Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food

by Jessica Seinfeld

Overview

The New York Times–bestselling cookbook that shows frustrated parents how to hide healthy ingredients in their kids’ favorite foods!

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 battling with kids who refuse to eat their vegetables. Her book is filled with kid-approved recipes—stealthily packed with veggies 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, and tips on how to deal with the kid who “must have” the latest sugar bomb cereal.

Along with recipes and tips, Seinfeld addresses the big-picture issues that surround childhood obesity and its long–term (and ruinous) effects on the body. Deceptively Delicious provides an arsenal of information on kids’ nutrition so parents understand why it's important to throw a little avocado puree into their quesadillas. She discusses the critical importance of portion size, and the specific elements kids simply must have in order to flourish now and in the future: protein, calcium, vitamins, and Omega 3 and 6 fats. This book is practical, easy–to–read, and a godsend for any parent who wants their kids to be healthy for a long time to come.

“I found the techniques for adding vegetables to meals extremely creative and the recipes fantastic.” —Bob Greene, New York Times–bestselling author of The Best Life Diet

“Sound tips for learning to say no to junk when kids ask, encouraging conversation, getting children to participate in prep and cleaning, and developing age-appropriate eating habits.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061983559
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	333,687
File size:	803 KB

About the Author

Jessica Seinfeld is the founder and president of Baby Buggy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clothing and equipment to New York's families in need. She is the wife of Jerry Seinfeld, with whom she has three children. This is her first book.

Jessica Seinfeld es la fundadora y presidenta de Baby Buggy, una organización sin fines de lucro que provee ropa y equipamiento a familias necesitadas de Nueva York. Es la esposa de Jerry Seinfeld, con quien tiene tres hijos. Este es su primer libro.

Read an Excerpt

Brownies
(WI T H CARROT AND SPINACH)
These brownies fool everyone! You won’t believe how scrumptious they are (or how good they are for you) until you make them yourself. Just don’t serve them warm—it’s not until they’re completely cool that the spinach flavor totally disappears.

Prep: 15 minutes • Total: 55 minutes • Makes 12 brownies • Packable

Nonstick cooking spray
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree (After peeling and trimming the ends, steam for 10-12 minutes and then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
1/2 cup spinach puree (Steam for 30 to seconds, then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame.
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.

These brownies are low in calories (only 133 per brownie) and saturated fat. They’re also packed with 3 grams of fiber (which is just crazy for a brownie!), while spinach and carrots provide two powerful antioxidants that help your kids’ eyes stay healthy.

Editorial Reviews

Author Jessica Seinfeld is the wife of Jerry Seinfeld, but don't expect her to be extolling the virtues of Ovaltine, Snapple, Junior Mints, and other Seinfeld staples. Jessica is on a far more serious mission: She wants your kids to eat healthy, even if you have to trick them into good nutrition. To achieve this praiseworthy goal, she shows how fail-safe kid-friendly meals can be stealthily enhanced to include the veggies that growing bodies need. This well-researched book is no mere celebrity cookbook. Seinfeld worked with a nutritionist and a professional chef to produce nearly 100 meals for children (and adults) of all ages. A bounty of tasty healthfulness.

Seinfeld, mother of three and wife of comedian Jerry, devised an elegant plan: puree fruits and vegetables and incorporate them into kid friendly dishes like Mac & Cheese (cauliflower or beans); Chicken Nuggets (broccoli); Chocolate Cake (beets). The recipes blend nutrition into a meal and harmony into mealtime. Seinfeld writes that mealtime should be about "happiness and conversation" not about "power struggles and strife," and her plan diminishes nagging. Although her program is easy, Seinfeld is honest about the need for shortcuts and offers some good ones. The nutritional breakdown of each vegetable/fruit featured in the recipes is valuable. While some parts smack of self-promotion (she encourages parents to share her recipes with other parents), Seinfeld does supplement her recipes with sound tips for learning to say no to junk when kids ask, encouraging conversation, getting children to participate in prep and cleaning, and developing age-appropriate eating habits. (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Just when you’d abandoned all hope of ever convincing your kids to eat their carrots, here comes Jessica Seinfeld.” — Redbook Magazine

“Seinfeld’s recipes were written with determined simplicity.” — Cookie magazine

“An elegant plan…. The recipes blend nutrition into a meal and harmony into mealtime.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Just when you’d abandoned all hope of ever convincing your kids to eat their carrots, here comes Jessica Seinfeld.

Redbook Magazine

Seinfeld’s recipes were written with determined simplicity.

Cookie magazine

"Seinfeld’s recipes were written with determined simplicity."

Cookie Magazine