As a cooking teacher, I have had the pleasure of watching hundreds of my students transform into adventurous eaters and talented little chefs. Even the ones as young as two years old will gobble up all kinds of “grown up” foods including brown rice, sautéed mushrooms, tofu, kidney beans, and caramelized onions. The key is getting them into the kitchen. Much of kids reluctance to taste new dishes is fear of the unknown. But if they help create the mysterious meal, they feel a sense of ownership and are more likely to try it. There is nothing more fun than eating your own art project!

In this video of my kids cooking class, you can see, hear and feel their excitement about ingredients such as black beans, mint, and cherry tomatoes. You’ll also see how easy it is for them to pick up sophisticated cooking skills like mincing garlic, dicing vegetables and emulsifying their own vinaigrette. They are so incredibly capable - we just have to give them the tools and education. How can they have healthy bodies if they don’t know how to cook healthy meals?

Cooking with kids is a fun and effective way to instill healthy habits for life. Exposure to scratch cooking helps kids develop a mature palate and a taste for fresh, wholesome ingredients. The earlier kids become accustomed to nutritious foods, the less likely they will acquire a taste for processed products. Teaching young people how to cook is also a powerful way to start a ripple effect beyond the classroom. Once children are empowered to feed themselves, they have the opportunity to show their families, classmates, teachers, communities, and future generations, that the key to good health starts in the kitchen.

For more information about cooking with kids, visit the new site, The Kids Cook Monday for recipes, resources and a community of people who love to cook with kids.

Rainbow Couscous Salad

A couscous medley is the perfect dinner for chaotic weeknights since it takes only minutes to prepare and you can add in leftover vegetables or meat from the night before. It’s also convenient for lunch boxes since it can be served at room temperature.

One 10- or 12-ounce box of plain couscous
2 cups any combination of vegetables, diced
3-4 scallions, sliced
¼ cup currants or dried cranberries
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped

Optional: beans, nuts, feta cheese, cooked chicken or shrimp

Dressing

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice(about ½ lemon)
2-3 teaspoons garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
2 teaspoons white miso
1 teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons of honey
½ cup olive oil

ADULTS: Cook the couscous according to package directions.

KIDS 4 and up: Add the diced vegetables, scallions, and dried fruit to the couscous and stir. Gently fold in the parsley and mint (and the optional ingredients, if using).

KIDS 6 and up: In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, miso, celery seed, oregano, black pepper, and honey together and slowly add in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the couscous and vegetables and stir. Serve this dish cold or warm. Store the couscous in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

KID TIP:

-Since this dish can be easily changed according to taste, encourage kids to come up with their own dressing and combination of vegetables.

COOKING TIPS:

-Suggested vegetables and other dried fruit options: carrots, celery, radishes, mushrooms, spring onions, leeks, artichokes, raisins, or chopped apricots.

-Try adding seasonal vegetables, such as sautéed leafy greens in the winter, roasted beets in the spring, or peas in the summer.

-Miso is a fermented product like vinegar so it can be stored in your fridge indefinitely. It should not be heated.

-I recommend white miso because of its mild, kid-friendly flavor, but you can use any kind of miso. (Or, omit it if you don’t have it on hand.) Most health food stores carry several different flavors so feel free to experiment.

Prep time: 30 minutes   Total time: 40 minutes   Serves: 4-6

Recipe from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids © 2010 by Julie Negrin

The reason why I love teaching people how to prepare squash is because the most difficult part of the recipe is slicing it open - the oven does the rest. And, because no matter how old my students are, if it’s their first time experiencing spaghetti squash, they are delighted to discover it’s resemblance to pasta! Kids are so intrigued by it that they often forget that it’s a new food (that happens to be a vegetable) and eat it like they would noodles. That also may have to do with my marketing strategy which includes introducing it as “just like spaghetti” and omitting the word, “squash.” When it comes to kids, it’s all about marketing….

Give it a try while the weather is still cool! Both the sauce recipe (from my cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids) and the squash yield plenty of leftovers for lunches or after-school snacks.

Baked Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash

Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Using a sharp knife, cut spaghetti squash in half. Scoop seeds out and either throw away or save them to lightly toast in the oven later.  Then cut each half into even quarters.

On a half-sheet tray or a 9 x 13 inch pan, add enough water to barely cover bottom of pan.  Place squash pieces in the pan with the shell facing up.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until squash is soft and pulls apart easily.

Basic Basil Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
2-3 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot or 10 baby carrots, diced
One 14-ounce can of tomato sauce
One 28-ounce can of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1-2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
1-2 cups water
Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional: bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, or additional fresh herbs, chopped

In an 8-quart stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium heat. Cook the onions on low heat until translucent, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in the garlic, celery, carrots and any other vegetables, and cook for 15 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato sauce, crushed or diced tomatoes, bay leaf, half the fresh herbs, the spices, and water and bring it to a boil.

Turn the heat down to low, and simmer for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. You may need to add water since the sauce thickens while it cooks. Stir frequently, especially if you don’t have a heavy-bottomed pan. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat and take out the bay leaf. Add the rest of the fresh herbs and stir well.

To create a smooth texture, purée the sauce with a hand-held immersion blender (or in a regular blender once it’s cooled down). This sauce can be used for pizza, calzones, pasta, lasagna, manicotti, or eggplant Parmesan. You can store it for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Cooking Tips:

-You don’t need every single vegetable or herb in order to prepare this recipe – but the onions are a must. Try making Caramelized Onions to create a richer tasting sauce.

-This recipe yields more than you’ll need for one meal so that you can freeze the leftovers in dinner-sized portions. Don’t forget to date them!

-Use up your wilting vegetables and bruised tomatoes for this recipe instead of letting them go to waste.

-Italian Seasoning is a mixture of basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram and other herbs.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1½ - 2½ hours
Yields: 7-8 cups
Recipe from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids 2010 © by Julie Negrin

We’ve all heard about the studies showing that kids who share a family meal do better in school, have a larger vocabulary, etc. etc. Laurie David just published an entire book, The Family Dinner, dedicated to resurrecting the family dinner. I know that for many modern parents, this can be a huge challenge.  One or both parents may get home too late to eat with the little ones. When the kids are older, they often have after-school activities that keep them out of the house until just before bed time.

I trust that the data from these studies is accurate. For me, however, the topic of family dinners is so much more personal than statistics. There a lot of things I can now imagine living without as a child - Hebrew school (no problem there), piano lessons (again, easy), sports (much more difficult, I loved them), and countless other things that I can’t even remember now. And that’s the point. In the last couple of decades, it seems as though we’ve prioritized everything but the family dinner - for experiences that will probably end up as hazy memories as adults.

Our family dinners are some of my most vivid childhood memories. It’s where we learned how to converse, debate, learn diplomacy, cope with teasing, navigate controversial topics, tell jokes, serve other people food, share our food, learn manners, and, more than anything, it’s the one place where my siblings and I all had equal footing and access to our parents. What we said during dinner mattered. We mattered, even as just kids. Our family dinners are the reason I now have a career in food. Cooking together with my students and sitting down to eat with them replicates this extraordinary experience every time I teach a class. No matter how technological we get, we are still humans that crave sitting around the fire and sharing our day.

It’s not easy. I get that. This post isn’t meant to make anyone feel bad if they just can’t get the family together throughout the week. Rather, it’s meant to help people re-think how they feed their family beyond nutrients and cooking techniques. Borrow the Jewish tradition of holding a family dinner on Friday nights, connect on the weekends for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s challenging, but it’s possible.

It doesn’t need to be some gourmet meal! My mom spent maybe 30 minutes preparing dinner. Here are some quick-n-easy dinner ideas that my lovely Facebook pals shared with me. A few of them are professionals but many of them are home cooks just like you! For other recipe and family dinner ideas, visit a wonderful new website, The Kids Cook Monday or purchase my cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with kids.

