Everyone has their own definition of what constitutes healthy. For some it’s lowfat or fat-free, for others it’s no sugar added or sugar free. For Jessica Seinfeld, it’s all about sneaking cooked vegetable puree in a dish. But given the fact that when you cook a vegetable it loses 80% of its nutrients and 100% of its live enzymes that make it useable for your body, I’m not sold on her book. Most of her recipes have dairy, sugar, fat and meat, all of which I think should be minimized, especially in a kid’s diet. But do as I say and not as I do. If you looked at Evan’s diet now, you would call me a hypocrite. He spent the first year of his life eating fresh, mostly organic, mostly raw whole food purees for baby food. When he started eating more solids and table foods, I still refused to give him dairy, sugar, transfat or junk food. But with the advent of preschool (birthday cupcakes, cookies and other atrocities) and a growing awareness that Daddy’s food tastes better than Mommy’s, I’ve given in and at times felt like giving up. He still gets diluted apple juice, spinach smoothies, no sugar or dairy at home if I can help it, but he his favorites are french fries, pizza and dinosaur chicken nuggets WITH SAUCE. Aiyaiyai! But anyways, when I alter a recipe, I substitute stuff and choose :
- Sugar--> apple juice concentrate, fructose, sucanat, honey, pure maple syrup
- Butter/oil--> applesauce, extra virgin organic coconut oil (very good for you), expeller-pressed safflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin grapeseed oil, flaxseeds
- Egg--> banana
- Salt--> sea salt (doesn’t affect blood pressure), dulse flakes, no-salt seasoning
- Shoyu--> Tamari, Braggs
- Milk--> soy milk, rice milk, almond milk
- ground beef--> 93% lean hamburger
- chicken--> boneless/skinless breasts
I’ll post some healthy recipes from time to time. In the recipe below, I would probably substitute carob chips and powder for the chocolate (my kids do NOT need caffeine), 1/2 the amount of fructose for the brown sugar, applesauce for the margarine, and a whole grain flour like oat, spelt, or whole wheat for the all purpose flour. You can even experiment with adding wheat germ, ground flaxseeds, oat bran and ground nuts in place of some of the flour. Have fun substituting! It's trial and error. But make sure to write down all your experiments so that you can do it again if it turns out great!
