Lapine - The speedy sneaky chef: quick, healthy fixes for your favorite packaged foods

The Speedy
Sneaky Chef

Quick, Healthy Fixes for Your Familys
Favorite Packaged Foods

MISSY CHASE LAPINE

RUNNING PRESS

PHILADELPHIA LONDON

2012 by Missy Chase Lapine

Published by Running Press,

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher.

Books published by Running Press are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail .

ISBN 978-0-7624-4329-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011940237

E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-4361-1

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Cover design by Bill Jones

Interior design by Alicia Freile

Edited by Jennifer Kasius

Cover photo and food photography by Jerry Errico

Food styling by Brian Preston-Campbell

Typography: Garth Graphic, Monotype Sorts, Sassoon and Zapf Dingbats

Running Press Book Publishers

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Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371

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Medical Disclaimer: The ideas, methods, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended to replace the advice of a nutritionist, doctor, or other trained health professional. You should consult your doctor before adopting the methods of this book. Any additions to or changes in a diet or exercise program are at the readers discretion.

To all you Sneaky Chefs: thank you for trusting me with your families meals. You inspire me every day and with all my love always to Rick, Emily, and Samantha.

Table of Contents

I ts a weekday evening and Im standing in my kitchen. Our pooches Princess and Buddie are chasing each other around the island, my daughter Emily is looking for a notebook she needs for her homework, and her sister Samantha is finishing violin practicewith gusto. Everyone, including my husband Rick, is starving, the clock is ticking, and I am just about to see if I can find something deep in the bottom of the freezer to shove in the microwave, or failing that, to pick up the phone for takeout, when I stop myself. Im the Sneaky Chef, for crying out loud! Ive written five books on how to feed families healthfully and deliciously. I dream in menu plans, can recite nutritious shopping lists by heart, and have a pantry thats stocked with good-for-you choices. But what I dont have is time.

Time has become the rarest of commodities. Time to spend together as a family, time away from gadgets and gizmos, time for a good nights sleep, and the biggest challenge of them all, even for me, time to prepare healthy meals that your whole family will actually love. And heres the rub: there are actually plenty of quick and easy ways to put meals on the table. After all, the food industry caters to our instant-gratification world. Packaged goods take up 75 percent of the space on supermarket shelves and ready-to-make foods are projected to soon be a 19-billion-dollar-a-year business.

Plus, our kids love these familiar brands. They get hooked on how they tasteand how they look. (I bet you know at least one kid who prefers neon-colored mac n cheese from a powder, over the gooey, baked real-cheese version youve slaved over.)

Quick meals kids will gobble up are at our fingertips, so why not use them? The problem is that convenience often compromises nutrition. If youre in a hurry and not paying close attention, the processed foods youre likely to buy will be loaded with excess calories, sodium, fat, and sugar. Often whats fast is unhealthy and unsatisfying. In the end, the time you save just wont be worth it.

Dont throw in the kitchen towel yet. I dont spend my days with my Sneaky Chef hat on for nothingit is possible to use these prepared and packaged foods to our good-for-you advantage. This book, The Speedy Sneaky Chef, is a three-way balancing act between nutritional ideals, kids likes and dislikes, and the real-life demands on our time. The answer to our time-crunch is an extension of my tried-and-true philosophy: put extra healthy ingredients into the packaged and prepared foods your kids already love. Theyll eat it, and youll be the only one who knows that theyre getting a boost of crucial vitamins, minerals, fiber, omega-3s and more. Its Sneaky Chef supercharged and superfast!

Looking for recipes that will delight both parents and kids? This book boasts more than 80 all-new dishes that will appeal to your entire family and to your busy lifestyle by using packaged goods to speed things up in the kitchen. Plus, they are packed with hidden superfoods like whole grains, fruits, and veggies. They offer you one-meal solutions, so that you wont have to cater to each family members likes or dislikes like a short-order cook whos short on time. Better yet, you and your spouse wont feel like youre always eating from the kiddie menu either. Plus, these all-new recipes are dense in nutrients, while reducing calories, fat, sodium, and sugars, thereby keeping you and your family full longer so you dont experience a blood sugar spike and crash.

Ideally, all of our family meals would be made from fresh, local, scratch ingredients. But how often does that truly happen? Instead of beating ourselves up for not reaching that goalor putting off even attempting it until we have more timewe can recognize that the ideal isnt always doable. Luckily, the sneaky solutions found in this book will fit into your busy day, and by using them, youll be living a guilt-free and healthier life, no matter how few free minutes you may have.

Nearly half of all our childrens calories come from junk food, according to the National Cancer Institute. Childhood obesity is a growing concern to parents across the country. In fact, First Lady Michelle Obama has squarely put her efforts toward educating children and parents about healthy choices. The USDAs recently revised dietary guidelines emphasize that the gap between their recommendations and what Americans actually eat has never been wider. As a nation, Americans young and old consume far fewer vegetables, fruits, high-fiber whole grains, low-fat milk and milk products than we should. Instead, our plates are filled with much too much added sugars, solid fats, refined grains, and sodium. The USDA found that a full 35 percent of our calories now come from added sugars and solid fats. We cant ignore the fact that whats often on our plates harms us, but we can also have confidence in knowing we can make small changes that will mean big benefits to our loved ones.

You Asked for It!

The thing I like most about my job is hearing from my smart, loyal, and determined readers, who always keep their families health and happiness at the fore. Some of my most popular recipes are my quick fixes for things like brownies and mac n cheese. So much so that my inbox has been overflowing with pleas for quick fixes to other foods found on readers supermarket shelves: