"Lyla in the Loop" Celebrates Family Food Traditions

Last year, we purchased a blank cookbook for our children to write down our treasured family recipes. It was an easy and fun way to record the cooking instructions and ingredients for the foods we love to make the most.

Our family cookbook includes quick and healthy dishes like baked cinnamon apples and cranberry and kale salad. But it also has quite a few special recipes like jollof rice, okra, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad that we make regularly — staples from our Nigerian and African-American heritage.

In our family, we’ve created many traditions around food. From learning heartfelt stories about how a recipe has been passed down for generations to gathering for a holiday meal, food has been our saving grace.

Many of our favorite PBS KIDS shows creatively introduce food and family traditions. For instance, Molly of Denali learns that it’s okay to improvise when she makes Grandpa Nat’s nivagi, an Alaskan Native “ice cream” made from moose fat, moose meat, wild berries, and mashed wild carrots.

In the “A Chopsticky Situation” episode of “Let’s Go, Luna!,” Leo wants to taste Chinese delicacies like dumplings and rice but must first learn to use chopsticks.

The diversity of foods and traditions is vast, and I’m glad my children can learn about these from the shows they watch.

Every chance I get, I teach my children to be mindful of their food. This doesn’t necessarily mean only discussing health. Of course, it’s important to get your nutrients from the major food groups, but mindfulness also means awareness of how foods are grown and cultivated, as well as the ways culture influences cooking.

“Lyla in the Loop” is a great example of being mindful of our food. One of the episodes (spoiler alert!) highlights Black food traditions from the diaspora. Lyla’s mom, Lydia, who is Jamaican, remembers her mother’s vegetable garden. There, she’d pick fresh callaloo (a leafy green plant) for making stew. Lyla wants to carry on this tradition and searches for ways to recreate her grandmother’s garden ripe with fresh callaloo.

Lydia encourages Lyla to brainstorm spaces for setting up the garden and celebrates when Lyla grows callaloo.

I’ve had the opportunity to teach my children more about the cultural dishes mentioned in “Lyla in the Loop.” We researched the most popular foods that grow in tropical climates like Jamaica and made coconut drops like those Aunt Rita sends to Lyla and her family.

Lyla’s parents love creating new memories around food. We do, too. Our family does this by keeping track of all those quirky national holidays. I find easy activities and recipes online for days like National Popcorn Day or Donut Day.

Making brand new memories is especially important for children and parents who have chosen families or may not be in direct contact with their relatives or loved ones or may not know much about their family’s culinary history.

In “The Waffle Man” episode (another spoiler alert!), the Loops are excited to celebrate National Waffle Day. Determined to find the right fit, Lyla and her best pal, Everett, dress Stu in a waffle costume to give samples to potential customers. It takes a bit of creativity — and some tinkering on their part to execute — but the result is a memory that will last for a lifetime.

Encouraging making new memories doesn’t always need to revolve around food, either. Lyla feels like her family is not as excited about game night as they used to be. Lyla wants to spice up game night, creating a fun, new game for the entire family to enjoy.

The Loops encourage their children to cook and work together. Her dad has a catchy slogan for their food: “Looks good on the plate and tastes really great!” In the “Every Sand-Which Way” episode, Lyla’s dad gives her the responsibility of inventing a new sandwich for the Loops lunch special.

Everything's better with friends, so Lyla enlists the help of her best pal, twin sisters, and little brother to create the perfect sandwich. Herlittle brother wants to add sweet things to the sandwich, like gummy worms and cereal, while her older sisters request popcorn, hummus, and chips. Lyla takes everyone’s suggestions, but the sandwich is too big!

Her dad gives her wonderful advice, and it’s something that I tell my children all the time, too: Being a leader means getting the entire team to work together. Preparing meals is a team sport!

Cooking and food prep can be daunting tasks. But they don’t have to be! Parents can make cooking fun by centering joy in the kitchen, just like the Loops enjoy dancing while making and eating carrot cake. Our family loves kitchen dance parties. Having a hype playlist makes the time go by fast and makes the process much more enjoyable and filled with love.

I don’t take for granted what representation means for my children. “Lyla in the Loop” has a special place in our hearts because my kids get to see a main character and family who looks like us. While we aren’t Jamaican, we are proud to learn details about Black heritage across the diaspora, including delicious foods.