World Famous Comics: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
By: Jessica Seinfeld Publisher: Collins Living Average Rating: Binding: Spiral-bound Label: Collins Living Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: October 01, 2007 Release Date: October 05, 2007
Product Description: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food By Jessica Seinfeld"It has become common knowledge that childhood obesity rates are increasing every year. But the rates continue to rise. And between busy work schedules and the inco
Amazon.com Review: It has become common knowledge that childhood obesity rates are increasing every year. But the rates continue to rise. And between busy work schedules and the inconvenient truth that kids simply refuse to eat vegetables and other healthy foods, how can average parents ensure their kids are getting the proper nutrition and avoiding bad eating habits?
As a mother of three, Jessica Seinfeld can speak for all parents who struggle to feed their kids right and deal nightly with dinnertime fiascos. As she wages a personal war against sugars, packaged foods, and other nutritional saboteurs, she offers appetizing alternatives for parents who find themselves succumbing to the fastest and easiest (and least healthy) choices available to them. Her modus operandi? Her book is filled with traditional recipes that kids love, except they're stealthily packed with veggies hidden in them so kids don't even know! With the help of a nutritionist and a professional chef, Seinfeld has developed a month's worth of meals for kids of all ages that includes, for example, pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese, and kale in spaghetti and meatballs. She also provides revealing and humorous personal anecdotes, tear–out shopping guides to help parents zoom through the supermarket, and tips on how to deal with the kid that "must have" the latest sugar bomb cereal.
But this book also contains much more than recipes and tips. By solving problems on a practical level for parents, Seinfeld addresses the big picture issues that surround childhood obesity and its long–term (and ruinous) effects on the body. With the help of a prominent nutritionist, her book provides parents with an arsenal of information related to kids' nutrition so parents understand why it's important to throw in a little avocado puree into their quesadillas. She discusses the critical importance of portion size, and the specific elements kids simply must have (as opposed to adults) in order to flourish now and in the future: protein, calcium, vitamins, and Omega 3 and 6 fats.
Jessica Seinfeld's book is practical, easy–to–read, and a godsend for any parent that wants their kids to be healthy for a long time to come.
Bob Greene, author of The Best Life Diet: "I found the techniques for adding vegetables to meals extremely creative and the recipes fantastic! Deceptively Delicious is a must have for your healthy kitchen."
Questions for Jessica Seinfeld
Amazon.com: My seven-year-old inspects the food on his plate like a hawk (if there was a hawk that only ate bagels and macaroni). Anything with the least bit of color goes untouched. What's a mom or dad to do?
Seinfeld: Two of my three children were exactly the same way. The vegetables, which I worked hard to prepare, not only went untouched, they were often insulted ("Eeewww...!"). And the harder I pushed them to eat good food, the harder they pushed back. We were literally ruining each other's meals.
That conflict was the inspiration for the book. I realized I wasn't going to win the power struggle, so I decided to join them on their turf. I started with the foods they would eat (chicken nuggets, tacos, macaroni and cheese) and I added a pureed vegetable of the same color. So if your child only eats macaroni and cheese (or noodles and butter), you should add cauliflower or yellow squash puree, which utterly disappears. Everyone wins: they get the nutrition they need and you get the satisfaction of doing a better job as a parent.
Amazon.com: That same picky second-grader will often try something new one time and declare he likes it, but the next time we serve it, he seems to have lost his spirit of adventure and won't eat it again. Any advice?
Seinfeld: First and foremost, remember that not every meal you prepare for a child will be a success. Kids at this age are naturally testing preferences, pushing boundaries, and changing their minds. That's part of their development and those are urges not worth battling. As I learned the hard way, the more pressure you apply, the more kids will "hate" certain foods. And, while it would be nice if kids had a "spirit of adventure" when it comes to food, I've found it's best to eliminate adventure and stick to the basics--foods they already love, laden with added nutrition they don't know is there. Finally, be consistent, firm and patient. I have a rule in my house: you don't have to eat what's on the plate, but what's on the plate is all that's being served. Eventually, they come around.
Amazon.com: Are your kids interested in cooking yet? Are there ways to introduce healthy eating habits with the child helping in the kitchen?
Seinfeld: My children are interested in baking because they love any excuse to be around sweets. But I make sure whatever we bake has pureed veggies in it and is actually low in refined sugar. So my children actually think baking cakes, brownies, and cookies with sweet potatoes, carrots, or beets is the proper way to cook.
Amazon.com: What are your kids' favorite recipes in the book?
Seinfeld: Every recipe in this book is a favorite. I've tried out countless creations on my kids, and if they didn't love them (which happened frequently!), they didn't make it into the book. But, if pressed, I will say they are crazy about the tacos, the chicken nuggets, the brownies, the pancakes, and my birthday cakes. [See her recipe for delicious brownies made with carrot and spinach.]
Amazon.com: I have to ask it, since I know many readers will: do these recipes require a squad of personal chefs to prepare, or can a busy mom or dad without seven years of Seinfeld residuals put them together by themselves?
Seinfeld: I'm a busy mom with three kids, a job, and a husband who travels constantly, but I'm uncompromising when it comes to my kids' health and nutrition. Leaving that to someone else is out of the question. My parents had three kids and both worked too, and we always managed to eat healthy meals as a family. That's the standard I've always wanted to meet. So when I started creating recipes from my pureed veggie experiments, I had three criteria: my kids had to love the food, the preparation had to be quick, and the process had to be simple. Believe me, if I can do these recipes quickly and easily, ANYONE can.
Amazon.com: How are the reading skills of Sascha, your oldest child and pickiest eater? Have you blown your cover by publishing your secrets?
Seinfeld: My daughter is almost seven and she not only can read, she's fully aware that her mother cooks with vegetables all the time. Two years ago, she was a picky four-year-old who thought she hated vegetables. But once she was converted and started seeing those purees going into the desserts she loves, she started to ignore the fact that they were going into the rest of her foods as well. Now it's the only kind of cooking she knows. So, to anyone with young children--start cooking Deceptively Delicious food when they are young! It's much easier than trying to change habits later on.
Cheryl in Cleveland, OH This book is fantastic - I absolutely love it. Mrs. Seinfeld is pure genius!
An very experienced home cook, very disappointed The idea behind this book is great, although not entirely original, but the recipes are NOT great. Let me just say that I have been cooking meals for my family since I was around 13 years old so I know how to prepare simple and complicated meals at home and I also bake. My feedback on the recipes:
Banana Bread- Collapsed in the middle, was gummy throughout and tasted like vegetable puree. No one in our house wanted to eat it.
Quesadillas- Never crisped up because the recipe calls for too much puree. They were total mush inside and I couldn't even serve them. We had sandwiches that night!
Chicken nuggets- You can TOTALLY see and taste the spinach puree. They look nothing like the picture. And as another reviewer commented, there isn't enough oil in the pan to cook the chicken properly and the first batch I made was really burned.
Sloppy joes- Another case of too much puree called for in the recipe. They were rather bland and very wet and mushy. The liquid never really absorbed just made it very pasty.
Last night making the sloppy joes was my last go at getting something to turn out from this book. It's been very frustrating scraping dishes full of food made from expensive, organic groceries into my garbage can. I am left wondering if Jessica ever really road tested these recipes, or wasn't able to translate what she was doing that was so "delicious" in her kitchen into workable recipes. Too bad, I really was hoping it would work out!
Jessica Seinfeld is Deceptively Delicious From: www.BasilAndSpice.com
When my son was a toddler, he ate everything, even wood! I was constantly alert for anything other than food entering his mouth. As I prepared meals in the kitchen, he would sit in his highchair and taste-test my culinary creations. Time passed and David entered school. Peer pressure regarding dietary habits hit back at my efforts to feed my family healthy meals, and I was forced to resort to creative cooking--hiding the vegetables, fruits, and whole grains in common everyday dishes.
Recently, I reviewed Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The author has been plagued with the same complaints all mothers have--"One won't eat! The other is picky! They say it's disgusting!" Dinner hour, an unpleasant way to wrap up the day, is one of the largest obstacles mothers face. Rather than resorting to takeout Chinese or chicken nuggets from the freezer, Jessica has become an expert at hiding vegetables and fruits in family favorites, making dining with the children a happier healthier experience.
Using the basic steamer or pot with a steamer basket and a food processor or blender, the author roasts or steams each vegetable, purées them separately, then stores the vegetable blends in freezer bags. Fruits do not need to be cooked, just blended. As she needs them, Jessica thaws and adds the purée to each recipe.
A wonderful example are her Pita Pizzas--we've all made these, but Jessica's are slightly different. Under the tomato sauce lies a surreptitious nutritious addition--spinach (puréed of course). It is hidden with the help of mozzarella.
Jessica Seinfeld's recipes are ready in about 30 minutes or less. However, one would need to set some time aside to steam and blend the vegetables in advance, storing them in the freezer for future use. Organization she says, is the key. The recipes are all nutritionally checked by Joy Bauer.
Moms of America, if you want to feed your children healthier meals which they'll readily devour, I suggest you take a look at Deceptively Delicious. It's a winner! No wonder it's a bestseller.
A BestSeller Review
5 Stars
The brownies are for everyone I've made the chocolate brownies from this book. The brownies use carrot and spinach puree. They are wonderfully moist and great tasting. I've made the brownies for children and for the poeple with whom my husband works.
Everyone raves about the brownies that are "good for them"
Nice presentation but content isn't that great I was excited at first, getting my kids to eat veggies! Wow! But I found out that every single thing there is made un-healthy due to either frying or being mixed with tons of other fats (like chocolate!) what's the point in sneaking veggies to the kids if all the rest is not so god. I am not sure how all the vitamins and minerals from vegetables and other ingredients survive the heat of frying pan/oven. I gave up on this book, plus my 5 year old wouldn't eat anything anyway.
I do not recommend it. I think kids need to learn eat their vegetables through honesty and consistency. It comes with age. Plus don't provide the un-healthy alternatives/empty calories.
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Trevor
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