A Tasty Tete-a-Tete: Dishing with Jessica Seinfeld

Remember your mama’s binder-bound cookbook? Sure the recipes were yummy, but healthy? Not to our 21st century sensibilities. So how much do I love Jessica Seinfeld’s new book, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food? She has answered the high calling – composing our generation’s go-to guide for healthy family meals. Of course we also discovered Jessica’s as warm and sweet as the recipes in her book!

Congratulations on the publication of Deceptively Delicious, Jessica!
How did you come up with your "delicious deception" - the use of purees?

It was a happy and life-changing accident. I was pureeing butternut squash one night for my baby and making macaroni and cheese for the rest of us, when I noticed the colors of the two meals were identical. I secretly tucked some butternut squash into the mac and cheese and served it to my family. Not only did nobody notice, everyone had a hearty meal without one complaint - and without knowing it. For the first time in a long, long time I did not have to say "Eat your vegetables!" during dinner. They were hidden inside. The added bonus was that because I did not pressure my kids to eat their veggies, they happily gobbled up the veggies that were also on the side of their plate. It just goes to show, especially with kids, the less pressure you exert, the better your results. (And a little creativity helps as well!)

Obviously, your own "Kitchen Cabinet" (children Sascha, Julian and Shepherd, and husband Jerry) provided the primary motivation to produce these innovative recipes...but are there other culinary inspirations in your past, your present?

My mother and my grandmother were both working mothers who managed to have successful careers and get a nutritious home-cooked meal on the table in less than 30 minutes. I am a working mother and I care very much what my family eats, so I had to come up with a way to do both.