More Veggies Please!: Easy Kid-Approved Meals and Family-Friendly Comfort Foods with Surprising Veggie Twists

by Nikki Dinki

Overview

NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALIST — COOKBOOKS: GENERAL

Looking for ways to get your kids to eat more veggies?

Packed with creative recipes, this modern approach to classic family comfort foods ups the nutritional ante—infusing TONS of healthful vegetables into every dish (even snacks and desserts!)—while always putting flavor first.

As a chef and cookbook author, Nikki Dinki loves veggies. But like most parents, getting her kids to love them is a work in progress. There will always be a side of veggies on their dinner plates, but when those veggies go untouched, Nikki doesn’t stress. That’s because her cooking incorporates vegetables at every turn: the kids may not have eaten their sides of peas, but they ate cauliflower and sweet potatoes in their Mac and Cheese, devoured Green Eggs (with spinach) and White Bean Pancakes for breakfast, and asked for seconds of the Zucchini Crust Pizzas at lunch!

Although the veggies are sometimes hidden—your kids will be eating mushrooms and eggplant without thinking twice!—the real goal is using the qualities of each vegetable to make each classic, family meals even better than the original version. In these recipes, mushrooms enhance the beefy taste of the Mushroom and Onion Burgers, while eggplant replaces egg for breading on Chicken Tenders and Chicken Parmesan, which keeps them irresistibly moist.

Inside, discover other delicious recipes that will become mealtime staples, including:

• Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

• Cauliflower + Yogurt Bagels

• Eggplant Parm Meatballs

• Pumpkin Pasta Dough

• Taco Meat (with Pinto Beans)

• Mac and Cheese with Caulilfower + Sweet Potato

• Chicken Nuggets with Beans + Carrots

• Creamed Spinach Garlic Bread

• Loaded Queso (with Squash)

• Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

• Eggplant Marinara Sauce

• Brooklyn Blackout Cake (with Beets + Avocado)

• Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

But fear not: there are no fancy ingredients or complicated cooking techniques. These easy, accessible recipes have been tested hundreds of times, by Nikki and other parents, for surefire family food wins! This collection of tried-and-true dishes will wow picky eaters and foodie parents alike with creative veggie twists on breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, sides, and dessert.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781953295569
Publisher:	BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date:	10/12/2021
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	363,946
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nikki Dinki is a chef, author, mom, TV host and picky-eater-turned-veggie-lover who is spreading the delicious veggie word! You can flip through her award-winning first book, Meat On The Side, follow her food-driven adventures and unique creations on multiple Food Network and Cooking Channel series, and watch her share recipes regularly on the Wendy Williams and Dr. Oz shows. She also candidly reveals her successes and struggles of navigating three kids (including a set of twins!) and offers up more tasty veggie-focused recipes on social media and NikkiDinkiCooking.com.

