Jessica Seinfeld - Double Delicious - Good Simple Food For Busy Complicated Lives

A s a parent of three young children, one of my biggest daily challenges is helping them with the habits, attitudes, and orientation toward food that will carry them through life. Before I had kids, I thought that would be simple. I have always loved to cook, and I grew up eating fresh vegetables and fruits, so I naively thought they would love the same healthy foods as me.

How wrong I was.

To my shock and dismay, putting good food in front of them not only didnt work, it often put their eating habits into reverse. As hard as I tried to make cute-looking, fun meals, and to chop vegetables into teeny, tiny pieces, these were ultimately labor-intensive and unsuccessful meals. In fact, there were countless meals where it seemed as if my older two children ate next to nothing. I was really worried that they were not getting the right nutrients; at the same time, I also worried that stress and high pressure around the table would make matters worse, both for the short and long term. Pretty soon, food fatigue and frustration settled in and I realized that I had to find alternatives.

Then came my first personal breakthrough: vegetable pureesa 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 alwaysALWAYSdelicious flavor. This book is the result of that adventure.

NOT-SO-SUPER MARKETS

Wouldnt 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.

Im sure you know the dilemma. Youre 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 youeven 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 weve 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 familys 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 dont have to pressure them to eat everythingbecause 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. Ill 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 dont even have to take my word that these recipes are good for you! At the bottom of each recipe weve 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, its not about making health food. Its 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, youll find a whole new array of family favoritesbreakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and treatsimproved 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, theyre quick and easy to make, too. We all lead busy lives and dont have a lot of extra time to spend in the kitchen. So the majority of recipes in this book dont 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? (thats 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. Im always trying, failing, refining, and improving. Along the way, I create plenty of culinary disasters. Believe me, I know what doesnt 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 youll find that the recipes and tips that really work for my familys health and happiness work for yours as well.

Lets get started!

Jessica

I am very pleased to introduce you to my Kitchen Cabinetmy husband, Jerry, my three children, and nutritionist Joy Bauer. While everyone who eats at my homefriends and familyis part of the review panel, its 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 lets get caught up.