General Tso’s Chicken Gets a Healthy Makeover AND Food Rules for Your Family (Podcast Episode #186)

This month, we had articles published in two magazines: Kiwi and Every Day with Rachael Ray. For Kiwi, our story on The New Dinnertime Rules featured rules like No TV or Cell Phones, One Family, One Dinner and Take a “No Thank You Bite,” and we made the point that better nutrition can be achieved when families eat together … happily (something you can more easily achieve with realistic food rules). For Every Day with Rachael Ray, we contributed a recipe for General Tso’s Chicken to their Makeover Meal section … a recipe lower in fat and sodium (and filled with veggies) than the meal you’d find in most Chinese food restaurants. We dish about both articles on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, and we hope you’ll tune in!

The recipe we share below is a bit different from the Every Day with Rachael Ray version. That’s because RR had to shorten ours up a bit so it fit on one page! Feel free to make either version … but be sure to let us know what you think of it.

We LOVE these magazines!

General Tso’s Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry

Makes 4 Servings

Lean chicken breast and just 2 tablespoons of heart-healthy canola oil help to cut back on the fat, and reduced-sodium soy sauce keeps the sodium in check.

  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1¼ pounds head broccoli, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets (about 5 cups)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut on the diagonal into thin rounds (about 1 cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Thinly sliced scallions, optional
  • Sesame seeds, optional
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, black pepper, and salt until well combined. Add the chicken and toss until evenly coated.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Carefully add half of the chicken in a single layer. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Stir occasionally. Place the cooked chicken on a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.

3. While the chicken cooks, place the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon ginger, red pepper flakes, and the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside.

4. When the chicken is done, wipe out the wok to remove excess oil. Add the water and garlic and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and carrot, cover, and simmer until crisp tender, 3 minutes.

5. Uncover, add the sauce and stir until it thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken until well coated with the sauce and heated through, about 1 more minute. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds as desired and serve over rice. (Yields 6½ cups chicken/veggie mixture.)

Nutrition Information per Serving (2 cups): 480 calories, 15g fat (2.5g saturated, 0.8g omega-3), 630mg sodium, 56g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 30g protein, 90% vitamin A, 100% vitamin C, 15% iron

Print Recipe

Here are some of the food rules we featured in Kiwi magazine … (see the Kiwi article for more details).

ONE FAMILY, ONE DINNER:  Promote Mom or Dad from short-order cook to executive chef. Plan the nightly menu and stick to it: Once the kiddos realize that one meal and one meal only will land on the dinner table — versus a different meal for each family member — they will know not to ask for grilled cheese instead.

NO TV OR CELL PHONES:  Electronic devices are a distraction, so turn them off during family mealtime. Checking work-related emails or returning texts from friends can certainly wait until after the table is cleared. With fewer distractions, family members can slow down, relax, and talk about their day. Talk about the perfect time for family bonding!

TAKE A “NO THANK YOU BITE” … To encourage family members to eat, or at least try, what’s been served. Then kids, (or parents!) can either say, “No thanks. I’m not a fan,” or “Thanks, I’ll have some more.” It’s a low-key and often amusing way to introduce new foods and flavors.

… UNLESS YOU HAVE A “TASTE BUD TURNOFF” PASS:  Some rules are meant to be broken … sometimes. It’s important to respect personal preferences. So if a family member has a short list of “taste bud turn off” foods — foods they’ve tried before and just can’t seem to stomach, then they get a pass on the “No Thank You” Bite.

Do you have rules in your house that make mealtime more pleasant? Please share!

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Comment | Filed Under Dinner, KiwiMagazine, PickyEaters, Podcast, Poultry, Uncategorized, Vegetables 

Hamburger Helper Gets a Recipe Rescue: Give our Healthier Hamburger Helper a Try!

Walk into your local supermarket and chances are, that sitting along a very long shelf, you’ll find not one, not two, not three but as many as 40 varieties of Hamburger Helper. Convenient? Yes. Nutritious? Well, we’ll let you be the judge. Nicole, a mom of two from Havertown, PA often relies on Hamburger Helper to get dinner on the table for her two “picky” teens.  According to Nicole, “The kids love the Lasagna-flavored Hamburger Helper.  It’s kind of like spaghetti and meatballs but all mixed up. It’s something easy I can make, but I know it’s not healthy.”  So what’s a busy mom to do? Nicole posted on our Facebook wall and asked us to give Hamburger Helper a healthy makeover. We knew it would be one of our most extreme makeovers ever, but we gladly took on the challenge. Read on for all the yummy “rescue” details and the surprising reaction from Nicole’s family.

A 1 cup serving of Lasagna-flavored Hamburger Helper (prepared according to package directions) has 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat, and 770 milligrams of sodium. It also contains some ingredients we’re just not crazy about: Monosodium glutamate, yellow 5 and 6, and red 40. Our rescued version is made with wholesome ingredients. It’s a lot leaner and more nutrient rich thanks to ingredients like lean ground beef, 1% low-fat milk, no-salt-added tomato sauce, frozen chopped spinach, and whole grain pasta.

At first glance, Nicole thought our recipe might have too many steps, but it cooked up quickly. “I’m not used to thickening with corn starch but it was great. I liked the texture and the creaminess,” she told us. Nicole also tried the recipe with ground turkey, but she felt the lean beef imparted a richer flavor and deeper, more pleasing (and familiar) color.

Healthier Hamburger Helper

Makes 8 to 10 Servings

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1½ cups)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound lean ground beef (93 or 95% lean)
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • One 32 -ounce carton all-natural chicken broth
  • One 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
  • 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, divided
  • One 10-ounce box chopped frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
  • One 12-once bag dried whole grain, wide egg noodles (we used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.

2. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the meat, Italian seasoning, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and cook, breaking up the large pieces until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess fat.

3. Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, 3/4 cup of the milk, and the spinach, cover, and bring to a boil.

4. Stir in the pasta and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a low boil, covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 9 minutes.

5. In a bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk until well combined.  Stir the cornstarch mixture into the pasta. Maintain at a low boil and stir gently until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

6. Top individual servings with additional Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped basil as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 generous cup):  290 calories, 8g fat (2.5g saturated), 400mg sodium, 38g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 20g protein, 80% vitamin A, 15% calcium, 20% iron

Print Recipe

Nicole made the recipes twice — once with wagon wheel shaped pasta and the second time with the egg noodles. Taste testers, Nina and Alex preferred the wagon wheels (so feel free to use either shape in this recipe), and according to Nicole, the kids liked the recipe and no one tried to pick out the spinach since it blended right in!

We can’t thank Nicole and her kids enough for trying the recipe. We are thrilled everyone liked it! In fact, this summer when the family first tried the recipe, 16-year old Nina packed our Healthier Hamburger Helper in a Thermos and took it to camp for lunch. If you have a recipe that you think needs a “rescue,” send it our way … or tell us about it right here on the blog.

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5 Comments | Filed Under Beef, Dinner, Grains, Pasta, PickyEaters, RecipeRescue, Uncategorized 

World Heart Day, Recipes for Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad and Quick Dark Chocolate Brownies, AND a Le Creuset Skillet Giveaway (Podcast #159)

September 29th is World Heart Day, so we decided to devote this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast to easy tips for eating and savoring a heart-healthy diet. Back in the day, a heart-healthy diet was far from satisfying and quite restrictive. Eggs, nuts, and shrimp were often off limits, and people were urged to opt for fat-free fare. Today, research shows that a heart-healthy diet can and should include a wide array of mouth-watering and nutrient-rich foods: eggs, seafood and shellfish, canola oil (the lowest in saturated fat of all the popular cooking oils), and other good-for-you fats, nuts, fruits and veggies and so much more!

Our post today features two recipes from the Home is Where the Heart Is collection on CanolaInfo.org: Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad made with a flavorful dressing of balsamic vinegar, canola oil, and lots of fresh basil and a decadent yet healthy dark chocolate brownie made with canola oil versus butter.

This pasta salad gets its nutritional boost from whole wheat penne, juicy cherry tomatoes, and a dressing made with canola oil, which provides cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat and heart-healthy omega-3 fat.

Bring on the healthy dressing!

Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad

Makes 6 Servings

Whole grain pasta, a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, is the foundation of this satisfying dish. We love it as a school lunch salad, a dinner side dish, or a take-to-work lunch. The recipe was created by Alison Lewis for CanolaInfo.

  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (75 mL)
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (15mL)
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil (10mL)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 cups whole wheat dried penne pasta, cooked (500mL)
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or cooked, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese (60 mL)
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/2 small red onion, sliced into rings
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (1 mL)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (1 mL)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (125 mL)
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, canola oil, and garlic. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, chicken, Parmesan, tomatoes, onion, oregano, and pepper, tossing gently. Gently stir in the balsamic mixture and the basil until well combined. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to two days.
Nutrition Information per Serving (1 generous cup):  270 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated), 190mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 21g protein

Print Recipe

Brownies anyone?! We nix the butter in favor of canola oil and add almonds for good measure!

Each brownie has just 130 calories — quite respectable for a gooey dessert. Stick to the suggested portion size to keep calories in check.

Quick Dark Chocolate Brownies

Makes 16 Brownies

CanolaInfo has partnered with the World Heart Federation to raise awareness about heart-smart eating. And this month, in honor of World Heart Day on September 29th, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen is working with CanolaInfo to help spread the word too! To learn more, check out their Home is Where the Heart Is recipe collection.

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (250 mL)
  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder (75 mL)
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (60 mL)
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (60 mL)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (2 mL)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (1 mL)
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup canola oil (124 mL)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 mL)
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (60 mL)
  • 1/3 cup chopped almonds

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, flours, baking powder, and salt until well combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, canola oil, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture into the flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds.
  2. Spread batter in a lightly greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack before slicing.
Nutrition Information per Serving (1 brownie):  130 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated), 55mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 2g protein

Print Recipe

GIVEAWAY NEWS: Thanks to the folks at CanolaInfo, we are giving away a gorgeous Le Creuset yellow iron skillet and a heart-healthy tool kit including an apron, cookbook, and spatula.

To Enter: Leave a comment here on our blog or on Facebook and tell us how you and your family celebrate a heart-healthy lifestyle. Feel free to share your favorite heart-smart recipes too! U.S. and Canada only please.

We will enter you into the giveaway a second, third, fourth and/or fifth time if you …

> Subscribe to our RSS feed.
> Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post.
> “Like” us on Facebook or share the giveaway news with your Facebook fans and friends with a link back to the post.
> “Like” CanolaInfo on Facebook. And while you are there, check out their new Facebook “virtual chef” game.

Please be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do something extra, and GOOD LUCK! The giveaway ends on September 29th at noon, and as always we’ll use random.org to pick our winners.

Disclosure: CanolaInfo is a sponsor of our blog this month. The recipes we featured on the blog were created for CanolaInfo and then tested here in the Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen. CanolaInfo is fulfilling the giveaway.

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233 Comments | Filed Under Desserts, Dinner, Giveaways, Lunch, Pasta, PickyEaters, Podcast, Poultry, Sides 

Cook Like a Freezer Diva PLUS a Recipe for Spicy Sausage, Beans & Rice (Podcast #143)

If cooking dinner for your family night after night feels like a chore, be sure to tune into this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast for our interview with Heidi Lewerenz and Kay Pickar, The Freezer Divas. With seven kids between them, these busy moms from Wisconsin have devised a system where they get together every six to eight weeks to cook and freeze dozens of meals between them. Their freezer cooking frenzy saves time and money, and the result is freezers filled with hearty, family-friendly meals that are always at the ready.

Heidi and Kay are The Freezer Divas. You can find them on their website, Cook Like a Diva or “Like” them on Facebook.

We first “met” Heidi through our Meal Makeover Moms’ Facebook fan page. Heidi was one of our volunteer recipe testers for No Whine with Dinner, and our virtual friendship grew from there. When we heard about The Divas’ freezer cooking success and their strategies for planning, prepping, freezing, and cooking, we decided to share their kitchen wisdom with all of you.

During a recent freezer cooking day at Heidi’s house, her son shreds zucchini in a food processor before it’s mixed into five meatloaves … and then frozen.

Read on for highlights from Heidi and Kay’s 7 Ways to Kick-Start Your Freezer Cooking primer (you can get the complete handout by signing up for their email list), their recipe for Spicy Sausage, Beans & Rice, and for photos of The Divas in action.

We followed The Divas’ lead and froze the ingredients for their savory one-pot sausage, beans & rice dinner.

 

Spicy Sausage, Beans & Rice

Makes 6 to 8 Servings (Recipe adapted from The Freezer Divas)

“Stick to your ribs,” is the best way to describe this dish. We added a few Meal Makeover Mom tweaks to the recipe based on what we found at the market and what Janice had in her fridge when she prepped the ingredients.

  • One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • One 8-ounce can tomato sauce (we used no-salt added sauce)
  • 1/4 cup no-salt or low-sodium chicken bouillon (we used 3 pouches Trader Joe’s Reduced Sodium Liquid Concentrate Chicken Broth)
  • 3/4 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (we left the salt out!)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 to 2 cups chopped chicken or beef sausage (we used a 12-ounce package of Hans Organic Chicken Bratwurst Sausage)
  • 2 cups dry brown rice

1. Assemble all of the ingredients in a 1-gallon freezer bag.

2. Label with the following instructions: Add 4 cups water.  Bring to boil and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, 40 to 50 minutes.

Tip from Heidi and Kay: We like to empty the contents of the bag into a pot and add the 4 cups water directly to the freezer bag. We swish the water around to collect any dry spices that may have stuck to the sides and then pour that water into the pot.

Nutrition information per serving (1 generous cup):  340 calories, 4.5g fat (1g saturated), 535mg sodium, 55g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 9g protein, 15% iron

Print Recipe

At one of their classes, Heidi and Kay show other women in their community the tricks to freezer meal cookery.