1. Definitely pasta…basically noodles and whatever else I have lying around - usually some kind of vegetable (kale, squash, tomatoes), some kind of protein (usually tofu or white beans), some combination of herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and some cheese. it’s good every time! - Leah Koenig is a write and author of The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook: Daily Meals for the Contemporary Jewish Kitchen

2. I’m a big fan of cook once eat twice (or thrice?). Roast chicken one night becomes the base of a soup or tacos the next. We also like Brinner (breakfast for dinner) - egg white omelets filled with veggies and a quick grating of a good quality hard cheese, low fat quiche, pancakes or french toast made with whole grains and a big fruit salad. I also have a recipe on my blog for a Mediterranean Pasta which is very versatile and can be done in 30 mins or less. -Melissa Marks-Shih, chef and blogger, EveryoneIntoTheKitchen.com

3. Cubed chicken sauteed with honey/garlic/spices and broccoli, mixed with quinoa. All in one meal, in under 30 minutes. - Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein

4. Quesadillas with whole wheat tortillas and veggie/bean fillings - healthy, crowd pleaser, QUICK and great use of many leftovers. -Naomi Friedman Rabkin

5. We love homemade pizza, I make a big batch of crusts and freeze them. I top them with whatever toppings the kids are into (mostly cheese and olives). Also tacos/enchiladas with soy meat and cheddar cheese. -Cynthia Kravette Gamel

6. Vegetarian chili with quinoa. Kids love “wrap tortillas” (cheese melted on tortilla, rolled up) with it. -Micol Rubin Bayer

7. Chicken breasts or tofu “grilled” on a stove top grill pan, couscous and veggies sauteed in tamari! Kathlyne Jones

8. Tacos- black beans mashed with sauteed onions and bell peppers, topped with a little sharp melted cheddar, sliced avocado, tomatillo salsa wrapped in soft corn tortillas. -Joey Lee, TheKidsCookMonday.com

9. Gluten free pasta, Edens organic pizza and pasta sauce, a little cheese and a heaping helping of broccoli. Easy and yummy! -Sandi Kaplan, www.zingbars.com

10. Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? Tonight was french toast, eggs and a smoothie! -Megan Rose Stolber

11. Grilled Chicken Breast with a spinach salad (that has strawberries) and green beans. - Sandra Sarfati Levin

12. Pasta, or tacos and quesadillas. We also like burgers. Our new favorite is the maple glazed chicken from the Easy Meals to Cook with Kids cookbook (we can marinate it the night before and just cook it the night of). -Ilyse Reiter Wagner

Looking for conversation starters for your family dinners? Check out The Family Dinner Downloads via Huffington Post.

The fact is that more claims usually equals unhealthy products. The food industry is getting pressure to make improvements from consumers all the way to the White House. This doesn’t mean that their products are going to become healthy - maybe just a little less unhealthy. What will probably happen is that the companies will become even more savvy in the laboratories where they develop their goods and in their marketing departments which are hell-bent on selling.

Find out how label savvy you are:

1) Healthy foods have labels that tell me everything I need to know: True or False

2) I can make good food choices if I read food labels closely: True or False

3) Low-fat products are not better and, in some cases, may be worse for me: True or False

4) Products that say “Made with Real Fruit” contain 90% or more of real fruit: True or False

5) Products that say “Contains Zero Trans-Fats” may still have .5 grams of it: True or False

6) Ingredients are listed in order of weight: True or False

7) Products that are fortified with added nutrients are better for me: True or False

It is easy to tell the difference between products made with refined flours vs whole grains: True or False

Here are some tips on how to outwit the food industry:

1) FALSE: Many terms such as “natural” or “healthy” are unregulated. In fact, the FDA has been sending warning letters to companies for the last year or so to admonish them for making false claims.

2) FALSE: The majority of the foods that are best for you have little to no packaging and/or labels: fruit, vegetables, fish, lean meats, nuts, and seeds don’t have packages that tell you how healthy they are. Beans and grains may come in cans or plastic bags but there is only one ingredient (themselves).

