Maybe One of These Will Work

Ok, with Maddy not eating at school, I have got to find a way to get her to start eating healthfully at home. I saw an article in one of my magazines with Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife). She has a new cookbook coming out (October 5) called Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. The description on Amazon sounds cool. Here's a excerpt from Amazon:

As a mother of three, Jessica Seinfeld can speak for all parents who struggle to feed their kids right and deal nightly with dinnertime fiascos. As she wages a personal war against sugars, packaged foods, and other nutritional saboteurs, she offers appetizing alternatives for parents who find themselves succumbing to the fastest and easiest (and least healthy) choices available to them. Her modus operandi? Her book is filled with traditional recipes that kids love, except they're stealthily packed with veggies hidden in them so kids don't even know! With the help of a nutritionist and a professional chef, Seinfeld has developed a month's worth of meals for kids of all ages that includes, for example, pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese, and kale in spaghetti and meatballs. She also provides revealing and humorous personal anecdotes, tear–out shopping guides to help parents zoom through the supermarket, and tips on how to deal with the kid that "must have" the latest sugar bomb cereal.

But this book also contains much more than recipes and tips. By solving problems on a practical level for parents, Seinfeld addresses the big picture issues that surround childhood obesity and its long–term (and ruinous) effects on the body. With the help of a prominent nutritionist, her book provides parents with an arsenal of information related to kids' nutrition so parents understand why it's important to throw in a little avocado puree into their quesadillas. She discusses the critical importance of portion size, and the specific elements kids simply must have (as opposed to adults) in order to flourish now and in the future: protein, calcium, vitamins, and Omega 3 and 6 fats.

Another cookbook my mom saw at the bookstore recently is called The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine. There was no description on Amazon but the reviews were good.

When Maddy started school, and I mentioned the whole picky eater thing to her teacher. One said, "You'd be surprised how much they eat. It's more of a social thing." I walked out of there saying to myself... "you don't know Maddy..."

Well, here it is almost 4 weeks later, and she still hasn't eaten from 8-2:30. Ok, truthfully? She's eaten. She's eaten a couple cookies, 1/4 grilled cheese, mashed potatoes one day, and today a turkey sandwich (it was supposed to be bologna). That's it! In almost fours weeks, I can count on one hand the amount of food M has eaten at school. That's pretty bad.

I really need one of these books!