7 Ways to Kick-Start Your Freezer Cooking:
1. Overcome your fears — When you cook in bulk and freeze, you increase your efficiency. Start slow … the last thing you want to feel like is a bedraggled Cinderella.
2. Make it fun — Find another princess to work with … a friend with similar food likes, allergies, preferences, and budgets.
3. Think efficiency — Decide on the location, choose recipes, and plan to double, triple or even quadruple each recipe (i.e. if you and your friend each want 2 bags of rice & beans, you’ll need to make 4 bags total).
4. Bulk shop & chop & contain:  Sign up for Diva’s email list for more …

Every square inch of Heidi’s kitchen is covered in food! Bowls of cooked brown rice sit out to cool and big zip-top bags are filled with turkey meatloaves.

If you’re a freezer diva, tell us about your strategies. We’d love to hear from you :)

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7 Comments | Filed Under Beans, CulinaryAdventures, Dinner, Grains, PickyEaters, Podcast 

The Science of Picky Eating and Tips from our Facebook Fans (Podcast #133).

If feeding your family is driving you crazy — perhaps you have a picky eater who is less than enthusiastic about trying your healthy homemade meals — it’s time to jump into the mealtime driver’s seat and take control of the wheel.  On this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast, we explore the science of picky eating with dietitian Maryann Jacobsen from the blog, Raise Healthy Eaters. Maryann recently wrote a comprehensive 5-part series on Picky Eaters (it’s a great read!) and she joins us this week to discuss why kids are picky (it can be perfectly normal), common mealtime mistakes parents make, and picky eater solutions. As you read this post, you’ll notice some adorable photos of little kids eating, cooking, and enjoying an array of healthy foods. The photos were taken by some of the volunteer families who tested recipes for our new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner.

Who knew fruit could be so much fun to eat. Three-year old Faith tries the Fruity Chicken Kebabs from No Whine with Dinner as her mom, Kelly (a professional photographer … if you hadn’t already noticed) takes the shot.

Why are Children Picky?

  • They are not as hungry as they were when they were babies. Growth slows down after the age of two. From age two to puberty, children gain an average of 4.5 – 6.5 pounds per year.  Compare that to year one when their body weight triples.
  • Food neophobia: Fear of new foods peaks between the ages of two and four. Children are biologically skeptical of new foods.
  • Quest for control: When children start to establish a sense of autonomy, they want some say in the matter … and mealtime can be the perfect time to have their say.
  • Supertasters: About 25% of children are especially sensitive to flavors and textures. As a result, certain vegetables taste downright terrible (most outgrow this … so don’t worry).

The teriyaki sauce in our Teriyaki Snow Peas and Carrots adds a nice sweet flavor which clearly makes two-year old Kyle happy!

Common Mistakes Parents Make

  • Short-order cooking: What it says to the child is, “I don’t expect you to learn to eat a variety of new foods and meals.”
  • Pushing vegetables: The goal should be to get kids to “like” their veggies … not just “eat” them.
  • Labeling kids as picky.
  • Asking kids “what” they want to eat.

Picky Eater Solutions

First and foremost, you’re not alone. When we first decided to do this show and blog post, we posted a question to our Facebook page asking fans to share their experience feeding picky eaters. Here’s what Amy M. had to say: “Boy, I’m glad to see with these posts I am not alone! After reading about all of the kids who liked quinoa in a previous question (mine won’t touch it) I was afraid my kids were odd. Now I see that some pickiness is normal. My 7-year old is my picky eater who is afraid of trying new things, though I can see this getting a little bit better as he has gotten older.”

There are several ways to take the battle out of mealtime. The first is to stick with the following “division of responsibility” framework: As a parent or caregiver, it’s your job to decide what the family will eat, when they will eat, and where they will eat. The child’s job is easy because all he/she has to do is decide how much of the food to eat.  Having clear roles and expectations sets the stage for a more manageable mealtime. It’s also important to give children ample opportunity and time to like new foods. It’s best to avoid pressuring kids to try new foods (children will eat less when pressured) or conversely, withhold foods (kids eat more when they feel food is scarce). Other strategies …

  • Make healthy foods highly accessible and attractive.
  • Serve fruits and veggies at the start of the meal when kids are the most hungry.
  • Pair new items with old standbys.
  • Eat together as a family and role model good eating habits.
  • Don’t nag kids to eat their fruits and veggies.
  • Have the children help with meal planning and preparation.

One of our tiny taste testers adds cinnamon topping to our blueberry muffins.

Facebook Fans Weigh in on Picky Eater Challenges AND Solutions

Pam T.
“The biggest trigger in our house is the reaction of the other siblings. If one of the older ones makes a negative comment, the others follow. But, progress is being made! I served Cobb Salad for dinner last night and my 14-year old decided to try (and liked) the blue cheese, and the 11-year old tried putting tomatoes on his salad, and did not die! I just keep offering foods that the kids think they hate, and eventually they come around. They KNOW I’m a good cook, so when they see the husband and me enjoying our food, they want to try it as well.”