3) TRUE: If ’s it low in something, it’s usually going to be high in something else. Remember the low-fat craze of the 90’s? Many of those products had (and still do) contain extra sugar - and not the pure out-of-the-ground sugar but usually something ending in -ose (like dextrose) that was created in a lab.

4) FALSE: Products that claim to contain “real fruit” may only have a few drops of the real thing. There is no law requiring how much real fruit must be in the product.

5) TRUE: Any food that contains 0.5 grams or less of a nutrient can be listed as zero grams on the nutrition facts label. This can add up to a lot of harm trans fats if we are eating packaged foods throughout the day.

6) TRUE: Keep in mind that if a product says “contains whole grains” but there aren’t any grains listed until the bottom of the list, then you know it doesn’t contain much of it.

7) FALSE: We tend to go a little overboard in this country when something is revealed as good for us rather than depending on Mother Nature. For example, after folic acid was added to flour in Chile, one study showed an increase in colon cancer. When in doubt, eat unfortified foods that occur in nature.

#8 TRUE: Be aware that manufacturers won’t necessarily call their processed flours “refined” on the label. Anything that is listed as corn, rice, wheat, or oat flour IS processed and refined unless it specifically tells you that it is “whole”.

This Granola Bar recipe was developed by my cousin, Sonya. She is a kindergarten teacher who is passionate about sharing her knowledge about nutrition with her small students. This recipe is a winner with both adults and kids. The more foods we prepare at home, the more we know exactly what we are putting into our bodies.

Sonya’s Homemade Granola Bars

3 cups whole oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour (or any flour - we use corn flour for a gluten-free option)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1/3 vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CUSTOMIZE: 1/4 cup raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, or anything else you want to add to your bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. If you’re short on time and dishes, add the wet ingredients directly to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Otherwise, combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the dry. Transfer the mixture to a  a lightly oiled 9×13 pan. Use a spatula to firmly press the mixture into the pan. Bake for 25 minutes, until brown and firm. Remove from oven and cool. Cut into squares. Eat or freeze. Enjoy!

Recipe by Sonya Jassen Basseri

A few months ago, I was teaching my students how to poach eggs. The water was taking awhile to boil but that didn’t stop them from pestering me every couple of minutes - can we go? Now? NOW? I finally turned to them and calmly explained that you can’t rush nature. It’s a matter of physics - the water will boil when it’s ready.

The same goes for our bodies. We want to instantly look like the chiseled woman or man advertising exercise equipment or diet pills. Yet, once again, we can’t rush nature. In order to poach eggs, create a delicious, nutritious meal from scratch or get into shape, there is only one way to go about it: time and effort.

I recently spoke  with someone who offers therapy at a wellness company. She pointed out that long-term lifestyle changes aren’t just about working out and dieting. It’s also about changing our self-identification. Eventually, we need to shift the way we perceive ourselves - to go from identifying with being a fast-food eater to a person who likes taking long walks and roasted cauliflower. Clearly, this won’t happen overnight!  But in order to get there, we often have to fake it ’til we make it.

There’s been an urban myth that it takes around 21-28 days to form a new habit. A new study revealed that it takes on average 66 days to create a new habit. The researchers found that:

“When we want to develop a relatively simple habit like eating a piece of fruit each day or taking a 10 minute walk, it could take us over two months of daily repetitions before the behaviour becomes a habit. And, while this research suggests that skipping single days isn’t detrimental in the long-term, it’s those early repetitions that give us the greatest boost in automaticity.”

Becoming fit takes time. Go easy on yourself and create one new healthy habit at a time:

Start with goals that are small and realistic. If your goal is to start dinner with a salad, make sure you are well stocked with lettuce, veggies, and your favorite dressing.  Chop the vegetables on Sunday night. Do as much as possible to make the change a SUCCESSFUL one.

ADD something in instead of TAKING something out. When we try to avoid something, it just becomes more enticing. Instead of denying the body, feed it frequently with tasty, nutritious snacks and meals. The vending machine will have less power if you aren’t starving.

