Double Delicious (2 page)
Then came my first personal breakthrough: vegetable purees—
a time-honored device that worked wonders with my kids through the nonintimidating foods they already loved. That little personal triumph became the impetus for my book
Deceptively Delicious.
But even after my initial progress, I knew there was more to nutrition and healthful eating than just pureed veggies. And like all things concerning my children, I wanted to do more for them. So I continued my food adventure: a search for more healthy options, fresh and rich ingredients, and always—ALWAYS—delicious flavor. This book is the result of that adventure.
NOT-SO-SUPER MARKETS
Wouldn’t it be great if supermarkets and food companies placed the same priority as parents do on making life simple and healthy? But the food industry and parents are on different missions. This became clear to me as I started to look for nutritional answers and strategies in the grocery store, and I was quickly overwhelmed by a sea of confusing packages and conflicting labels.
I’m sure you know the dilemma. You’re staring at a wall of breakfast cereals. Each colorful box is screaming its nutritional claims at you: Vitamins! Fiber! Grains! Low-fat! Cholesterol free! Trans-fat-free! Heart-healthy! They all claim to be good for you—even the ones you KNOW are not.
Food and ingredient decisions are more difficult than ever. Companies that make food misrepresent or mislead us into buying products with little or no nutritional value. Stores that sell food will sometimes try to strategically lead us toward the least healthy food options. And each publication we read brings us an overload of nutritional studies, all contradicting something we’ve just read somewhere else.
What are you supposed to believe? Which health claims are real, and which are there to trick you? How can you get back to food basics, build a manageable, healthy lifestyle, and make sure you are making the right choices for you and your family?
CRACKING THE CODE
The answer for me was education and taking small steps.
First, I started reading everything I could get my hands on and spoke to nutritional experts like Joy Bauer. Once
I realized what the problems were, the answers became obvious. And for me, a little education and a lot of perseverance have gone a long way.
Then, once I had a plan to improve my family’s eating habits, I followed the advice of food and nutrition professionals such as New York University professor Lisa Sasson, who introduced me to simple ways of getting more nutritious foods into my family. She taught me how to shop for food wisely. Along the way, I learned that suddenly changing the way your family eats is pretty close to impossible. Instead, the incremental changes I have made have meant that my family was not forced or shocked into eating food that looked and tasted different from what they were used to.
Slowly but surely, I have gotten the Seinfelds from point A (very simple foods that contain few nutrients) to point B (foods that are full of good things, including veggies and whole grains). And I have discovered that the benefits of good, healthy food go beyond the well-being of each individual. Good food makes us a happy and harmonious family. How, you ask? When you feed your family good food, I assure you, you will feel like you are doing a great job as a parent. Moreover, you don’t have to pressure them to eat everything—because even if they skip some things, you know the next meal they eat at home will be nutritious, too. It makes for a relaxed and enjoyable mealtime.
FOOD MATH!
ADDITION WITHOUT SUBTRACTION
If you read my first book, you know that I believe in finding ways to make ordinary foods extraordinary by loading them up with healthy ingredients, such as pureed vegetables and fruits.
But while fruits and vegetables are important, there are many other simple, healthy ingredients that you can add to make everyday food even better. I’ll share with you some delicious ways to add whole grains to your baked goods, boost sweetness without a lot of sugar, and make luxurious sauces without artery-clogging fats. You don’t even have to take my word that these recipes are good for you! At the bottom of each recipe we’ve added a simple nutritional analysis by Joy Bauer so you can see how many calories or how little fat is in each dish. And just as before, it’s not about making “health food.” It’s about making the food you eat do more for your body and making it even more delicious.
PEACE, LOVE, AND HEALTHY INGREDIENTS
In the pages ahead, you’ll find a whole new array of family favorites—breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and treats—improved by adding in the healthy nutrients that we all need.
Not only are these recipes delicious and good for us, but, with a few exceptions, they’re quick and easy to make, too. We all lead busy lives and don’t have a lot of extra time to spend in the kitchen. So the majority of recipes in this book don’t require a lot of prep time and could even be made by someone with limited cooking experience. As I was developing them I kept thinking, “Can Ally handle this?” (she is my dear friend who is just learning how to cook), and “Can Rebecca find time to make this?” (that’s my sister who has 4 young kids as well as another full-time job). Recipes that have a special tab that says “Quick” require just 20 minutes or less of hands-on prep time, after which you can leave everything to cook.
These recipes are the result of lots of experimentation. I’m always trying, failing, refining, and improving. Along the way, I create plenty of culinary disasters. Believe me, I know what doesn’t work. But after many kitchen disasters (like green chocolate-chip cookies, hot-pink spaghetti sauce, and bread so tough you could bounce it against the wall) and many more triumphs, I realized food can be fun and easy to prepare, delicious and satisfying to eat, and a rewarding source of fulfillment that comes from doing something great for the people you love the most. In the pages ahead, I hope you’ll find that the recipes and tips that really work for my family’s health and happiness work for yours as well.
Let’s get started!
Jessica
I am very pleased to introduce you to my Kitchen Cabinet—my husband, Jerry, my three children, and nutritionist Joy Bauer. While everyone who eats at my home—friends and family—is part of the review panel, it’s my husband and children who I trust most to advise and help me taste (and retaste) all of the recipes in this book. If you read
Deceptively Delicious
, you have already been introduced. But two years is a long time, particularly in the life of a child, so let’s get caught up.
Sascha
Our oldest child, and only daughter, is nine. I knew Sascha was going to make things interesting for us when she spit out peas in her high chair the first time I gave them to her when she was a few months old. As she has grown, she has gotten a bit better about trying new foods. Being in the kitchen preparing her own snacks and cooking with me has definitely helped. But she is a nibbler at best, eating only little bits of food at a time—except when it comes to dessert. Somehow, her appetite then gets much bigger.
Julian
Our middle child is seven years old and a voracious eater. Julian will eat a nice, robust meal without any prodding, and he is often up for seconds. He is curious but cautious about new foods. He first likes to smell new foods he is trying. Then he has a little lick, a tiny nibble, until finally, almost always, a smile appears and he announces, “It’s good!!” to the table.
Shepherd
Our “baby” is no longer a baby! He is five years old and has no issues with food. He reaches for broccoli and sweet potatoes on his plate first! Easy breezy. Much to the amazement of Sascha and Julian, he just likes all foods! Shepherd is his own man and could not care less what his siblings like or don’t like. In fact, there is nothing he won’t try.
Jerry
My loving husband is the best eater in the house. He eats and enjoys anything I make. He is also a great dessert taster. No matter how full he is, he will always try something and give me a very honest answer. He is a big late-night snacker, so I have to hide treats I am working on from him. He is generally a healthy and disciplined eater but he definitely knows how to let loose (hence the cinnamon buns named for him in this book).
