Recently the Meal Makeover Moms (aka moms and registered dietitians Janice Newell Bissex and Liz Weiss) were nice enough to send me a free copy of their latest cookbook for review. With the excellent title No Whine with Dinner, the book sets out to tackle the problem of the “picky eater,” the child who tempts parents into the dreaded mac-n-cheese-hot-dog-PBJ rut just to get their kid to eat something. (And you all know how I feel about that: see my B4FD post, “Short Order Cooking and the Family Dinner: Back Away from that Peanut Butter Jar!”).
Here’s what the Meal Makeover Moms have to say about their cooking philosophy:
. . . .there are skeptics who believe feeding kids a healthy diet is a lost cause. Others believe that adding pureed vegetables in everything from brownies to the breading on chicken nuggets is the best way to get more nutrition into kids’ diets. Our approach is more optimistic and revolves around the simple premise that kids will eat an array of nutritious foods – colorful fruits and vegetables, hearty whole grains, seafood, and even beans, if — and here’s the catch – they are presented in a way that appeals to their senses. The way a food crunches, how it smells, and the way it looks can make or break a child’s willingness to try it. Presentation is key.
I let my kids thumb through the book and the breakfast and snack sections seemed to get them most excited. Here are photos of some of the many dishes we made. The Peter Pumpkin-Eater Waffles in particular have been a godsend to me — I now regularly make a double batch and freeze them for busy mornings:
(L-R top: Nest Eggs, Peter Pumpkin-Eater Waffles; Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars; Bottom: Pumpkin Pancakes (we were on a crazy pumpkin run, clearly!); a Nest Egg in progress; Apple-icious Oatmeal Bake (my kids didn’t love this dish but I adored it – I’ve made it since just for myself).]
And here’s what my 11-year-old daughter had to say about some of the items we made:
Me: What was your favorite thing we made?
Daughter: I guess I loved the pumpkin waffles the best. They taste great when they come right out of the waffle maker, but you can freeze them, then microwave them up for any morning and they’ll still be delicious! I especially liked them with ginger syrup!
Me: Do you want to say something about some of the other things we ate?
Daughter:
[Nest Eggs] I loved this recipe! Its really good, and you can have it for breakfast or snack, and I love dipping the extra “hole” of bread in olive oil! [The olive oil was my daughter’s “gourmet” addition to the recipe.]
[Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars] When I first had these, I thought they were dessert. They’re so good! It would be awesome with nuts.
[Grab-and-Go Granola Bars (not pictured)] At first, I thought these looked like bird food with all the nuts and seeds. but when we added white chocolate chips, they are so amazing! [The recipe called for chocolate chips but I only had white on hand – a big hit, clearly.]
The book totally delivers on its promise of offering lots of streamlined, kid-friendly but nutritious recipes for all meals of the day, as well as snacks, beverages, meatless meals and slow cooker options. And I liked the fact that the Meal Makeover Moms build in solid nutrition with ingredients like wheat germ, flax seeds, whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, but they’re also willing to include reasonable amounts of butter, sugar and white flour when called for. The result is a nice balance between kid-acceptability and parent approval.
My only critique – and it’s not really a critique, in the end – is that the dinner entrees seemed targeted to a younger audience in the sense that they go very easy on spices and other potentially challenging flavors. For example, my ethnic-food-obsessed gang might want a little more kick from their pad thai or enchiladas than the book’s recipes provide. But the whole point, of course, is easing less adventurous kids into exploring new dishes, and that’s just what the book does so well.
I want to thank the Meal Makeover Moms for the opportunity to cook from and review the book — and for also providing a free copy to one lucky TLT reader! Just leave a comment on this post — any comment will do – and I’ll use a random number generator at noon CST tomorrow (Wednesday, November 16th) to select the winner.
Good luck!
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Caron says
Love learning about how to make healthier meals for my kids! Thanks for all your tips and insight.
Lauren M says
I think this book would even be helpful for ADULTS who are picky eaters, which I’m not ashamed to say that I am!