Work with your cravings. I love salty and crunchy foods, especially at night.  Instead of trying to deny myself (impossible), I make fresh popcorn. If you have a sweet tooth, invest in dried mango or papaya or keep small bars of high-quality dark chocolate around. The trick is to shift to healthier versions of your favorite foods and eat them in small quantities - not to eliminate them altogether.

Create a calendar. It sounds silly but adults respond to positive reinforcement as much as kids do. Get a calendar dedicated to your new habits. Mark off the days that you accomplish them. When you hit 30 days in a row for a new habit, reward yourself with something other than food: a massage, a pedicure, or a new work-out outfit. Or, instead, you can start putting money in your New Habits jar and save up for a vacation. The key is to make the process fun and rewarding.

Find support through friends or online. One writer is documenting her goal of “eating like an adult” at Slate.com.  Or, perhaps the website, SparkPeople.com is more your style. Whatever helps you make the shift - as long as it’s a site that promotes slow changes and healthful eating habits (and not extreme dieting or other unhealthy strategies).

New habits are uncomfortable at first but after awhile, they will begin to feel “normal.” Try adding a delicious protein-packed smoothie to your morning routine. By balancing your blood sugar in the morning, you won’t be as hungry throughout the day and will make better food choices. Make it the night before and store it in a to-go cup if you’re always in a rush!

Very Berry & Creamsicle Smoothies

2 cups vanilla yogurt
¾ cup orange juice
2 medium bananas, peeled and broken into large pieces
1 cup frozen strawberries OR ¾ cup frozen blueberries

For Creamsicle Smoothies: use 1 cup of ice instead of frozen berries
Optional: ground flax seed, protein powder, bee pollen, leafy greens

Add all the ingredients to a blender and purée until very smooth. Serve
immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to two days.

COOKING TIPS:
-You can use fresh berries when they are in season. Just make sure that you add a frozen ingredient such as ice or a frozen banana, so that the smoothie will become frothy like a milkshake.
-Replace the orange juice with pineapple juice for a tropical version.
-It’s best to avoid non-fat yogurts since they often contain added sugars. Instead, use low-fat or whole milk yogurt for this recipe.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Serves: 3-4
Recipes from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids by Julie Negrin © 2010

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” - Mark Twain

Do you want an easy-to-prepare dessert that everyone loves? Do you need a gluten-free dish? If you’re hosting, would you like a fun activity at your party that both kids and adults will enjoy? Never fear! I have the perfect solution - that’s both delicious (and nutritious).

Chocolate-dipped strawberries are always a hit - and you can make them the day before and simply store them in a large tupperware and place wax paper in between each layer. If you are hosting a party and overwhelmed at the idea of cooking for a lot of guests, you can still offer a sophisticated table of food by simply getting creative.

Borrow a couple of fondue pots (or follow my directions below and use the stove), melt some cheese in one and chocolate in the other. For the cheese fondue dippers, keep it simple and offer cubed sourdough bread and vegetables like blanched cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. I recommend purchasing some high-quality cheese for your fondue.

Berries aren’t exactly seasonal right now but the beauty of a Fondue Party is that you can dip pretty much anything into chocolate. For the chocolate fondue, you can offer kiwi or bananas slices, pineapple chunks, pear or apple slices, and of course, strawberries. It’s an excellent way to get some fruit into kids during this sugary time of year. However, the kids (and adults for that matter) might also enjoy graham crackers and pretzels too.

Place some more cheese, olives, and grapes on the table surrounding the fondue pots and everyone will comment on what a spectacular host/hostess you are - when you hardly did a thing in the kitchen!

This recipe is from my cookbook - enjoy and HAPPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Dipping food into melted chocolate is always an exciting activity! When making this recipe with kids, make sure that you keep the chocolate cool enough for their little fingers to touch but not so cold that it hardens.

