Lasagna Soup

February 16, 2017 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

A few years ago I was really desperate to find ways to get vegetables into my younger son. I had tried the battles, I had tried the pleading, and now I was trying to use the division of responsibility approach, which meant that I would choose what foods were offered but that he then would have the freedom to choose what he ate out of what was on the table and there would be no special meals or negotiations. What that meant for our family was that some nights I made a dinner that had vegetables on the side, which he almost never ate, and some nights I made a one-pot meal that included the vegetables in the dish. Often times he would pick around the vegetables, but sometimes I would find a dish that he loved so much that he would plow right through, not even noticing the vegetables.

There were two types of one-pot meals that tended to work for us. Soups and baked pastas. The kid loved (and still loves) pureed vegetables soups, which was very helpful when I felt like I was going to lose my mind. And while he would sometimes pick around the vegetables in a baked pasta, some strays would make it into his mouth and he was always cheerful when pasta was involved. Win-win. So when I discovered lasagna soup I knew I had to give it a go….

How to Make a Noodle Soup Without a Recipe

March 3, 2016 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

My family has been on a BIG noodle soup kick this winter. Chicken noodle, vegetable noodle, and Asian noodle have all been on regular rotation and I am loving it! Why? Four reasons: 1) they are easy to make in 30 minutes, 2) they are cheap, 3) I can use whatever I have left in my fridge and it will turn out great, and 4) it is an easy way to get more vegetables in!…

Root Vegetable Latkes

December 3, 2015 By Jessica Braider 1 Comment

Last year around this time I shared my sweet potato latke recipe with you. It is one of my favorites. Very simple, very tasty, and I was excited to make them again for Hanukkah this year. And then my husband announced that he is sick of sweet potatoes. WHAT?! So while I will still make the sweet potato latkes for the rest of us, I thought this might be a nice chance to try something new, and the root vegetable latke was born!

As with my sweet potato version, these latkes are not fried in oil, but rather are baked on a layer of oil. I know that takes away from their traditional latke-ness, but I just have a block about frying foods in my house. And I have to say, the smell of these baking is absolutely awesome—way better than the smell of fried foods that lingers for days…

These latkes are made with carrots, parsnips, and onions, so they are quite sweet, but also lighter than standard latkes. They go really nicely with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt—the sweet and sour. You can also make them even more interesting and exciting by adding one of the optional spices—cumin, chili powder, and za’atar would all be awesome….

Slow Cooker Spring Vegetable Minestrone

April 30, 2015 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days longer, getting around to making dinner is getting tougher and tougher. The pull to stay outside, to be out and about is just so strong. So I have been making a lot of dinners that can either be cooked very quickly, 5-20 minutes, on the stove or in the pressure cooker (my latest toy), or I have made one-pot dishes that can be prepared in the slow cooker.

So this week I want to share a new favorite in our house, a minestrone that takes advantage of the spring vegetables that are abundant at this time of year. I love this recipe because it is so quick to throw together, can withstand extra time in the slow cooker if needed, is chock-full of vegetables, and tastes like spring. My kids love it because it is cheesy, colorful, has noodles, and they can pick and choose their favorite veggies as they make their way through their meal….

Carrot Greens Pesto (or ways to reduce food waste)

June 16, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

I come from a long line of food-shouldn’t-be-wasted-ers. While I wasn’t raised in a
“clean plate club” household (thank goodness!), my family, and especially my mom, made sure that whatever was left was eaten as leftovers or used in another meal later in the week. The little bits of meat ended up in a pot pie or a pasta, the bones were used for stock, the stale bread became bread crumbs and croutons, all of those things that have become popular again were present all throughout my childhood. And for that I am so grateful.

