NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALIST — COOKBOOKS: GENERAL

Looking for ways to get your kids to eat more veggies?

Packed with creative recipes, this modern approach to classic family comfort foods ups the nutritional ante—infusing TONS of healthful vegetables into every dish (even snacks and desserts!)—while always putting flavor first.

As a chef and cookbook author, Nikki Dinki loves veggies. But like most parents, getting her kids to love them is a work in progress. There will always be a side of veggies on their dinner plates, but when those veggies go untouched, Nikki doesn’t stress. That’s because her cooking incorporates vegetables at every turn: the kids may not have eaten their sides of peas, but they ate cauliflower and sweet potatoes in their Mac and Cheese, devoured Green Eggs (with spinach) and White Bean Pancakes for breakfast, and asked for seconds of the Zucchini Crust Pizzas at lunch!

Although the veggies are sometimes hidden—your kids will be eating mushrooms and eggplant without thinking twice!—the real goal is using the qualities of each vegetable to make each classic, family meals even better than the original version. In these recipes, mushrooms enhance the beefy taste of the Mushroom and Onion Burgers, while eggplant replaces egg for breading on Chicken Tenders and Chicken Parmesan, which keeps them irresistibly moist.

Inside, discover other delicious recipes that will become mealtime staples, including:

• Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

• Cauliflower + Yogurt Bagels

• Eggplant Parm Meatballs

• Pumpkin Pasta Dough

• Taco Meat (with Pinto Beans)

• Mac and Cheese with Caulilfower + Sweet Potato

• Chicken Nuggets with Beans + Carrots

• Creamed Spinach Garlic Bread

• Loaded Queso (with Squash)

• Banana Carrot Oat Muffins

• Eggplant Marinara Sauce 

• Brooklyn Blackout Cake (with Beets + Avocado)

• Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

But fear not: there are no fancy ingredients or complicated cooking techniques. These easy, accessible recipes have been tested hundreds of times, by Nikki and other parents, for surefire family food wins! This collection of tried-and-true dishes will wow picky eaters and foodie parents alike with creative veggie twists on breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, sides, and dessert.