30 medium-sized strawberries
6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or non-hydrogenated margarine
1 tablespoon corn syrup

KIDS 2 and up: Wash and dry the strawberries. Make sure that the berries are completely dry or the
chocolate will not adhere to them. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

ADULTS: In the top of a double boiler that you’ve set over simmering water, stir the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove the chocolate from the heat but leave the water simmering in case the chocolate starts to harden and you need to re-heat it. If you’re worried about small kids touching a still-warm pan, you can transfer the chocolate to a cool dish.

KIDS 2 and up: Hold each strawberry by its stem and dip it ¾ of the way into the chocolate. Swirl it and shake off excess chocolate. Place the chocolate-dipped strawberry on the baking sheet lined with waxed paper and repeat with the rest of the strawberries. They can harden in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Cooking Tips:
-It’s best if the strawberries are at room temperature rather than cold.
-If you don’t have a double boiler (which is necessary since the chocolate will burn if put directly over heat), simply place a metal bowl on top of a saucepan or put a small saucepan inside another larger saucepan. Alternatively, you can microwave the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until it is melted.
-“Simmering” means a few small bubbles are barely breaking the surface.
-This recipe can be prepared up to 1-2 days before serving – just store the strawberries in the
refrigerator and remove 30 minutes before serving.

Kid Tips:
-If your kids want to create designs, melt some white chocolate, dip a spoon in, and swirl designs onto the chocolate-dipped strawberries. Or, they can dip the chocolate-dipped strawberries in sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes (plus 1 hour for hardening)
Yields: 30 strawberries
Recipe from Easy Meals to Cook with Kids by Julie Negrin © 2010

Just thinking about eating melted cheese makes my stomach hurt so I don’t have my own recipe for it - however, this Cheese Fondue recipe on the Food Network looks like a winner. Check it out and have fun!

I love cooking for parties - but it’s taken a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do it without becoming a stress case. I also picked up a lot of great tips from the wonderful chef instructors I worked with in New York. The key is to be as organized as possible:

Choose the right recipes for entertaining. When searching for holiday recipes, look for dishes that can made ahead of time and easily reheated. Soups, grain and pasta salads, and many appetizers like hummus, bean dips, tzatziki, and tapenade taste better the day after they are made.

Talk to your host/hostess. If you are a guest at someone’s house, always ask your host what you should bring so there aren’t 15 pies for dessert (true story: I made 2 homemade pies – Pecan Pie and Apple Pie and when I arrived there were literally another dozen pies brought by guests). And make sure that your dish transports well and won’t be difficult to reheat if the oven is occupied. Better yet, bring something that can be served at room temperature.

Plan ahead. If you commit to making or bringing a certain dish, make sure you have a great recipe already on hand and the ingredients are easy to find. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had frantic friends emailing me for recipes at the last minute - it’s much more fun to cook when you’ve already taken care of the homework.

Shop and cook on different days. I rarely shop and cook on the same day - the only ingredients I’ll pick up at the last minute are items like fresh herbs, fish, or berries. I like to get all of my shopping out of the way as early as possible. I’ll buy pantry items a week ahead of time and gradually finish the rest of my shopping as my “Cooking Day” approaches. This strategy also means you’ll save money because you will have time to look around for the best prices. During Thanksgiving week, I try to avoid going to the grocery store after Monday.

Keep it simple. Even the most accomplished cooks get frazzled on the holidays. So, whether you’re a gourmet chef or novice cook, pick recipes that you are familiar with and that are easy to prepare. There are plenty of delicious dishes that rely on flavorful fall ingredients rather than complicated cooking techniques. Pick something that you’ll have a good time preparing - your guests will taste your enjoyment.

Find a sous chef. There are days where I really enjoy cooking alone and other times, I prefer company. It’s a great excuse to get together with a friend and be productive at the same time.

And for those of you who have guests who don’t eat poultry, check out Kim O’Donnel’s new cookbook, The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook!

This is my fourth week with them, and thankfully, they are starting to trust me. Timmy, however, is  still pretty resistant to eating anything unfamiliar. This is common for this age group - except that also he tells me and the class over and over again that he isn’t going to eat whatever we are making. Or, on this particular afternoon, he starts begging me for plain pasta. I tell him we are making Pumpkin Pasta, not plain pasta. He doesn’t relent. I persevere. We are in a stand-off. Who will be more stubborn? I will, of course. That’s my job.

