Suburban Reviews

If you haven’t been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard about Jessica Seinfeld’s book, Deceptively Delicious by now. Oprah raved about it, and thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, I got a chance to check it out as well! 

Not too often do celebrity wives venture into the cookbook arena, particularly about cooking for kids. What makes this book stand out however, is her feeling that it doesn’t matter how you get your kids to eat right, so long as you get the veggies into them. The concept of the cookbook is taking vegetables, pureeing them, and slipping them into foods you wouldn’t normally expect.

The book itself is very pretty and well put-together. There is a very retro feel to it, with the colors, patterns, and illustrations all done in a way that reminds you of a 1960’s home economics textbook. The book takes you step by step through the process of preparing your kitchen, including what pans and cooking tools you’ll need. Next you’ll find a section on making your veggie purees. This section is very thorough, and broken down into very easy to follow steps. Finally, there is a section on the nutrition of various fruits and vegetables used before you get to the actual recipes.

The recipes cover everything from breakfast to dessert.  To her credit, most of the foods are made to be very kid-friendly. You’ll find plenty of recipes for things like chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, french toast, and even homemade ketchup, all containing hidden veggies like broccoli, carrots, and cauliflour.

I have to say, something about this book bugs me. Deceptively Delicious seems…well, rather deceptive. Kids can take up to 15 times of trying a food before they will like it enough to eat it, so I have a hard time working out how they will learn to like a food they can’t tell is even there? And as far as sneaking in nutrition, I am not sure a half cup of sweet potato added to a dish large enough for 3-5 people is going to add very much. I realize every bit counts, but is that tablespoon of potato per serving really worth all the trouble?

After giving this a lot of thought, I think the energy would have been better focused on finding different ways of preparing the vegetables to make them more appealing to kids on their own merit, not because they are hidden and undetectable. Just because a child eats broccoli hidden in brownies or chicken nuggets does not mean they will be any less likely to turn up their nose at it when served in a form they recognize.

I think Deceptively Delicious is worth checking out as a healthy cookbook for kids, but I wouldn’t expect to use the idea as a way of getting a full 3-5 servings of veggies a day into them.  As a way to get in a little extra, it’s worth checking out.

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