In case you didn’t hear, our very own Kelly was featured in the new release “Feeding Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Program for Healthy, Safe Nutrition” by Alan Greene, M.D.  I love a good book on nutrition, particularly nutrition for little ones.  I’m the
mom who has on more than one occasion served ice cream as dinner (and breakfast and lunch - though not all on the same day).  I didn’t grow up in a household where nutrition was part of the discussion for creating family meals.  Nutrition took a backseat to flavor.  So I am in awe of moms like Kelly who can combine good nutrition with good tasting food.  Here the ice cream serving mom picks at the brain of the Martha Stewart mom.

Kelly, first off congrats on being included in the book!  Can you share a bit more about the philosophy you wrote about in the book?

Dr.  Greene has a great way of encouraging families to try new things  early on so that your child will be a more well-rounded eater.   I feel similarly, and wrote about how easy it can be to do that with  what you already are cooking.

How did your own upbringing influence your approach to food with  your family?

Growing up my father was a very picky eater, and my mom  a very bland cook.  For many, many years we were raised as  vegetarians.  When I went out into the world and started trying so  many new things I knew that I wanted my children to be far more  adventurous with their food.  Food then became more of a passion of  mine, and I’ve found my children want to be part of my hobbies.

You are a mom of three and run your own business.  How do you find the time to make nutritious meals?

Some weeks and months I balance it  pretty well.  I’m a big fan of pre-chopping lots of vegetables on  grocery shopping day.  I also batch cook, I try and get four or five  meals done at a time on a day or evening off.  I also have phases of  making the best choices that I can in the Trader Joes Frozen Food  section.

Make me feel better.  Do you ever do take out?

Of course!  My  husband and I love to eat out, and so do our children.  What is  different about our take out is that my children
will ask for  California Rolls, or a Burrito, or their current favorite (although  not terribly nutritious) Boneless Buffalo Wings.

How do you involve your kids in the cooking process?  Do they all naturally love to be in the kitchen?

Our play area, dining room,  and kitchen are all open to each other.  You pretty much have to be  part of my cooking!  I spend a great deal of time at our little  Island area where I can see the other rooms.  From early on the kids  have always helped cook.  Caden’s knife skills were really strong by  three years old, and recently I started teaching him about ways to  dice onions.  He enjoys the methodology in baking, and the exact  measurements of things.  Abi is all about watching things mix up.   She also finds it incredibly interesting to talk about where things  have come from, and how they get to the plate. Emilia just wants to  try
everything, so she does!

What are your top three crowd pleasing  recipes that are surprisingly healthy?

I asked my husband the other day what his favorite meal in house is, and he told me that I never make the same thing twice so it is hard to name a favorite!  I’m always on the search for something new!  A simple one in our house right now is Baked Eggplant Pizzas.  I bake breaded eggplant, put a little tomato sauce on top and then cover in cheese.  The kids make them it themselves
right at the table.  We pretend like the eggplant is pizza crust.  Super easy to make ahead of time and freeze too! My pasta sauce is an adaptation of Shannon’s and that is always on hand at our house.  I use tomatoes, pureed sweet potato, pureed carrots,
cannelini beans and cheese.  After is has simmered for an hour I puree it all down.  The kids never think twice about it.

Since it has gotten so cold recently we are eating a lot of soup.  Kids love soup, and so do parents.  Soup is so easy to throw a lot into with no one complaining.  Just yesterday I made a lovely Winter Squash Soup.  The hint with this soup is letting the
kids use day old bread, or croutons for texture.  (Check back tomorrow for this tasty recipe!)

Aside from Dr. Greene’s book, what other food/nutrition books do you recommend for parents?  Or for the time starved, what websites are a good reference? I’m addicted to the Annabel Karmel books.  I also use RecipeZaar.com almost every day.  What I love about it is the nutritional information on the left.  I know my children need lots of healthy fats in their diet, but their parents don’t.  If you can’t figure out why food is important to your little one I think a parent should read NDD (Nutritional Deficit Disorder) written by Dr. Sears.  Although, I can’t say my kids would drink any of his shakes. (Carla says: Surprisingly, my toddler loves green shakes or any kind of healthy shake, so worth a try!)

Now that Bellani has it’s own published foodie expert, when can we pick your brain again? Speed dial in the kitchen?  Facebook message?  Text on demand?

You can call me at home but I won’t be able to hear you over my children.  If you have a food-related question a great place to ask is either on the blog or facebook.  You will be amazed how many parents have the same questions, posting in a public way
you will not only get my answer, but usually a parent or two can chime in as well!  Another fabulous way to learn a great deal more is to sign up for one of our Baby Food  Making Workshops. The next class for families who want to learn more about First Foods  is January 21st at 6 pm.  For families who want to dig a little deeper, we have a Beyond  Avocado group meeting on February 25th at 6pm.

Thank you, Kelly, for letting us into your kitchen!  Be sure to check back tomorrow for the soup recipe!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.