*****

Tracy F.
“Sometimes I think my 6-year old does it for no other reason than to exert her power to choose. There are so many things in her life that she has no control over. I say that because her likes/dislikes fluctuate so widely day to day that I think a lot of it is situational. It helps so much to ask for her opinion … having her help plan the meals, letting her assemble her own salad … things like that.”

*****

Shannon D.
“We had a picky eater for about two and a half years in our house. Our second son (out of four kids) refused many foods between the ages of five and eight (we just recently got out of it). The way I dealt with it? I just pretended he wasn’t picky. He was served the same food as everyone else. I reassured myself that eventually he would eat (and he did – in small amounts). Now, he is older and more in control of his destiny. He has more responsibilities at home and at school and I’ve noticed that he just doesn’t refuse food like he used to. Even though he still takes only one to two bites of strong flavored food (as required), he pretty much eats what our family eats. Just live in denial of a picky eater — pretend that he/she is the same — and most of the time they outgrow it!”

*****

Lori A.
“For my daughter, who is 20-months old, if she’s trying something new I’ll put it near her, maybe not necessarily on her plate, but within her reach. I tell her something positive about it (‘so and so really likes this’ or ‘it’s delicious’), and then I walk away and not obviously watch her. She often reaches for it and tries it. She may not like it but I don’t feel comfortable forcing her to eat it (who wants someone shoving a fork full of food in their face?). I let her make her own decision about when to eat it and if she wants it near her.”

*****

Stacy M.
“I let my kids taste anything they want (safety considered of course) while I’m cooking. I wish I had photos of the baking soda taste.  Anyway, they are more likely to taste it at meal time if they have tasted the ingredients and seen it come together. I also tell them they can’t have certain things at the table because I don’t like to share (like broccoli). Funny how much more they want when they can’t have it! Since your interview with Tyler Florence I have also started roasting veggies more. I add a little cheese to make it crunch. Yum for everyone.”

Helpful Resources:

> Raise Healthy Eaters 5-Part Picky Eaters Series.
> Picky Eater Makeover tips from The Meal Makeover Moms.
> Easy Meals to Cook with Kids by Julie Negrin, MS.
> Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter, MS, RD.
> What’s Cooking with Kids blog post on Training Toddlers to Become Better Eaters.
> Adult pickiness: No Age Limit on Picky Eating, Wall Street Journal
> Duke University, The Food F.A.D. Study (Finicky Eating in Adults)

** Some children are extremely picky, and they only accept a very limited number of foods (often white-colored foods). This “selective eating” may require intervention from a team of feeding specialists. To read more about “selective eating,” check out Part-1 of Maryann’s series.

If you have a picky eater solution that’s worked wonders in your household, please share it here!

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A Celebration of Vegetables: A Recipe for Winter Squash Risotto (Podcast #127)

We’ve done a lot of live TV interviews in our day and we’ve held a lot of cooking classes, but we’ve never cooked “live” online … until this week.  Thanks to Ustream technology, last Wednesday, December 15th at 1:00pm EST, we spent 30 fast-paced minutes sharing clever tips and easy recipes to inspire a love for vegetables, and our demo aired live on the new Birds Eye Facebook fan page. Pretty cool stuff!

Behind the scenes at the Tipping Point Labs studio, the director calls the shots.

Cameras, lighting, food styling by Kelly Upson, makeup by Phoebe Ramier: It took a lot of amazing cooks in this kitchen to pull the production together!

We were excited to team up with Birds Eye because they definitely share our goal of helping families get more veggies on the table. Did you know that  according to a new report from the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance, 90% of young children don’t eat their recommended amount of vegetables?  We’d love to change that statistic, so during the show, we cooked up two easy, kid-friendly dishes. The first was our Cheesy Spinach Bake from No Whine with Dinner featuring frozen chopped spinach and the second, a recipe from Birds Eye for Winter Squash Risotto. As we cooked, viewers were able to ask questions (which we answered live on the air), and we also talked about some of the proactive mealtime tips from our book for getting kids excited about eating a wider array of vegetables. If you missed the demo, you can watch it on Ustream TV or listen to us talk all about it on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast.

Winter Squash Risotto

Makes 6 Servings

This rich and creamy risotto is perfect as a side dish. To turn it into a spectacular holiday-inspired main dish, simply top it with grilled shrimp or chicken.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1½ cups dry arborio rice
  • 4 slices nitrite-free bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 4½ cups hot chicken broth (and 1/2 to 1 cup additional water as needed)
  • 1 box Birds Eye® Cooked Winter Squash (12 ounce), thawed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

1. Heat oil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add rice, bacon, and sage, and stir to coat with oil. Ladle 1/2 cup hot broth into the rice; cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition absorb before adding the next.