But as I have gotten more and more into my own version of making the most of my food there were certain things I noticed that I was still throwing away and it bothered me. Beet greens, carrot greens, fennel fronds, to name a few. The beet greens were easy- sautéing them as I would kale or chard is delicious, especially as a warm salad with roasted beets and some feta! The fennel fronds have been a wonderful addition to my stocks. But carrot greens?…

Spice Up Your Life! Indian-Spiced Roasted Vegetables

February 3, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

I don’t know about everyone else, but this is the time of year when I start to fantasize about all the seasonal produce I’ll be eating… in JUNE. This is the time of year when I start to feel uninspired when it comes to cooking and sick of all my recipes. This is the February slump.

So when my boys started refusing to eat our beloved roasted vegetables, I knew something had to be done. First I started tried cutting the veggies differently. Who was I kidding? Then I tried the parmesan trick. No good. So last night I decided to try the heavily-spiced approach. I made a chicken curry in the slow cooker and roasted up a mix of vegetables with Indian spices. It was flat out awesome. Not only that, the whole bowl of veggies disappeared! One son decided he liked them so much, he’d just skip the chicken altogether. The other, cleaned his plate with murmurs of “mmmm. Cauliflower….” It was gone so fast I didn’t even have time to take a picture….

One Chicken, Seven (plus!) Meals

October 28, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Years ago I was asked by a family member (who shall remain nameless) if I would teach her how to grocery shop and plan meals for the week. She asked me this because she noticed that every time she came to my house my fridge appeared to be almost empty and yet I always had food for everyone. She also noticed that her fridge was constantly stuffed to the gills and that much of the food was going bad. I see a similar thing with many of my clients. They will be tired and overwhelmed after a long day and when they get home they find that they don’t have the creative energy to figure out what they can make with the (many!!) ingredients that are sitting in their fridge. So, instead, they choose to order food or make a box of macaroni and cheese. I get it. I really do! It is hard to come up with new ideas every. single. night. It is also hard start from scratch each night and feel motivated to do that over, and over, and over again. And this leads to a vicious and wasteful cycle where we don’t use the food that we have bought and then it starts to look unappetizing to us, so then we go out and buy more food.

So here is one of my techniques that helps to keep me sane: I cook once and then I repurpose numerous times in ways that require little or no cooking. Last week I did this with chicken. …

Carrot Muffins: Vegetables in a Pinch

October 21, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

I have a confession to make. Despite all of my best efforts at introducing foods repeatedly and in different ways. Despite my numerous deep breaths and creative responses in order to avoid the battles of the wills. I have one kiddo who can be a very picky eater. The thing that really drives me crazy about it is that he isn’t always picky, just in phases. It has definitely become one of his ways to assert his independence. And right now he is going through one of those phases.

What does it look like? Well, he doesn’t really want to eat anything (except cookies and crackers, of course) and if we were willing to sit there and read a book with one hand and spoon feed him with the other, he’d think about eating, but really he just doesn’t want to be bothered. Part of the stress of it for us is that he is very small and has had weight gain and growth issues in the past. So, of course, every time he goes into one of these phases we start to worry: is he getting too skinny? will he ever grown out of his 2T clothes? etc., etc. But as his pediatrician once said, “the kid could live on air.” And sometimes it feels like he does. So we have found that in order to avoid making food an even bigger issue and an even greater source of independence exertion on his part, we have to offer the food, ask that he stay seated for family meals so we can all be together, and then let go. It can be hard….

Baked Pasta and Multitasking in the Kitchen: Making Time Count

October 7, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Whenever I am in the kitchen to make a big meal, like I often am on Sunday afternoons, I like to try to make that time really count. This often means that while I am cooking one big dish, I also take on some simple side dishes or meal prep that will help me save time later in the week. So yesterday when I pulled out the veggies I was going to put into a big baked pasta that would last us for at least one dinner and two or three lunches, it was also time to roast the remaining broccoli and brew my chai (spiced tea) for the week.

There are a couple of tricks that I have learned over the years that help this kind of multitasking work well:…

The Balanced Kitchen

Time for food. Time for Life.