By Pat Tanner, Special Writer
Stacey Antine founded HealthBarn USA at Abma’s Farm in Wyckoff, Bergen County, in 2005 with the goal of teaching children and their parents about great-tasting, nutritious food.
Since then the program, which brings kids into the garden and kitchen, has expanded to Westchester, N.Y., has served more than 30,000 families, and has been featured on the “Rachael Ray Show” and CNN’s “House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.” Ms. Antine, who also teaches a popular school assembly program nationwide called “Try it, you’ll like it,” has just issued her first cookbook, “Appetite for Life.” But the subtitle says it all: “The Thumbs-Up, No-Yucks Guide to Getting Your Kid to Be a Great Eater.”
That’s a bold promise, to be sure. Yet her approach is so practical, thorough, and based on real-world experience of how children acquire likes and dislikes — not to mention the role of family dynamics — that I can’t envision a parent or family that wouldn’t pick up helpful advice from the book, which includes about 100 “kid-approved” recipes. As Ms. Antine, who has a master’s of science in food, nutrition, and dietetics, notes, the recipes have been given the thumbs up by youngsters in the HealthBarn USA program — although they are by no means childish.
”While parents hope their children will eat healthy foods, the reality of hectic schedules, confusion about the latest nutrition news, and power struggles at the kitchen table can lead to frustration,” she writes. That’s an understatement.
In addition to recipes, Ms. Antine offers strategies to help parents “be the facilitators of health, not the no-fun rule enforcers,” and provides sample weekly menu planners that include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and morning and afternoon snacks.
There are even week-at-a-glance gluten-free and vegetarian menus. Among my favorite features are charts that compare the book’s homemade recipe to store-bought, specific brand versions of things like chicken nuggets, chicken soup, mac ‘n’ cheese, Fruit Roll-Ups, and chocolate milk.
Here’s a typical eye-opener: HealthBarn USA’s chocolate pudding recipe contains seven ingredients (sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, cornstarch, sea salt, low-fat milk, water, vanilla extract), while Snack Pack’s contains 14, among them several partially hydrogenated oils (sources of trans fats) and artificial flavors and colors. Aunt Jemima Frozen Blueberry Pancakes fare even worse: 27 ingredients vs. 12, and instead of fresh or frozen blueberries, they contain “processed blueberry bits, with their first ingredient being sugar.”
Below are two recipes that, I think it’s fair to say, many parents would swear their kids won’t touch. While Ms. Antine admits that recipes alone won’t change picky eaters into vegetable lovers (and why she includes a plethora of strategies, like shopping together at farmers markets and grocery stores and cooking together), these recipes come with a thumbs-up from real kids.
The salad employs quinoa, which, Ms. Antine points out, “is the only grain that naturally contains protein. The combination of vitamin C and iron in this recipe is really important, because your body uses the vitamin C to help absorb the iron.”
The “Mike” of the Sicilian stew recipe is a pizza maker from New York City who works with the kids. “The lowly cauliflower isn’t too popular because so many people don’t know how to cook it properly,” Ms. Antine writes. “His super stew . . . uses an underrated but amazing vegetable.”
RAINBOW
QUINOA SALAD
“Appetite for Life:
The Thumbs-Up, No-Yucks Guide
to Getting Your Kid
to Be a Great Eater”
by Stacey Antine (HarperOne 2012)
2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
Juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice (½ cup)
1 small unpeeled Kirby cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dice (½ cup)
¼ cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
Rinse the quinoa with cold running water and drain.
In a large saucepan, heat water to boiling over high heat. Stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Uncover and fluff quinoa with fork. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, and salt. Add tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, and feta, and toss to mix. Gently stir in quinoa.
Makes 7 (1 cup) servings.
MIKE’S SICILIAN STEW
“Appetite for Life:
The Thumbs-Up, No-Yucks Guide
to Getting Your Kid
to Be a Great Eater”
by Stacey Antine (HarperOne 2012)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 sweet onions, such as Vidalia, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 large head cauliflower (2½ pounds), broken into 1-1/2-inch florets
1 pound lean ground beef (93 percent lean)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large saucepot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring.
Stir in tomatoes, water, and cauliflower; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until cauliflower is fork-tender.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until browned, stirring occasionally. Drain off fat.
When cauliflower is done, stir in browned beef and herbs and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes to blend flavors.
Spoon into 8 individual bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan, divided equally among the bowls.
Makes 8 (1 cup) servings.
Pat Tanner blogs at www.dinewithpat.com
