Well Fed Network

Posted by Cate O’Malley on Paper Palate.

Yes, that Jessica Seinfeld.  The one married to funnyman Jerry Seinfeld.  Although a surprising new source for recipes, her first cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, just might find its way into many homes with kids, mine included.  She, like many of us, was faced with kids (Sascha, 6, Julian, 4, and Shepherd, 2) that are picky about which vegetables they will and won’t eat, so she started sneaking them in.  She recently gave a quick interview to People magazine about her new release.  Here’s what she had to say:

What inspired you?  I was making butternut squash puree for my baby and mac ‘n cheese from a box for my other kids.  I realized the colors matched exactly.  So, I added the squash to the mac ‘n cheese and they didn’t notice.  I was so excited!  I thought, “What else can I hide?”  It became an obsession.

What else do you hide?  Sweet potato in pancakes, pureed tomato in taco meat, spinach in brownies … I’ve met kids who say they hate spinach - “Eww, it’s so gross!”  I’ll give them a brownie and tell them, “That was FULL of spinach.”  They don’t know what to say.

Do you and Jerry eat what your kids eat?  I’m not making two meals a night!

Jerry Seinfeld’s eating chicken nuggets?  Yes.  I might put a little red sauce on it and some mozzarella cheese.

Do you trick him too?  I don’t have to.  Jerry’s a good eater.  Imagine if your husband was a bad eater?  That would be my worst nightmare.  But he won’t eat asparagus.

So if you snuck in some asparagus?  He would love it.  He thinks this whole thing is so much fun.  He would say, “I stand corrected.”

She was also a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show yesterday, and received high praise for her recipes from Oprah, Dr. Mehmet Oz and the audience members.  You can get some recipes and check out Jessica’s blog on Oprah’s site right here.