3. When there is 1 cup broth remaining, stir in the squash. Continue cooking, adding remaining broth and additional water as needed, until rice is creamy yet firm. Stir in butter and Parmesan cheese.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with parsley as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving:  320 calories, 11g fat (3.5g saturated), 530mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 9g protein, 60% vitamin A, 20% vitamin C, 10% calcium

Print Recipe

Tip 1 … Take 1 … Action!

As you may know, when it comes to vegetables, our philosophy is to make them highly visible on the plate … not concealed or hidden within the meal. If vegetables are a tough sell with kids, we have plenty of strategies to wow them. During the demo, we talked about three of our favorites:

Meal Plan as a Family: Have the kids help with the weekly meal planning. Let each child take ownership of one night with a recipe they choose, help shop for and help cook. Our Stuffed Spinach and Cheese Pizza (No Whine with Dinner, page 75) is a dish the kids will gladly help make!

Theme Nights: Once a week, pick a theme for dinner. Try Mexican Night, Picnic Night, or Asian Cooking Night. For this dish, we steamed up a bag of frozen veggie medley — broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts — then tossed it with lite teriyaki sauce. Have the kids sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top.

Celebrate Colors: With dishes like our Over-the-Rainbow Brown Rice (No Whine with Dinner, page 142), have your kids take turns calling out a color at the dinner table. Once they choose a color from their plate, have everyone take a bite of whatever color was chosen. Yell “green” for peas, “orange” for carrots, and “yellow” for corn. Before you know it, they’ll have three bites down the hatch.

The Ustream demo was a blast, and we can’t wait to hear what you all thought of it. In the meantime, between now and December 31st, if you “Like” the Birds Eye Facebook fan page, $1.00 will be donated to Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to providing nutritious food to families in need. It’s all part of an effort to feed kids better!

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7 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Dinner, GivingBack, Holidays, NoWhineWithDinner, PickyEaters, Podcast, Sides, Vegetables 

Book Launch Party for No Whine with Dinner PLUS Recipes for Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake and Red Potatoes with Salmon Mousse (Podcast #123)

It’s not every day you get to throw yourself a party, but that’s exactly what we did last Friday night when we officially launched our new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner: 150 Healthy, Kid-Tested Recipes from The Meal Makeover Moms. On the eve of the annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association (known affectionately as FNCE), we gathered with fellow dietitians from across the country as well as family members and some fabulous foodie friends to celebrate in style.  We dish all about the party on this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast and share “sound bites” from some of our guests for getting kids of all ages to eat a healthy and delicious diet. From tips on being a positive role model at mealtime to the “7 Bite Rule,” you won’t want to miss this show!

The event was catered by Absolutely Fabulous (we provided the desserts), and the party was a smashing success thanks to the generous support of the California Raisin Marketing Board, United States Potato Board, and the National Peanut Board.

Tables were decorated with photos of some of the pint-size recipe testers who critiqued the recipes for No Whine with Dinner!

Shelly Kessen, Meredith Myers, Janice, Liz Conant, and Liz.

The Menu … That Nobody Whined About:

  • Beef Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
  • Petit Cod Cakes with Herb-Infused Aioli Sauce
  • Baby Red Potatoes with Salmon Mousse & Capers
  • Curried Chicken Salad in Endive with California Raisins
  • Mushroom Duxelle in Filo Cup with Asiago Cheese
  • Asparagus and Dijon Puff Pastry Twists
  • Crostini with White Bean Spread and Olive Tapenade
  • Cheddar cheeses provided by Cabot Cheese Coop
    (50% Reduced Fat Sharp, Seriously Sharp, Tomato Basil, Chipotle)
  • I-Love-Chocolate Party Torte
  • Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
  • Peanut Butter Power Cookies

Red Potatoes with Salmon Mousse & Capers (AKA Little Red and Green Appetizers).

Red Potatoes with Salmon Mousse & Capers

Makes 10 to 12 Appetizer Servings

  • 2/3 pound (about 12) small red potatoes, uniform in size
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 ounces sliced smoked salmon, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 12 slices (1/2-inch thick) English cucumber
  • Snipped chives, dried dill weed and/or drained capers, for garnish

1. Halve potatoes; cut and discard a very thin slice from skin side of each half.

2. In 2-quart saucepan, cover potatoes with water; add salt. Bring to boiling over high heat, reduce heat, cover and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. Drain; cool to room temperature.

