Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld is a winner. As a mother of three, Seinfeld knows first hand about the struggle parents have to get picky eaters to eat right. The recipes in this book sneak vegetable purees into foods you (and your kids) might not expect to find them in – including chicken nuggets, beef stew, and a variety of breakfast and desert recipes.

The book details how to make, store and use the purees, and offers practical advice on helping encourage your kids to eat healthy. It’s no secret that obesity rates in this country are increasing every year. Parents need to be conscious of their own eating habits and encourage each other and their children how to get eat right for life. The recipes in this cookbook help to lighten up many traditional family favorites without sacrificing taste. The Brownies (with Carrot and Spinach) recipe includes pureed carrots and spinach and omits oil and egg yolks, providing a treat with less fat and a surprising amount of fiber – 3 grams. The results are delicious – the carrot and spinach is hard to detect, and the brownies are rich and fudgy.

The spiral binding is a nice detail and allows the book to lie flat on the counter so you don’t have to wrestle with keeping the book opened to a certain page.

I would recommend using ice-cube trays to freeze purees, instead of freezer bags. Each cube is about 1 ounce, so 4 cubes are equal to about a half cup. Alternately, you could use jars of baby food for the recipes. Those handy little 4-ounce jars are the equivalent of a half cup of puree and much easier (and sometimes more cost efficient) to add. I wish the book also included the weight measurements of the purees – I think it’d be easier and more accurate to measure the weight, rather than volume.

Technorati Tags: recipes, book review, recipe book, deceptively delicious, healthy, food, eating, kid-friendly, kids recipes, deceptively delicious. cookbook

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© teresa for Mama Divas, 2007. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: book review, cookbook, deceptively delicious, healthy eating, kid-friendly food, kids recipes, recipe book, recipes

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I wish there really were 66 of me sometimes. Then I could get everything done that I need to, and still be able to do the things that I enjoy as well. One of me could change the stinky diapers, while another could stay up late trying to get my daughter to bed. Another could cook dinner, and yet another could clean up. This could really work out well. I wouldn’t have to do anything around the house that I didn’t want to do. The rest of the mes could do it! I could spend my days reading stories to my daughter and baking cookies with her (nevermind that she isn’t quite a year old yet and is barely standing up!). I could make crafts and read books and watch television shows that aren’t the nightly news.

I wonder if it would eventually backfire, though. I don’t know if the control-freak me would be able to handle someone else doing things, even if it was me doing them. Would I be able to relinquish control, or would the other mes take control, causing a power struggle? How would my husband handle it? Would he really be able to stand having more than one of me around the house? And worse yet, would we all end up getting PMS at the same time?

On second thought, maybe one of me is enough. That way I get to spend both the good times and the not-so-good times with my family. Because it isn’t just the good times that you remember; sometimes the best times are those that might not seem ideal at the time, but are the most special.

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© teresa for Mama Divas, 2007. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Parenting

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Time has come to do something about these jars. I don’t want to just recycle them with the rest of our household goods; I would like to do something with them. Following are 10 ideas I came up with for uses – if you’ve found creative uses for baby food jars, please share!

1. Use them in the garage to collect nails, screws, washers, and other loose materials. You could also use them to store small paint samples.
2. Keep a couple on a dresser to toss in loose change or stray buttons.
3. In the kitchen, use them to store spices – they’re small enough to use one for each type of spice.
4. Loose tea can be stored in the jars.
5. Keep a jar as a treat jar for toddlers – a couple of crackers or small candies will fit.
6. Make candles. Either place votive candles inside, or melt wax and make jar candles.
7. Make snow globes. A snowman made from polymer clay and some glitter make for a cute wintertime scene.
8. Make paperweights. Fill the jars with sand, and paint the outside of the jars and tie a decorative ribbon around the lid.
9. Root plants. Stick the bottom root into a jar filled with water, and in a few weeks roots will grow and the plant will be started.
10. Keep a jar on your desk for paperclips.

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Technorati Tags: tips and tricks for parents, recycling, green parenting, empty baby food jars, baby food

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© teresa for Mama Divas, 2007. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: baby food, empty baby food jars, Green Parenting, recycling, Tips and Tricks for Parents

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