instigate a Jell-O Cook-Off of your own, I’ve asked Meredith to share some of her best tips for creating works of art in the medium of Jell-O:

Pro-tips for Jell-O Cook Off Newbies

1. Knox Gelatin – It is important to fortify your Jell-O for advanced Jell-O structures.
2. Carving Jell-O is slightly easier if you dip your knife in pineapple juice.
3. Consider a ‘Jell-O displacement’ technique to create complex multi-colored Jell-O. This requires that you start your Jell-O art days in advance. For example, to construct a cylindrical shape – fill your container with Jell-O and then float a cylindrical object in so that when the Jell-O solidifies, you can remove the cylinder, and fill that space with another color of Jell-O.
4. You can use a straw to remove select bits of Jell-O from your creation… just suck the Jell-O out.
5. Do not attempt to create a Jell-O aquarium scene in a 20 gallon fish tank using the shell of a lobster that may or may not still have salt water in it. Salt water and Jell-O don’t mix, your Jell-O will not set…AND your giant-unsolidified-blue-Jell-O-filled-fish-tank may just break in your refrigerator.
6. You can make a spectacular Jell-O volcano eruption using baking soda and vinegar.
7. Consider using light in your Jell-O design. One winning entry was an x-ray of a particular geologist’s shoulder to show the results of a recent surgery – the Jell-O x-ray was crafted in a 9×13” glass baking dish, presented on top of a light table for full effect.
8. If black plastic spider rings don’t seem authentic enough in your Jell-O bug amber, a good approach is to harvest spider corpses from your garage to put your creation over the top.
9. Heavy duty aluminum foil can make a fine custom mold.
10. Take Jell-O project management seriously, giant charts may be required to make your vision a reality. Start early.

Here are some impressive samples from the original cook-offs. Thanks for sharing, Meredith!

A few years ago, I spoke at a school in Wisconsin, giving presentations for the staff and the parents. I shared the Ugly Cookie story, just like I (almost) always do. Lots of people have heard that story over the years.

But Pete Hirt, the principal of the school, took it and ran with it.

Not long after my talk, a parent of one of the students was diagnosed with cancer. Pete and the community sprang into action to help raise money for the family. Pete suggested they do an “Ugly Cake Auction,” in which people would be invited to decorate cakes in the ugliest manner possible. About 1,000 people descended upon the gym to bid on dozens of deliciously ugly cakes.

They raised $15,000.

Last night, I was invited back to be a part of an evening designed to Celebrate Family. I would again be speaking to the staff and parents, but also added to the agenda was a Barbarian Spaghetti dinner and an Ugly Cookie decorating contest. The goal was to give parents tips and ideas for stressing less and having more fun, while providing an opportunity for families to make memories together.

As you’ll see in the photos below…mission accomplished.

Tables in the cafeteria were covered with plastic, and aluminum trays of spaghetti and meatballs were placed at each table. Plates and silverware were provided for the more cautious eaters, but Pete exuberantly encouraged everyone to “go barbarian!” I’d say a little over half went for it, eating their spaghetti directly off the table. A number even went without cutlery.

It was a blast!

After dinner, I did an hour presentation in the library for the parents, while Pete and the kids cleaned up and had some fun in the gym. Then it was time for ugly cookie decorating. Plain homemade sugar cookies were provided, along with white frosting which served as a blank canvas for the smorgasbord of food coloring, sprinkles and candy that was on hand.

Believe me when I say that ugliness was unleashed that night, my friends. And Adultitis was NOT happy about any of it.

Pete Hirt is one of the best principals I’ve ever met. He’s a down-to-earth guy who has a great sense of humor, and although he takes his job seriously, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He is one of the most caring people I’ve come across. He really wants to make the lives of the students and their families better. And he’s willing to try anything to do it.

Clearly.

Pete (pictured above) is a Champion of Childhood because he’s willing to face Adultitis head-on. I’m sure there were more than a few people who thought he was out of his mind to bring an idea like this to the table. But the world is aching for silliness, and it desperately needs leaders who are brave enough to stand up and serve as permission granters.