Table of Contents

Intro 1

What You Need to Know 9

More veggies at breakfast

Cauliflower + Yogurt Bagels 17

Avocado + Pea Toast 20

Cauliflower Scrambled Eggs 22

Cheesy Green Eggs 23

White Bean Pancakes + Waffles 25

Zucchini French Toast 29

Cauliflower Oatmeal 30

Carrot Apple Oatmeal 31

Banana Carrot Oatmeal Muffins 32

Strawberry Cheesecake Chia Seed Pudding 34

Pumpkin Pie Granola 37

Zucchini Biscuits 39

Carrot Biscuits 43

Vanilla Yogurt Coffee Cake Muffins 45

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins 49

Lemon Blueberry Muffins 53

Acorn Squash Bread 55

More veggies at lunch

Souped-Up Broccoli Cheddar 60

Chicken Noodle Soup 62

Tomato Soup with Basil Yogurt Drizzle 65

Grilled Cheese with Sweet Potato 66

Roasted Garlic, Spinach + Tomato Grilled Cheese 69

Cauliflower Egg Salad Sandwiches 70

Cauliflower Crust Lunch Box Pizzas 72

Chicken Nuggets 74

Raspberry Beet Vinaigrette 76

Ham + Cheese Wraps in Homemade Spinach Tortillas 79

Eggplant Chicken Tenders 82

Yellow Squash Corn Tortillas 85

Sweet Potato Tortillas 88

Strawberry + Chia Jam 90

Peanut Butter + Hummus Spread 91

Strawberry + Beet Jam 92

More veggies at dinner

Mac + Cheese with Cauliflower + Sweet Potato 97

Taco Meat with Pinto Beans 100

Mushroom + Beef Bolognese 103

Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo 105

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo 108

Cauliflower + Potato Gnocchi 111

Eggplant Marinara Sauce 113

Basil Spinach Pesto 116

Penne alia Vodka 119

Pumpkin Pasta Dough 122

Spinach Pasta Dough 126

Eggplant Parm Meatballs 128

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust 131

Cauliflower Chive Risotto 134

Chicken Parmesan 137

Homemade Hamburger Helper with Squash + Lentils 139

Mushroom + Onion Burgers 144

Ultimate Veggie Burgers 145

Sweet Potato Pierogies 149

Walnut + Mushroom Meatloaf 152

Zucchini Crust Pizza 155

How to Cook Pizza 158

More veggies on the side and at snack time

Creamed Spinach Garlic Bread 162

Butternut Squash Garlic Rosemary Focaccia 165

Twice-Baked Potatoes 167

Brown Butter Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Cauliflower 171

Garlic Spinach Naan 173

Vegetable Shapes 176

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings 179

Loaded Queso 181

Kale Chips 184

Garlic Lime Tortilla Chips 186

Pea Guacamole 189

Tofu Ranch Dressing 190

Ranch Pimento Cheese Spread 193

Oat + Cheddar Cheese Crackers 194

Parmesan Spinach Crackers 196

Buffalo Party Mix 198

Butternut Squash Applesauce 200

Chewy Granola Bars 202

Zucchini Dill Pickles 204

Veggies … for dessert!

Brooklyn Blackout Cake 209

Hacked Veggie Cupcakes 212

Black Bean Brownies 214

Caramel Pumpkin Cake Bars 217

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls 219

Chocolate Chip Cookies 223

Peanut Butter Cookies 226

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches 229

Chocolate Spinach Waffle Sundaes 232

Mint Milkshakes with Spinach 234

Chocolaty Hazelnut Hummus 237

S'mores Pudding Cups 238

Chocolate Avocado Truffles 240

Afterword: Willa's Lemon Bars 243

Acknowledgments 246

Recipe Checklist 250

What to Make with What You Have 260

Freezer-Friendly Recipes 264

Flagged Recipes 266

Index 267

About the Author 275

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Nikki Dinki was way ahead of the vegetable forward meal trend long before most of us saw it coming. I’ve tasted her cooking first hand and can attest to her plant based skills. Nikki helped usher in the wave, now we all can ride it with her new book, More Veggies Please!"
—Bobby Flay

“More Veggies Please! is a total game-changer. Prepare to be blown away by this comfort food with a veggie soul.”
—Damaris Phillips, chef and television host
 
“The longer I’ve been cooking, the more I am changing how my plate looks. My meat portions are getting smaller, and I need fresh ideas to bring vegetables to the center of the plate. This book will help me do that!”
—Jet Tila, celebrity chef and restaurateur
 
"Nikki’s the mom you wish you had making your meals! More Veggie’s Please takes some of your favorite family recipes like Mac and cheese, meatloaf and peanut butter cookies and finds ways to add vegetables in a creative way. Everything is super simple for the weekday, but still feels like a dinner party-payoff! This is family food amped up with fun, flavor and personality in only the way Nikki can do."
—Catherine McCord, author and founder of Weelicious
 
“Black bean brownies? Sounds like I have some fudgy deliciousness in my future.”
—Duff Goldman, author of Super Good Baking for Kids
 
"As we are both alumni of Food Network Star, it didn't take long for Nikki's delightful energy and personality (which drips from these very pages) to pop up on my radar.  I knew Nikki had something that a lot of cooks don't have—the power to see an ingredient but not its 'constraints.' In the hands of Nikki, sweet potatoes become pie crust. Zucchini can be dill pickles. Cauliflower isn't just rice, it's risotto. It's this sort of magic that makes this book a great source of inspiration for cooks of all abilities and (even the pickiest) palates."
—Justin Warner, chef

"This book is truly a parent’s best friend. As a parent to two young children, I’m always wondering how I can sneak more veggies onto their plate. Nikki did all the thinking and testing for us! From cauliflower in scrambled eggs, zucchini in French toast, squash in tortillas, spinach in pasta, and sweet potatoes in cinnamon rolls, this is a book I will use over and over again when I want to make sure our family is enjoying as many veggies as possible."
 —Cassy Joy Garcia, bestselling author and creator of fedandfit.com