YOU KNOW WHAT you should do this week? Have people over for dinner. Once you get the laundry done and your house totally clean, just invite them over. Ha, ha, ha! Even though the laundry most certainly ISN’T done and your house is stubbornly refusing to clean itself, you should still have people over. And…
oven roasted broccoli with sea salt
WE ROAST EVERYTHING. That’s my number one, hands-down secret to getting kids to eat vegetables. Roast them. Because it makes them delicious. We’ve done it with asparagus, carrots, cauliflower and of course potatoes and the result is always the same: the kids love them. The fact that it’s easy doesn’t hurt either. That’s why we tried broccoli last week….
tomato & cheese tart
THIS WAS THE HARDEST RECIPE I’VE MADE in a long time. But I did it. And it was delicious, at least two parents and one preschooler thought so. Baby George and Estelle who is two, begged to differ. But here’s my theory: Phoebe helped me make it and when you’re a kid in the kitchen,…
my 2 favorite recipes for kale chips
WE WERE LIVING IN ITALY WHEN IT ALL STARTED. The kale craze. I kept hearing about kale–how healthy kale was for kids, how skinny you’d be if you ate kale, how Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracy Anderson ate nothing but kale and look at how skinny they are. I couldn’t quite figure out how to say…
kid-friendly crudite: personal veggie cups with dip
THANK YOU, PINTEREST. I loved this idea the moment I saw it. They did it for a party, I did it for dinner. Which meant my kids ate a bunch of vegetables for dinner. And they did it with smiles.
An easy pop of color, half way to eating the rainbow
THEY SAY YOU SHOULD EAT THE RAINBOW, and when I say “they” I mean everyone from Grover to Oprah and Michelle Obama, also the editors of Whole Living and you know, the US Cancer Society. OK, we’re listening. But also, we’re very busy and that sounds complicated. Like a lot of shopping and chopping and possibly quite…
Roasted whole carrots with maple glaze
JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER BUNNIES EVERYWHERE, we’ve got a fun take on carrots. The good news is, it’s super simple. The great news is, the kids like ’em too.
Sauteed cabbage
I’VE EATEN CABBAGE QUITE A FEW TIMES, BUT ENJOYED IT EXACTLY TWICE. The first delicious cabbage I ate was many years ago when a friend with Irish roots (and her own Grandma Curley, just like I had) spent a full Saturday making “Boiled Dinner” for St. Patrick’s Day. Despite my own fairly Irish roots, I’d…
How to roast beets
THESE WORK IN SO MANY WAYS. On salad, as salad, warm from the oven, pureed for baby food (or as a secret good-for-you ingredient for decadent brownies!). I’m a beet lover, Phoebe is hit or miss with these purple beauties and everyone else is still in the not-quite-sold stage. They’re so good though, and so…
Parmesan mashed potatoes with kale, yes kale (A 101 Cookbooks recipe makeover)
THIS IS THE LAST ONE. We’ve been cooking with Heidi Swanson’s recipes for the last few weeks (among others), from the jaw-droppingly beautiful website 101 cookbooks. Honestly, if all food were that gorgeous, who wouldn’t want to focus on healthy eating all the time? And with that in mind, I set out to amp up…
Roasted fall vegetables: potatoes and fennel
I’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND IT’S STILL TRUE: if your kids are reluctant to eat veggies, the best thing you can do is roast them. The veggies, not the kids. Here’s my favorite way to prepare almost any vegetable, and bonus, the best way to slide a new one in there too. We combined a…
Grated carrot salad, a recipe inspired by “French Kids Eat Everything”
I don’t know about you but my kids aren’t usually into salad. There was a time when my preschooler, Phoebe, would spot a great leaf of anything on her plate, be it basil, parsley or actual lettuce, immediately pick it off and deposit onto MY plate while explaining “I don’t yike salad.” Sigh.
Sauteed zucchini
ESTELLE IS ON A ZUCCHINI KICK. And by “kick” I mean she doesn’t spit them out. Unlike, say, shrimp, which will be its own post soon… Instead she eats them happily and heartily every time. And since they’re so fresh and easy to find this time of year, why not indulge the little one? Especially…
Honey whole wheat cornbread
IF YOU THINK CORNBREAD IS DRY or worse yet, greasy and heavy, this one is for you. Phoebe has eaten three pieces in the last 18 hours, one at every meal and actually closes her eyes with each bite. So, I think it’s pretty good.
Oven roasted carrots
WE’RE ON A CARROT KICK these days and since it seems you can never go wrong with roasting veggies, I thought I’d try it out. And…it’s true. Roasted [fill in the blank] is always good. Carrots included.
Recipes from “French Kids Eat Everything”, carrot salad and stuffed tomatoes
AS THE FRENCH WOULD SAY, these were magnifique. As Phoebe would say, they were magical.
Grilled lemon chicken with buttered green beans
THIS WAS A CHILDHOOD FAVORITE OF MINE. Sort of. The 1980s version involved a bottle of lemon juice and a skillet, and I loved it. Now I use the grill pan and a real lemon, but the idea is the same. Marinated chicken is juicy and flavorful, just as perfect for a fresh summer dinner…
Easy spring veggies: asparagus & peas with lemon & cheese (plus baby food version)
FRESH AND SIMPLE. What better way to cook kid-friendly vegetables in the springtime, especially when the whole process takes 10 minutes?
corn dog mini muffins and sautéed green beans with garlic
IS IT ME OR ARE CORN DOGS having a moment? I’ve seen tons of ideas all over Pinterest, including this gorgeous batch of fried mini dogs from Food Glorious Food, and decided to give it a whirl. The results were mixed: one-year-old Estelle liked them, nearly three-year-old Phoebe wasn’t thrilled. If you love your furry…
Easy roasted asparagus
IF ONLY EVERY DISH WAS SO EASY. To prepare roasted asparagus, you need a baking pan, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and asparagus. Balsamic vinegar is optional, a hot oven is not.