Pete is one of those leaders. Can we count on you to be one, too?

A Champion of Childhood is someone instilled with the soaring spirit of childhood who rallies against rules that don’t exist while engaging in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine the slavery of Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. We like shining a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against Adultitis. See more here.

With summer saying sayonara, my speaking schedule is back into full swing. One of my favorite parts is talking to people afterwards, and hearing the neat things they do for fun with friends and family. In fact, many of the ideas I share in my presentations, including Sticky Cup, Pajama Run, and Spatula City are from audience members.

One of my fatal flaws is forgetting to write them down. I always think I’ll remember them, but do I? Nope. Well I’m happy to report that I’ve been a bit more consistent of late, and wanted to share some recent gems:

Green Eggs & Ham Dinner. I have always loved the idea of using food coloring to turn dinnertime on its ear, and making green eggs and ham is a popular favorite. A woman shared a twist they include on their regular Suess-themed meals: everyone has to speak in rhyme. Brilliant! “You asked me to pass the salt, so spilling the milk was not my fault…”

Sweet 60 Birthday Party. They say that youth is wasted on the young. Why should they have all the fun? You’ve heard of a “Sweet Sixteen” party, right? If you know someone who is turning the big six-oh, why not do what one woman from Green Bay did: throw a “Sweet 60” party. From what I heard, it featured a lot of personalized treats, a fancy princess dress and even a tiara.

$5 Formal Day. The same woman, I’m pretty sure her name was Sue, also told me about a regular tradition she has with friends. Everyone goes to a thrift store with a budget of five clams and picks out a formal outfit to wear for the whole day. (Sue has three old wedding dresses in her collection.) The day concludes with a nice dinner out, where everyone comes dressed to the nines. (Or at least the fives.)

Silly Soap Opera. We’ve already shared the idea of flipping to a soap opera, hitting mute, and doing your own silly voice over. (A game that may be even more fun with a group of adults and a bottle of wine than it is with kids.) But an often overlooked wrinkle is how the type of show you choose can greatly alter the direction (and hilarity!) of the game. A lady suggested tuning in to Duck Dynasty to get her husband to join in, and also surmised that a home renovation show on HGTV would also offer up some silly scenarios to play with. Indeed!

Taco Tuesday. Barbarian Spaghetti was a big hit at this year’s Escape Adulthood Summit. This is a meal where spaghetti is served sans plates. (Silverware is optional :) But you can expand your horizons beyond marinara-soaked pasta. Amy recently instituted Taco Tuesdays, which was such a hit the kids have requested it a weekly standard. There are all sorts of foods that, when served without plates, lend themselves to a special brand of fun (mashed potato Mondays, anyone?).

The memories you will treasure most from this year will be the things that happened outside the normal routine of everyday life. Try one of these simple ideas and make a scene with the people you care about!

What are some of the favorite things YOU like to do with your friends and family? Share them in the comments!

Earlier this month, Kim and I took the kids to the Wisconsin State Fair. As embarrassing as it is to admit, it was our first time in attendance, even though we’ve lived in Cheeseland for over 13 years. I am glad it only comes once a year, as I’m pretty sure we consumed a week’s worth of calories in the one day we were there. Cream puffs, cheese curds, corn dogs, elephant ears…we didn’t even scratch the surface of all the deep fried things we WANTED to try, but our shame quota could only be pushed so far.

You know it’s been a nutritionally-challenged day when your clan devours a dinner at McDonald’s because it’s the closest thing you’ve had to real food all day.

Anyway, I’m not sure where the state-fair-fried-food-on-a-stick phenomenon got its start, but Wisconsin sure holds its own on variety. However, I did not see a deep fried cereal option. If I had, I’m not sure I could have resisted. Apparently deep fried breakfast cereal was debuted at the San Diego County Fair in 2012 by Chicken” Charlie Boghosian. He also launched deep fried Kool-Aid balls and many other wonderful concoctions. This year he offered a Krispy Kreme sloppy joe, which is where I have to draw the line.

Tell us: what was the best/worst/and weirdest deep fried food you’ve ever tried?