After they prepare the pumpkin puree, I dump the cooked pasta directly into the pumpkin bowl so that there is no plain pasta left. I sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. They start eating and there is silence. This is a group of 5-6 year olds. They are never silent. And yet, this week, everyone of them sits quietly while they eat their pasta - even Timmy.

A lot of parents of my students ask me how I get kids to eat new foods. Here are some tricks of the trade I’ve picked up over the years:

Keep it low-key. I recommend offering something new once or twice and then walking away. No begging, negotiating, or bribery. I will often put the new food on the edge of their plate so that they are exposed to it. I ask them to try one bite and if they don’t like it they don’t have to eat the rest. Then I walk away.

Take advantage of peer pressure. Introduce new foods when they are around adventurous eaters. This works well when they start elementary school because they want to fit in with their friends.

Be firm and clear - and stick to your guns. This is really important but can be hard to implement. Create meal time rules and stand by them - even if your kids are older now. One friend of mine, whose children are 9 and 6, recently stopped cooking multiple meals but allows each child to pick dinner once per week. Whatever you do, be consistent.

Have high expectations and don’t pander. The food industry has done an excellent job of convincing us that kids will only eat their expensive, highly processed kiddie food. If that were the case, our species would have died out long before Lunchables were invented! The children of chefs are perfect examples of not pandering. Chefs expect their children to eat sophisticated foods and the kids respond to that expectation.

Model good eating habits. Be exuberant about your love for a healthy dish. And if you’re a picky adult eater, then make it a project to try new dishes with your kids - a team effort.  Remember that they will eventually eat like you. It might be when they are 7, 12, or even 18 but eventually, they will mimic you.

Use reverse psychology. If they don’t want to eat something, I will often say, “Awesome, that means more for me!” and pop it into my mouth and go on and on about how good it is. You know how your kids only want to play with a toy when a visiting friend shows interest in it? Kind of like that.

Treat them like a chef. Obviously, I suggest cooking with kids - but I also advise having conversations about food, discussing which vegetables look interesting at the market, and asking them if a dish needs to be tweaked. I take them very seriously and they respond in kind. When I ask them if a dish needs more garlic, salt, pepper, etc., they nod and think about it and then declare which ingredient they want more of. They are brilliant chefs. They don’t doubt their creativity. I love it.

I have to give you this famous Pumpkin Pie Pasta recipe now, right? We also made the Crunchy Roasted Pepitas in class which were a huge hit too.

P U M P K I N  P I E  P A S T A
Try adding some protein like chicken or white beans for a more balanced meal.

1 pound of bow ties
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½-1 cup canned pumpkin puree
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
ground black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
½ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the pasta and basil. Heat the butter a little if necessary. Set aside.

Cook paste until al dente. Drain pasta well and immediately add to sauce bowl. Sprinkle with basil and toss. Serve at once with extra parmesan.

Recipe by Jacquie Grinberg, adapted from Joie Warner’s No-Cook Pasta Sauces
For information on how to cook with kids, check out my new book, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, available via my website.

I also researched and prepared a list of trick-or-treat products that you can pass out on Sunday. You can find the list on my recent blog post, “Healthy Treats For Your Little Ghouls And Goblins,” on the SavvyAuntie.com website. You can satisfy the urge to spoil the kids in your life while also feeling good about what you’re giving to growing bodies.

R E C I P E S - a little salty, a little sweet:

Crunchy Roasted Pepitas
I had these at a party recently and they were delicious - almost ADDICTIVE. They will satisfied the urge to munch and distract you from less healthy offerings. You can usually find pepitas near the nuts in the grocery store - yet they are safe for kids with nut allergies.

1 cup large raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne (optional)

ADULTS ONLY: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.

KIDS 2 and UP: Toss the seeds with the olive oil on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and large enough to hold them in a single layer. Spread in an even layer.

