Portland Parents

Get your kids to eat healthy by sneaking their vegetables into normally innocent-looking foods that they would normally eat without a complaint. For instance, steam and puree cauliflower into their mashed potatoes. Sounds yummy! You can even conceal broccoli in their chicken nuggets!

While I’d prefer to have the kids volunteer to eat their fruits and vetetables, there’s something to be said about “spinach brownies.” Less arguments around the dinner table and more vitamins and fiber in their diet has to be a good thing, right?

All is not butternut squash casserole, however, in the land of the delicious, Missy Chase Lapine claims that Seinfeld’s cookbook is plagarized from her own work in “The Sneaky Chef.” However, the two works do appear to be more different than skin deep, although they of course share a few similarities. For instance, both encourage parents to puree vegetables into mashed ‘taters, but the Lapine book recommends a blend of cauliflower, zucchini and lemon juice and the Seinfeld book recommends just cauliflower.

I suspect that the recipes in the Jessica Seinfeld book ( pictured at right ) will be more simple and easier to follow than the ones in the Lapine book. Your mileage may vary.

… the book. Upon which the movie is based.

Have you read the books? Have your children? Do your children want to see the movie? Do you?

Not to stir up silt in the clear waters of the Willamette, but there has been controversy around the presentation of this movie. Frankly, I think you should make your own decisions and I don’t think your faith should be shaken by a fantasy book.

However, maybe you should read it with your child? It does raise some interesting free-will / authority questions that could lead you into a discussion that shows you how your child’s brain works. Here’s a plot synopsis, if you don’t feel like reading the books. And here’s a discussion guide ( aimed at teachers ) to help prompt some questions.