A giant one that’s ten feet long, of course!

Banana splits are pretty good at thwarting Adultitis. But 10-foot banana splits have been known to give Adultitis the hives.

If you wanna make one for your next party, they seem pretty easy to put together. This tutorial uses a carpet tube and this one uses a simple rain gutter (both were covered in heavy duty aluminum foil.)

If you wanna go crazy, eat it for dinner.

If you wanna go easy on the waistline, try these Banana Split Bites instead.

Photo from OhHappyDay

About a year ago, I made a Summer Bucket List. One of the items I was most excited about was inventing a new ice cream flavor. In this particular case, excitement didn’t translate into action; summer came and went and the world went without a new ice cream flavor. (Sorry, World.)

To be fair, I did come up with an idea for a flavor last summer, I just never got around to trying it. Until now. So, without further ado, I give you Crunch Berry Ice Cream!

You may be thinking, “Big deal. You threw some cereal into some vanilla ice cream — how groundbreaking.” But alas, I took this task seriously and endeavored to push things to another level. And while I concede that someone, somewhere, may have already invented this particular flavor, it was new to me, and I’m happy to share my way of doing it.

This recipe is tailored to my off-the-shelf Cuisinart ice cream maker, which can make 1.5 quarts of ice cram at a time. Your machine may require some adjustments and results may vary.

First, pour 1 cup of milk and 2 cups of heavy whipping cream into a bowl.

The next step is the most crucial. It is the step that elevates this recipe beyond just throwing a bunch of crap in at the end and calling it a day. No friends, this step is my attempt is to infuse every bite of ice cream with the flavor of Cap’n Crunch and his delicious Crunch Berries. Or, more specifically, what the milk tastes like when you’re done eating the cereal on Saturday morning.

To do this, pour a bunch of Crunch Berries cereal into the bowl. We’ll call it two cups.

While your impulse may be to grab a giant spoon and dive in, resist! The goal is to infuse that milk and cream with the Crunch Berry goodness, but I discovered that the heaviness of heavy whipping cream works against us. The cereal just sort of sits on the top, so you’ll need to stir it around in order to get good coverage, like so:

Then put the bowl in the fridge for awhile, allowing the cereal to get good and soggy.

After at least two hours, pull out the bowl and pour the mixture through a big strainer, reserving the milk and cream while discarding the cereal. All I wanted at this point was flavor and the cool little flecks of color, not a soggy mess infiltrating my ice cream.

Don’t worry, Cap’n. The crunch comes later.

A few notes here. My bowl was in the fridge for two hours. In future versions of this recipe, I might experiment with leaving it in the fridge even longer, to see if I can coax even more flavor into the milk and cream.

Next, in a separate large bowl, whisk two large eggs like crazy until they are light and fluffy. Then slowly whisk in 3/4 cup of sugar.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that if you can secure a lovely assistant for this step, you totally should.

Once the sugar is good an incorporated with the eggs, you can add your Crunch Berry-infused milk and cream, two teaspoons of vanilla extract, and give it a good mixing. A hand mixer or a whisk works well.

Then pour your base into an ice cream maker and just hang out for a while. Consult your ice cream maker for suggested times.

Our version of hanging out got a little crazy…

Ok, when you’re ice cream is about two minutes from being done, you get to add a cup of dry cereal.

As soon as it’s incorporated uniformly into the ice cream, turn off the machine and scoop everything into a freezer-safe container. Although certainly edible at this point, for best results I recommend letting it firm up in the freezer for several hours. The quicker you make the transfer, the better chance your Crunch Berries will stay crunchy!

All in all, I was happy with the result. The flavor is subtle but unmistakeable, the dry cereal adds a nice texture, and although you can’t see them well in this photo, the little colored flecks add a touch of Saturday morning whimsy. Even Kim, who is not a giant Crunch Berries fan, got a little bit addicted. I recommend giving it a try, and let us know if you come up with any tips for improving it!