ADULTS ONLY: Roast the seeds in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately toss the seeds with the coriander, salt, dill, pepper, and cayenne, if using. Let cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a small serving dish or two and serve. (If you’re working ahead, refresh the pepitas for a minute or two in the oven before serving).

Recipe by Leslie Revsin (with a little adapting) from the Fine Cooking website

Mrs. West’s Pumpkin Cookies
My friend Jackie Topol was given this recipe by her kindergarten teacher and has been making them every year since - clearly a winning recipe! She sometimes refers to them as “scookies” because they are similar to a scone - somewhere between a cake texture and a cookie. Although there is sugar and butter in this recipe, rest assured, it’s best if we eat treats that contain “real” foods that the body recognizes and avoid processed ingredients as much as possible.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and/or pumpkin spice (or a mixture of both)
Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

ADULTS ONLY: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

KIDS 2 and UP: Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Drop small spoonfuls, one by one, onto greased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper).

ADULTS ONLY: Bake for for 15 minutes.

The latest out of DC: “The Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recommended that the U.S. Department of Agriculture stop participants of the federal Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, from buying potatoes with federal dollars. The institute also called for the USDA-backed school lunch program to limit use of potatoes.”

This is a perfect example of how far off-track our relationship to food has become in this country. We have this massive crisis (obesity), water bursting through dikes from every direction and we focus on one small area - which may or may not be an actual problem. We’ve been doing this for years - with fat, sugars, and most recently, salt. Maybe we need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Is it the potato (or fat, or salt) that is the problem - or something else?

After carefully evaluating the obesity epidemic for more than fifteen years, I have developed a few theories about what caused this flood in the first place. One of them is the enormous amount of additives and preservatives (a.k.a. chemicals) in our diets. A Princeton University study showed that high frutcose may cause more weight gain than table sugar, even when calorie intake is the same. Several years ago, studies showed that people drinking diet soda were MORE likely to gain weight. I do realize that any writer can find a few studies to prove a theory - but it can not be denied that our waistlines have been expanding alongside our use of chemicals in our food system.

Of course, there is more to it than chemicals - an epidemic of this size is going to have multiple causes. However, I think it’s safe to say that the potato is not a major player. I suppose I can see why people would see it as one. Potatoes are often converted into deep-fried products. However, there is a big difference between products made with processed ingredients and cooking a whole potato from scratch. Much of the food, including potatoes, served in school lunches are made with additives similar to what is served in fast food restaurants. I took the above photo of a food label for Breaded Chicken Patties in an elementary school kitchen. The list of ingredients in McDonald’s french fries doesn’t look much different (it’s incredible how many preservatives are used in their menu - check it out at this link).

McDonald’s French Fries: Potatoes, canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, safflower oil, natural flavour (vegetable source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain colour), citric acid (preservative), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent) and cooked in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethypolysiloxane).

I have nothing against french fries - I just prefer to eat them without antifoaming agents and sodium acid pyrophosphate. As I mentioned in my popcorn post, making something from scratch may take a little longer but tastes infinitely better and will be much appreciated by our bodies. The following recipe has three ingredients: potatoes, oil, and salt - naturally.

Healthy Homemade French Fries
I bake the french fries in this recipe but you can also deep-fry them. It’s a lot easier and healthier to bake them and they still taste delicious. My teen students loved this recipe so much that they would eat them right off the pan. Make sure you cut the potatoes evenly so that they cook at the same rate (NOT like this photo that I bought at Istock.com). Thinner is better for this recipe so that they get crispy in the oven.

3 russet potatoes, washed and peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425º (or to 400º for convection, which is best for this recipe).

Kids 10 and up: Cut potatoes into 1/8 inch slices.

Kids 2 and up: Pat dry well to remove any extra moisture. Toss with olive oil and salt and spread out on a baking sheet lined rubbed with oil or lined with parchment paper (foil will not work with this recipe). Make sure pieces have a little room and are not piled on top of each other.

Adults only: Bake for 25-30 minutes until crispy.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
Recipe by Julie Negrin and John Scoff