Heather says
Would love to win this book. Fortunately my kids are not very picky eaters. They love to cook with me and we could use some new ideas!
Timmi says
I have tried so many things for my daughter, so I’m always willing to give something new a shot, and Lauren you’re so right, I am not a huge fan of veggies and basically force myself to eat them cause I know they are best and I have to set examples…
Heather says
My daughter was always fussy. Now she’s a vegetarian an finding food she likes to eat is a nightmare.
Rosemary Evergreen says
It’s not my daughter who is the picky eater – it’s my husband! But we could all use more ideas for increasing vegetable intake.
Amy H says
I love it that the authors don’t sneak veggies in – kids don’t learn anything about nutrition from that! The recipes sound great!
Jill H. says
Sounds like a fantastic resource!
Alissa says
Would love this book…I’m always excited about new recipes!
Mara says
This sounds like a book I need to add to my collection. With one really picky eater on board dinner is a huge challenge to bshe something that everyone will be happy with. I’ve tried the books where you hide stuff in all their foods and while some things were successful it was way too much work and didn’t fit with out fly by the seat of your pants approach to weeknight meals!
Korey says
My kids are pretty good (adventurous) eaters, but I could always use more ideas for dinner, especially on weeknights!
Nicole says
This book seems awesome. My child is so picky at times. I have no idea where she came from! I have always loved eating!
Evelyn says
sounds like it’s got a lot of new things to try! i’m always looking for new ideas that both my kids like… usually one will love it and the other hates it!!
Gina Lindsay says
All of these look great! I have found that most of the cook books I am finding for kids have endless variations of mac and cheese and other “kid” foods. Its great to see a book that goes beyond that. Thanks for the chance to win!
Amanda from Canada says
I would love to have this as a cookbook and resource on my shelf.
Kat says
Always up for new ideas! The Pumpkin Waffles sound great!
Midge Elias says
I love this review and your photos and comments. I’m sure this will be so helpful!
Midge E., Unbiased Mom
Roxanne says
I am *desperate* to get out of my current cooking rut. Send the book right over 🙂
michele says
Breakfast ideas are appreciated!
Caroline says
I have been a stay at home mother for the last 7 years. I have been cooking my fair share, I love to hear about new recipes, ideas and creations. Have a nice day!
Amanda @ Tales of an Amateur Mommy says
Wow, what an awesome looking cookbook! I would love to have something like this, my daughter is a toddler and starting to get picky about what she eats. I REFUSE to let her have hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc, so when she won’t eat her meat or veggies, she has fruit for dinner. I feel like this is still better than processed food.
Awesome review, and love how you tested it out with your daughter 🙂
Melissa brown says
I have one visually averse child. I know that if he’d simply take a bite, he’d love most of the food we serve him. I’ve been trying to simplify meals (not so fun for me, as I LOVE to cook).
Allison says
Sounds like a great resource! Thanks for the info.
Angela R. says
The grab and go granola bars would be great for when we go hiking. 🙂
Katrina says
I have been trying to cook more things (I am a beginner) and this book sounds great. I am also trying to cook more with my eldest daughter so she learns more than I did.
Kathy says
Preparing healthy meals are really not that much harder than preparing processed foods, especially if the recipes call for ingredients that are already in the fridge and pantry. Teaching your family healthy lifestyle habits will last for generations.
Melissa Sull says
I love Meal Makeover Moms’ approach to feeding kids a wide variety of healthy foods. I share the belief that kids will eat healthy meals when we make them and expose them to healthy ingredients!
Donna says
Love her philosophy. The recipes you made all sound great, especially the waffles and choc/pumpkin bars. Would love to see her dinner items.
Jessica Michelli says
Not sure if I am too late for a chance at the free cookbook, but it sounds like a great resource for ideas for my 4 and 2 year olds. We are definitely in a rut of eating the same old thing over and over.
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of “No Whine with Dinner”! The drawing closed at noon CST (comments that came in after that time were not included) and the winner is . . . Rosemary Evergreen! Yay! I’ll contact you offline to get your info. Thanks to all for participating.