Crunch Berry Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries cereal
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. 1) Pour milk and cream into a bowl. Add 2 cups cereal. Stir to coat.
2. 2) Place the bowl in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
3. 3) Remove bowl from fridge. Whisk two eggs in a mixing bowl for two minutes or until light and fluffy.
4. 4) Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, until completely blended.
5. 5) Pour the milk and cream through a strainer into the mixing bowl with the eggs and sugar. Discard the soggy cereal.
6. 6) Add two teaspoons of vanilla and whisk to blend.
7. 7) Pour the contents into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturers instructions.
8. 8) When the ice cream is finished, transfer it to a freezer safe bowl until hardened, 2-3 hours.

Yep, plates tell stories. Especially fancy plates.

A few months ago, a woman came up to me after one of my speaking programs to talk about her experience cleaning out her mother’s home after her passing. The woman and her siblings found a box of fine china, each piece carefully wrapped just as it was when it was gifted to their parents on their wedding day. The mother was married for over fifty years. She had four kids. Thirteen grandkids. And the china was still in the box, unused.

Although muffled by cardboard and packing paper, these plates told a clear story: There is no occasion special enough to risk chipping or breaking a plate.

Of course, that’s the main reason our fine china is so underused, isn’t it? We can’t bear the thought of breaking a plate and ruining the set. Naturally, the only way to prevent that is by keeping them buried in the box they came in. Forever. Or sentence them in some sort of wood and glass display case, where you can at least lovingly look upon them NOT being used.

That’s one story. Another one goes like this, and it was shared with me by a lady I met in Salt Lake City. She said that her mother always used the good china for weekly Sunday dinners and every holiday. Naturally, a plate or a teacup got broken here and there. But instead of lamenting over the loss, she would pick up something to replace it the next time she was at a thrift or antique store, unconcerned whether it matched her current set or not. Over the years, the original set evolved into a magnificently mismatched collection of eclectic dinnerware. Each plate, each saucer, each bowl told a different story. Not only the mysterious story of its original owner and unique history, but together they told a collective story with one unmistakable moral: Life is meant to be lived and worthy of celebration.

I don’t know about you, but I like that story better.

Which story are your plates telling?

[ About the Art: This brought me back to my days of being an illustrator because I had the post written before I made the art (usually it’s the other way around). I scoured eBay to find reference materials for fancy china, hoping to turn each piece of dinnerware into a unique character. I used an newspaper clipping of an auction announcement as a background, which I thought was fitting. There is something fascinating to me about second and third hand items. I like to imagine the stories they’d have to tell of previous lives with past owners. ]

Spatula City is a meal in which everyone eats dinner with unconventional utensils. Think spatulas, spaghetti forks and soup ladels.

Barbarian Spaghetti is when you eat spaghetti without plates.

Crazy might be when you combine them both.

We tried it for Ben’s first birthday and it was a smash hit. Recently, Missy Herman of North Dakota took the plunge for her son’s first birthday as well. (See photos above). My favorite part of the video she sent me on Facebook occurred right after the the pile of spaghetti and meatballs had been dumped on the table. One of the kids gleefully exclaimed to the people just entering the room, “Dad did that on purpose!”

One thing’s for sure: spaghetti may have been on the menu, but fun was the main course.

It reminds me of Corinne Hanson, who also pulled off the Barbaria Spaghetti / Spatula City double doozy with her family on on Christmas Eve.

I share this idea often in my speaking programs, and lots of people laugh at the idea of it. But it takes a special person to have the courage to try it out on unsuspecting friends and family.

We call them Champions. Congrats, Missy and Corinne!

A Champion of Childhood is someone instilled with the soaring spirit of childhood who rallies against rules that don’t exist while engaging in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine the slavery of Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. We like shining a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against Adultitis. See more here.

We heartily congratulate all the people who took up the challenge to fight Adultitis by whipping up something ugly in the kitchen. And we offer our sincere condolences to any brave souls who ingested any of the creations. (Although to be fair, most were reported to be very delicious.) Take that, Martha Stewart!

Without further ado, check out the gruesome goodness!

