family Tag

Three salmon filets on a baking sheet prepped for cooking

How to Meal Plan in 15 Minutes a Week

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

The only right way to meal plan is the way that works for you. If you're looking for a method to try, here's my strategy for meal planning in about 15 minutes a week. I've always loved the idea of letting what's available at the farmer's...

Two glasses of Strawberry Watermelon Agua-Frescas

3 Easy Fruit Smoothies

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

A few summers ago I developed 75 smoothie and juice recipes for my cookbook Smoothie-licious. Since I was working at Parents during the week I primarily tested recipes over the weekends, sometimes making 4 or 5 smoothie recipes a day. I blended, we sipped, discussed,...

Family Recipe: Coconut Curry Mussels

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This may sound shocking, but I believe that mussels are the ultimate kid-friendly food. How fun is it to scoop your dinner out of seashells? Parents also like them because they’re high in protein and iron and almost shockingly inexpensive. They're also a sustainable seafood, so it's...

Wicked Fun Halloween Snacks (That Aren’t Sugar Bombs)

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

Kids LOVE Halloween. Candy! Costumes! What's not to like? I love it too, but what I'm not crazy about is the fact that if kids go to a party or two before the main event, they likely eat so much candy that they crash before they even start trick-or-treating. My solution is to try, try, try to feed Rosa something semi-nourishing before she pounds the pavement. It doesn't need to be a salad, for heaven's sake, just something that isn't 99% sugar. That's why I love the Halloween food in the October issue of parents. It's super-cool looking, but still healthy-ish. Think Turkey Meatball Eyeballs, a Spider Cheese Ball, and Hummus Haunted House Sandwiches (all developed by the very talented Genevieve Ko!).

The Summer Recipe You Should Make ASAP

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

I admit that I am a fair weather Greenmarket shopper. Each year I sit out December-April, then head back in May for the promise of asparagus and, eventually strawberries. By summer I am a farmer's market fanatic. I love seeing how the market's offerings change week by week, with strawberries disappearing in late June (boo) about the same time peaches make their appearance (yay). Blueberries and zucchini arrive, then corn, and finally in August tomatoes and bell peppers. But for me peaches are queen. Ask me my favorite fruit, and I'll say a juicy, fragrant peach. The best peaches are only around for about six weeks, just a fraction of the year, so I buy many and eat them any which way I can. One of my favorite preparations is this gorgeous peach salsa. Fruit salsas are a staple at our house all year 'round. I love how they can add a punch of acid and sweet to a savory dish; I've found this sweet/savory combination especially appealing to kids. In fact, I included a recipe for Tropical Pork Tenderloin with a mango and red pepper salsa in Real Baby Food. But in the summer it's all about peaches. Last weekend I prepared this salsa at a book signing/demo at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket.

In action at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

My Top 5 Family Cookbooks

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

It's no secret that I am an avid declutterer. Rosa's everyday artwork is not long for this world, and if I feel so-so about a shirt it's quickly pitched into the donation pile. But cookbooks are another story. Gosh, I just love them. I could stand in the cookbook section of a bookstore for hours, just taking in the jacket art and flipping through the pages. My desk at Parents is lined with stacks of cookbooks, and I've piled about 20 into a makeshift standing desk. At home guests frequently comment on the fact that cookbooks almost completely dominate our bookshelves. I use cookbooks for reference, for inspiration, and of course for cooking. But there are a few that see the most action on a day-to-day basis. I thought I'd share my five favorite family cookbooks in the hopes that you'll find inspiration in one too. First, what is a family cookbook anyway? Here is my easy definition: it's a cookbook I use to cook for my family. Some are officially targeted towards families or kids; others aren't. None are for "kid food", though, a concept I'm wary of to begin with. Without further ado, my (current) five favorite family cookbooks:

3 Ways to Power Up Breakfast

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In the May issue of Parents I share 22 ways to break out of your breakfast rut, from awesome add-ins for eggs to easy make-ahead options. I loved making this list, but let’s just say I didn’t always practice what I preached. Weekday breakfasts can be…uninspired. At least at my house. At least until recently. Rosa lives for breakfast; in fact most days I think it’s the only reason she gets out of bed. On the weekends her go-to breakfast is an egg on a bagel along with whatever smoothie I’m blending up that morning. On weekdays, for the longest time, she just ate cereal for breakfast. We’d alternate between Cracklin’ Oat Bran (her all-time fave—mine too!) and some other relatively low-sugar option. But for the last few months I’ve been making more of an effort, mostly because breakfast is a great opportunity to add extra nutrition to your child’s (and your) diet. Some breakfast is better than no breakfast, of course. But we can do better than that. Here are three easy ways to power up breakfast:

Sunny-side up eggs in tomato sauce in a skillet

An Easy Egg Recipe for Dinner

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

This is my favorite easy egg recipe; it's so simple--just four ingredients!--that it's a mainstay on my dinner rotation. We are crazy for eggs at my house and always have been. Whether it's two eggs scrambled for breakfast, a hard-boiled egg in a lunch-box, or a...

I’ve Given Up

Posted in Blog by Jenna Helwig 0 Comments

When I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle years ago I was galvanized. It made so much sense. Yes, we should be eating locally-grown and seasonal produce. And while I wasn't religious about it, this philosophy really did shape how we ate to a large degree -- especially when it came to fruit. Fresh strawberries didn't cross my threshold until I bought a pint at the Greenmarket in May or June. Same with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, melons, peaches, and nectarines. Come fall I'd buy apples, pears or grapes at the farmer's market or grocery store. I'd ditch the apples around February and bring home citrus and tropical fruits. By March and April we were living on kiwi and bananas until strawberries rolled around again. This meant that summers were UH-MAZ-ING when it came to fruit, fall was nice, winter so-so, and spring ... not so much.