3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix cheese, salmon, lemon juice and pepper to blend thoroughly. With small spoon, mound salmon mixture onto potato halves and cucumber slices, dividing equally (1 to 1½ teaspoons each). Arrange on serving plate and add your choice of garnishes. If not served immediately, these can be prepared several hours in advance; cover and refrigerate. For best flavor, return to room temperature just before serving.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 63 calories, 3g protein, 6g carbohydrate, 3g total fat, 218mg sodium, 0.5g fiber, 4mg Vitamin C, 182mg potassium

Print Recipe

Featured desserts at our party included our I-Love-Chocolate Party Torte, Peanut Butter Power Cookies, and Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Makes 16 Servings

This recipe is featured on the cover of our new cookbook! For dessert, we like to dust it with powdered sugar or serve with low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt. On it’s own, we also love it as a mid-morning or afternoon snack.

  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ or ground flaxseed
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • One 15-ounce can 100% pure pumpkin
  • 1/3 cup low-fat milk
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup dried currants or 1/3 cup California raisins, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously oil or coat a 10-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in large bowl until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients and the currants over the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

5. Cool the cake completely, and dust the top with powdered sugar as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 slice): 210 calories, 6g fat (0.5g saturated, 0.5g omega-3), 230mg sodium, 36g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 5g protein, 80% vitamin A

Print Recipe

What follows are a few photos from the big bash. Please visit our Flickr photo-sharing page for more fun pics!

Bonnie Johnson from the National Peanut Board, Kristen from the blog, Eating RD, and Kathleen Zelman with WebMD.

Fellow dietitian and podcast fan, Leah Smith, poses with her mom and Janice. Leah and her two children tested recipes for No Whine with Dinner.

Susan Nicholson, author of 7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies, poses with Liz’s son, Simon (our official coat hanger-upper and waiter).

Allison Beadle, Shelly Kessen, Christine Palumbo, and sports nutritionist, Nancy Clark.

Janice, Carolyn O’Neil from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and her daughter, Katie.

Laura Lagano, Liz and her son, Josh, and Gail Frank.

Leah Bissex shows off mom’s new cookbook and greets guests with a name tag, gift bag, and a smile.

Janice and Liz greet Casey Lewis from Welch’s and Janel Ovrut from the blog, Eat Well with Janel.

College advisor and mentor, Katherine Mugrave, with her former students, Janice and Janet Rouslin.

Dieitians Kate Geagan and Christine Palumbo with Liz.

Will from The Boston Foodie stopped by!

Rhonda Witwer with National Starch Food Innovations and Kyle Potvin with Splash Communications.

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10 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Desserts, NoWhineWithDinner, PickyEaters, Podcast, Potatoes 

No Whine with Dinner Goes on Pre-Sale & a Pyrex Giveaway Extravaganza!

We are thrilled to announce that our new cookbook, NO WHINE WITH DINNER: 150 Healthy, Kid-Tested Recipes from The Meal Makeover Moms is now on sale on our website.  While the official “launch” date is the third week in October, we are now taking pre-orders on our site, and we’re offering all of our wonderful readers a special price (20 percent off single copies and 40 percent off a case of 10 books). With the holidays coming up, we hope you’ll take advantage of our current promotion, running now through October 31st. Check out the Buy Our Books page on our main website and use the promotional code, MOMS2010 for your special price. Also, when you buy a book from our site, you will automatically receive our free, autographed bookmark.

No Whine with Dinner book cover.

In other NO WHINE WITH DINNER news, we are planning “virtual” book signing parties through the fall and winter. If you host a book signing event, we will visit you virtually via speaker phone or Skype to answer your questions and join the fun! To learn how you can host an event, check out our new website page, Host a Book Signing Event.

We’re super excited about the release of our new cookbook, and we’re also excited about this month’s Meal Makeover Moms’ giveaway. One lucky winner will receive an assortment of cool and contemporary gadgets and cookware from Pyrex. We first met some of the folks from Pyrex at the BlogHer2010 conference back in August. Their display table was filled with an array of irresistible kitchen essentials which they kindly offered for one of our upcoming blog giveaways. So, “thank you Pyrex!”

GIVEAWAY Details: One lucky winner (U.S. only) will be selected to win a 12-cup muffin pan, large cookie sheet, loaf dish, pie plate, and the new Pyrex read-from-above 2-cup glass measuring cup.

To enter …

> Post a comment on this blog post and tell us about your best, most clever and creative tip for encouraging children to eat a healthy and delicious diet filled with variety. (Feel free to also share the first names of your kids and their ages.)  We will enter you into the giveaway a second, third, and/or fourth time if you …

* Subscribe to our RSS feed and/or e-newsletter
* Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post
* Share the giveaway news with your Facebook fans and friends with a link back to the post

Please be sure to leave us a new comment every time you do something extra …. and GOOD LUCK!  The giveaway ends on Friday, October 14th at noon, and as always we’ll use random.org to pick our winner.

To celebrate the launch of the book and the fact that many of YOU contributed by testing recipes and sharing your best tips for getting kids to try new and healthy foods, we decided to start a new page on our website called, Picky Eater Makeover. Every day for the next month, we will add a new tip to the page … tips from YOU. We’ll also post the daily tip to our Facebook page, so be sure to visit often! We already have a few tips on the page … so check them out!