For more Ugly Treat inspiration, check out our Flickr group. And even though the “official” Small Rebellion is over, we welcome your Ugly Treat submissions to the group any time you feel Adultitis getting a little too close for comfort!

It is official: making ugly treats is a foolproof way to annihilate Adultitis. Indeed, forgoing the stress that can come from trying to create a confection that might make Martha Stewart weep tears of joy is not nearly as fun as concocting something that would have her wailing and gnashing her teeth.

Although we have extolled the virtues of cooking up ugly cakes and cookies for some time, we had not actually undertaken the task — until now. We used the latest Small Rebellion, aka The Ugly Treat Initiative, as a fitting excuse to jump right in.

It’s easy to be intimidated by some of the giants who have come before us, with cakes so ugly they’d make Sloth from The Goonies recoil in horror. But engaging in some ugly treat frivolity needn’t be a burden. We went a simple route, which proved to be quick and easy without shortchanging any of the fun.

We started with a regular bag of chocolate chip cookie mix. Add eggs and butter and you’re off to the races. For the time being, everything appears normal.

Normal came to a screeching halt when we started to collect the ingredients that would ugly up our mild-mannered cookies. If you want to play at home, raid the cupboard for anything edible that has something to bring to the party: taste, texture, color. If you’re interested in eating your results — which is part of the fun — I recommend using things that are sweet or salty, but don’t be afraid to reach for combinations that may seem unorthodox. We threw a bunch of stuff in a bowl: Peeps, jelly beans, gummy worms, pretzels, cheese crackers, M&Ms, peanuts and Nerds.

This project proved to be a good way to recycle some Easter candy. I also pulled out some bacon bits, because of course, everything is better with bacon.

I also threw in some pickles, creating a combination that I am convinced will become all the rage in the foodie scene. (It’s the new chocolate and peanut butter!)

After plopping some of the prepared dough onto a greased cookie sheet, we just started placing our ingredients randomly on top. Lucy used some colorful sprinkles and Lucky Charms marshmallows to make this cookie magically delicious.

This is a great activity for little helpers, since there is no regard for aesthetics whatsoever. In fact, by watching them carefully, you can discover ways to make your cookies even uglier than you ever before imagined.

This Peep got impaled by a pretzel. No one said this was pretty, folks.

Then it was time to put our creations in the oven. One neat aspect of this approach is the experimental element. The little mad scientist in each of us was eager to see what sorts of results we’d get once the heat was applied.

The gummy worms melted very quickly and the Peeps started to balloon up like floater found in a lake on CSI.

Meanwhile, we decided to add some frosting to the show. A can of store-bought vanilla — quick and easy, baby — was mixed with food coloring. I can’t give you a specific recipe here as we gave Lucy full control over this part. I CAN say that she used all four colors and she used a LOT of it. Probably enough to exceed the most lenient FDA recommendations and give us all cancer. But it resulted in this nice putrid green color.

Pulling the cookies out of the oven is a big part of the fun. As you can see, the gummy worms melted into quite an unrecognizable mess, while the jelly beans and Dots oozed a little color into the cookies but maintained their shape

IN subsequent batches, we added the gummy worms later in the baking process, as seen here surrounding a pretzel covered in bacon (naturally).

This touching piece is entitled, “Peep Mourning Over Fallen Comrade.”

The fun doesn’t end when the baking does, my friend. Oh no, this is when you utilize your frosting and various accoutrements to take things to a whole new level. This is the time to turn things up to 11.

Sprinkles make a wonderful little garnish…

…and add the color that will make your cookies almost appear appetizing.

So that’s about it. The whole process takes less than an hour and is quite creatively gratifying. Rest assured, our first foray into ugly treat making will not be our last!

We’ll be formally posting some of the wonderful ugly treat contributions made by other mad scientists soon, but you can get a peek at some good ones over here. I hope all of these examples will inspire you to get your ugly on, resulting in lots of laughs and a good memory with some people you care about.

According to the Interwebs, the first week of April is Laugh at Work Week. If there’s one thing work could use more of, it’s laughter.

