The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
by Missy Chase Lapine
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Book Summary Information
Author: Missy Chase LapineBrand: Baker and Taylor
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-04
ISBN: 0762430753
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Running Press
Book Reviews of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
Book Review: Where Have All The Parents Gone?
Summary: 5 Stars
Whether it is "Deceptively Delicious," "The Sneaky Chef," or a book from 1972 "Confessions of a Sneaking Organic Cook" - the idea is great, the authors are getting your attention and for that, DD and TSC deserve 5 stars. As a Licensed Nutritionist, I have used this concept for decades and call it "The Trojan Horse Technique" described in the book written with my coauthor, Pamela Compart, MD: The Kid-Friendly ADHA & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet." To acclimate young palates who have been rejecting the "good for you" foods, start with a small amount of puree mixed in with other well-liked flavors. I will emphasize that the ultimate goal needs to be - getting children away from the processed commercial foods and on to real organic, unaltered, natural foods.
Some of the taste rejections being reported may be due to the fact that adults and children in the US have "altered taste" perceptions due to our "deceptive and damaging" diet. To those who question the wisdom of deceiving our children by hiding healthy foods in typical foods - we are all deceived by what is in our foods. Do you know how many additives are in your foods or the sources and how they are processed? If you can not pronounce the words on the label - chances are its processed and full of additives - not all which have been thoroughly tested. Go organic - get natural - get real.
For many children, the problems of picky appetite and texture revulsions are based on sensory problems including abnormal taste perceptions - and this has become a mini-epidemic. Why? The diet most children consume is a replete with processed and refined foods rather than real foods. It includes sweets, sodas, sweetened processed yogurts, and processed flour grains which are glycemic (sugar raising). All grains - ground into flour - are glucose and can raise blood glucose twice as high as a teaspoon of sugar which is only half glucose (and half fructose). The culprits are: bagels, pasta, breads, crackers, pretzels, goldfish, cold cereals, cereal bars, instant oatmeal, and more. Unless the fiber content is 5 grams or more per slice or serving, flour grains will raise glucose easily especially if there is no good protein or other fiber food at the meal.
When glucose rises too high, too quickly - excess insulin is released which drives the glucose down too low and too fast creating hunger (within a few hours) for more "quick fix foods". Some of the glucose is converted by insulin to triglycerides (fats) which are carried on the LDL cholesterol and raise total cholesterol. Triglcyeride fats are also stored around the middle (belly fat). Sugars and refined flours turn to fat!
The term "whole grain bread" is an oxymoron. Once the grain is ground, it is no longer whole. White flour and wheat flour are all from the same whole grain. When more of the nutrition in the grain and fiber is retained, there is better nutrition - but the glucose rise is similar - too high! This sets the stage for early diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. When insulin is over utilized, there is depletion of zinc (which is part of the insulin molecule). Zinc is responsible for taste and taste perception as well as sensory development and function; skin health; immunity; amino acid utilization; vitamin A metabolism and vision function; toxic metal metabolism; and digestive enzyme functions.
Low zinc results in abnormal taste ability and perceptions. Perception is reality. There is a loss of ability to taste the subtle good flavors in vegetables and other natural foods. Some even perceive the taste as horrible. Hence the most common sign of low zinc is a loss of appetite (even revulsion) for "good for you" foods. Some children will decline into consuming only the "white diet". They are constantly hungry for the "quick fix" foods and often irritable. They cry and tantrum when they don't get what they want. They are also more likely to experience other zinc deficiency consequences: allergies, ear infections, respiratory infections, and skin problems (eczema, dermatitis). As the deficiency increases, there can be low tone and language delays.
When parents of typically developing children tell me that their child did well on baby food and loved vegetables, but when they tried regular (typically cereal type ) foods, appetite changed and they started rejecting vegetables. Some of it may be that they are not ready for certain textures, but most is due to the inferior quality of the food being served. "Now they will only eat nuggets, fries and macaroni and cheese or jelly sandwiches." I challenge the parents. "Show me a child with an independent income, driver's license and keys to the car. They eat what you feed them." And then parents wonder why their kids will not eat the diet that has been the core human diet for over 2 million years. Here is the core human diet: seafood, poultry, meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and more recently in the last 10,000 years - organic non-homogenized unaltered whole milk products; properly cooked legumes/beans; and whole grains as real oatmeal, cream of wheat, kasha, brown rice, wild rice, tabulleh etc. Your children are what they eat and you are responsible for what they get to eat. The next book will have a chapter called "Where Have All the Parents Gone?"
Families that move to the US and keep their cultural diets, and avoid fast foods and processed foods - have children who eat a wide variety of wholesome whole foods. All children can have this advantage. Throw out the sodas (diet and regular) - they deplete nutrients. Use water, seltzer water, dilute juice, and vegetable juice. It starts with breakfast. The first food and drink of the day, sets the glucose standard for the day. Throw out the instant and processed cold cereals. Breakfast (and every meal) must have good protein and high fiber foods: eggs (which are healthy for you); real oatmeal or cream of wheat; real yogurt with granola and frozen blueberries; hearty soups or stews w/ chicken and lentils plus some fruit; leftovers from a healthy dinner. If you use pancakes - make them with added protein powder, pureed vegetables/fruits and added fiber and use them as part of the meal. If your child eats only three foods, start with the protein food he will eat first: chicken nuggets (organic are better) + fruit or a cheese sandwich with thin high protein bread + fruit. If they love spaghetti - serve it but limit the noodles and expand the tomato meat sauce by adding pureed meat and vegetables to the sauce. Add Benefiber to vegetable fruit juices (V8Fusion, Vruit). Consult a Licensed Dietition Nutritionist for supplement advice. Start somewhere. Your child's life and health depend upon it and as Pamela Compart says "there are no breakfast police."
Dana Laake, RDH, MS, LDN
Licensed Nutritionist
"The Kid-Friendly, ADHD & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet"
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Summary of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
Parents will do almost anything to get their kids to eat healthier, but unfortunately, they?ve found that begging, pleading, threatening, and bribing don?t work. With their patience wearing thin, parents will “give in? for the sake of family peace, and reach for “kiddie? favorites-often nutritionally inferior choices such as fried fish sticks, mac n? cheese, Pop-sicles, and cookies. Missy Chase Lapine, former publisher of Eating Well magazine, faced the same challenges with her two young daughters, and she sought a solution. Now in The Sneaky Chef, Lapine presents over 75 recipes that ingeniously disguise the most important superfoods inside kids? favorite meals. With the addition of a few simple make-ahead purees or clever replacements, (some may surprise you!) parents can pack more fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants in their kids? foods. Examples of “Sneaky? recipes include: No Harm Chicken Parm Power Pizza Incognito Burritos Guerilla Grilled Cheese Brainy Brownies Health-by-Chocolate Cookies Quick fixes for Jell-O(R)
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