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137 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Giveaways, PickyEaters 

No Whine with Dinner: A Recipe for Light Chicken Enchiladas

Raise Healthy Eaters is a blog where parents can go to get credible nutrition advice for their families. Maryann, a registered dietitian and mother of two, started the site to give parents peace of mind in the areas of what to feed their children, how to feed them, and how to be a healthy role model. We’ve been reading Maryann’s blog for a long time and enjoy her articles and recipes.

When we  invited Maryann to contribute a recipe and some mealtime tips for our monthly No Whine with Dinner post, she chose one of her kids’ favorites: Light Chicken Enchiladas … a dish her children happily eat.

Light Chicken Enchiladas

Makes 4 to 6 Servings

  • 1 pound chicken tenders
  • 8 ounces light cream cheese (1/3 less fat)
  • One 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 5 to 6 large whole wheat flour tortillas (or smaller ones if you prefer)
  • About 3/4 of a 15-ounce jar of taco sauce (mild, medium or hot — your preference), plus 1 tablespoon
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (reduced-fat, optional)
  • One 15-ounce can black beans (use 2 if serving more than 4)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 large avocado (or 2 small ones)
  • 1 tablespoon light sour cream

1. Spray a skillet or pan with canola cooking spray and place over medium to high heat.  Place chicken strips in skillet and keep turning over until the outsides turn white.  Take a fork and knife and shred the chicken allowing it to cook at the same time. Continue until meat is shredded and cooked through.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Add chopped onion, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce and stir to combine.  When the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat and set aside

3. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with canola cooking spray.  Fill tortillas with mixture and fold each side over and place on the pan.  I usually get 5 to 6 big enchiladas. Cover with taco sauce.  Top with shredded cheese.  Cover with foil and cook 20 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 (for a total of 30 minutes).

4. When enchiladas are almost done you’ll want to quickly prepare the beans.  Put olive oil in a small pan and add garlic until it sizzles.  Drain black beans and add to pan (leave some juice).  Add cumin and mix together.  Cook on medium heat until fully heated.  Set aside.

5. Make the guacamole last.  Scoop out avocado into a bowl.  Add sour cream and taco sauce (about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon).  Mash together and add salt to taste.  Serve with tortilla chips (for dinner we each get a handful of chips with the meal).

Print Recipe

Q: Where did you get the recipe?
A: This recipe was inspired by a Cooking Light recipe I found online years ago.  I can’t find the original recipe but I made several changes.  This is one of the first meals I made when I started cooking 10 years ago.

Q: What do you like about this recipe?
A: I like that it can be made earlier in the day only to be popped in the oven closer to meal time.  I enjoy making Mexican food because everyone in the family loves it and it always includes whole wheat tortillas, black beans (high fiber and nutritious) and avocados.  The variety of food on the table ensures that everyone will be satisfied.

Q: What do your kids think about this recipe?
A: I have a picky three-year old, but if you put Mexican food in front of her she attacks.  During this meal she’ll say, “I love beans, I love guacamole, I love enchiladas.”  This is a girl who won’t even eat spaghetti, so I think we found a goldmine here.  My son is in a stage where he’ll eat almost anything, but he does seem to love beans, cheese, and chicken

Q: Other than the fact that this recipe makes everyone in your family happy, do you have any other tips you’d like to share with fellow parents for taking the “whine” out of dinner:
A: Putting different food items on the table is key. At dinnertime I make sure there are at least two foods my daughter will eat.  So if she doesn’t love the main entree, she can have some carrots and bread.  When it’s a meal I know she likes, I’ll try some new sides or ones she usually doesn’t eat. She’s more likely to try new foods (and not complain) when familiar items are close by. I provide more tips on the following article: How to Make Family Dinners More Kid Friendly.

I do not make the meal about how much or what she is eating.  Even if she doesn’t want to eat, we ask her to join in the conversation and tell us about her day.  Keeping the dinner table enjoyable is the most important thing to me.  It makes her excited to come back night after night.

Q: Please provide a brief description of your blog:
A: As a dietitian, writer and mom, I felt compelled to develop a credible online resource for parents.  I provide simplified, research-based nutrition and feeding advice for busy parents who don’t have the time to research all the issues.  The articles and resources on my site  cover the three essential factors for raising healthy and happy eaters: providing children with good nutrition (the “what”) utilizing a positive feeding strategy (the “how”) and being a healthy role model (the example).  I share my own struggles and challenges raising healthy eaters.

Thanks Maryanne for a great guest post!

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6 Comments | Filed Under Beans, Dinner, NoWhineWithDinner, PickyEaters, Poultry, Vegetables 

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