Inspired by our most recent Champion of Childhood award winners who made an epic ugly cake for a co-worker, we are introducing a new Small Rebellion and we’d love to have you join us! It’s called The Ugly Treat Initiative, and the instructions are very simple:

The MISSION:
Step 1) Make a delicious dessert that also happens to be really, really UGLY.
Step 2) Bring it to work to share.
Step 3) Enjoy laughter and improved morale with your colleagues. (And possibly be awarded a primo parking spot for a month.)
Step 4) Share your stories and pictures online with the hashtag #smallrebellion6

You can tackle the mission when it’s most convenient, any time during the week. You can make cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, strudels…anything, really. Just make sure it’s sweet and tasty. And butt ugly.

The only other requirement is the sharing part, even if it’s not an official place of employment. Eating an ugly cake alone does not generate much laughter. And please, share this Small Rebellion with friends, families, and mortal enemies. The more the merrier!

Need some inspiration? Try here, here and here.

According to physicist David Neevel, it’s the cookie, hands down. And this quirky machine will separate your Oreo and remove the offending substance for you.

Plus it uses a hatchet. Nice touch.

He has designed a series of plates that invite you turn your meal into an action scene.

Now you tell me: what are the odds that Adultitis makes an appearance at a dinner party featuring plates of this nature?

Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I’m sure you can conjure up an image of what Christmas cookies are “supposed” to look like. And although there are many different kinds of Christmas cookies, I’m guessing this is not the image that comes to mind first.

Believe it or not, these are, in fact, Christmas cookies. And they were not made by a four-year-old or a victim of the Great Kitchen Catastrophe of ’73.

The story of these so-called Ugly Cookies goes like this:

One year, a mother was overwhelmed with all the things she had to do to get ready for a Christmas party. With a list a mile long and not much time to complete it, she decided that she’d try a newfangled thing called delegation. So she turned to her husband and son….

“I have to run some errands before the guests arrive tonight. You guys are in charge of the Christmas cookies,” she ordered. “Here’s the recipe. There are only a few steps and a handful of ingredients. Just do exactly what it says.”

Since the husband and son loved Christmas cookies—especially the eating part—this was a good thing. But as they gathered the supplies, conversation shifted to how unfair it was that every year, Mom made these cookies for guests and they never got to eat any of them. And so they concocted a diabolical scheme.

Rather than making more cookies, they decided to make them as disgusting looking as possible so no one else would want to eat them.

Black, brown and army green frosting took center stage. Normal Christmas cookie cutters were abandoned for shapes like cows, race cars, and hands. Not mittens, hands.

When Mom returned home and saw the finished batch of ugly cookies, she was horrified. But it was too late to make new ones. So she positioned herself at the front door as guests arrived, and made sure that she told every visitor, “I did NOT make the cookies!” When people heard the story, they laughed. And when they saw them, they laughed harder.

Eventually, one brave soul decided to try one (perhaps she had too much egg nog?), and discovered that they were, in fact, delicious. So the original plan of the husband and son failed. But they were not deterred. They resolved to try harder next year.

Eventually, they branched out into cakes.

The guys broke the rule of what Christmas cookies (or a graduation cake, for that matter) is supposed to look like. And they created a tradition that has lasted for twenty years. Their goal, year after year, is to make the ugliest Christmas cookies around.

And these pictures? They were sent to me by the mom. She’s proud of the tradition now. People look forward to it. In fact, her mom—the grandma—eventually requested an ugly birthday cake of her own.

What sorts of things do you do the exact same way every Christmas because you’ve ALWAYS done them that way?

What if you changed things up this year?

I’m not talking about the sacred, untouchable family traditions (although maybe I am). But what about the things you do automatically, without much thought and without any real meaning? After all, forgoing the stress that can come from trying to create a confection that might make Martha Stewart weep tears of joy is not nearly as fun as concocting something that would have her wailing and gnashing her teeth.

To take it a step further, what other things do you do every year, every month, every week, every day—at work or at home—because you’ve always done them that way? What opportunities could you uncover, what problems might you solve, what new memories might you create if you took a different tack?

Going ugly can have some beautiful results.