Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on February 24, 2013 13 Comments
How to make sweet potato fries so crispy and tasty
they’re worthy of a French bistro.
I have a weakness (well,
maybe more than one). Frites. When we meet, I have a terrible time resisting
their unhealthy whispers. I know better. I want to set a good example for my
kids. I don’t want to like them. But I do. This relationship kind of reminds me
of high school boyfriends.
In the final stretch of
our 52 New Foods adventure in France, it would be impossible not to mention one
of my favorite French bistro meals: steak and frites. Instead of avoiding it, I
decided to give it a healthy makeover, starting with the frites. Not only are
these fries tasty and easy to make, they are nutritious. According to Mark
Bittman of The New York Times, their recent rise in popularity is due in no
small part to their nutritional profile.
Most of the recipes I’ve
tried in the past have resulted in soggy sticks, so I worked diligently until I
figured out how to make sweet potato fries crispy like their unhealthy cousins.
The trick? Cut the fries a little thinner, avoid layering them on the pan, and
be sure to bake until the color turns to golden brown with dark edges and the
skin is a little bit puffy. Serve them piping hot to avoid letting sogginess
sink in. Trust me, that won’t be hard to do.
What we Liked: These crispy oven baked sweet potato fries are easy to make and feel
like an indulgence. I never have to encourage my kids to try a bite of these
healthy frites. More often, I sit at the table thinking, “I should have made a
bigger batch!”
Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 to 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings Crunch a Color points: 15 yellow / orange
Ingredients:
2 lbs sweet potato
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to
450 degrees. Peel and slice the sweet potato. Cut into ¼” to ½” wide sticks to
ensure crispy frites! This is a fun and easy job for the kids to do. After
peeling, have them cut through the middle of the sweet potato first, then set
the flat side down to cut in half again before slicing into sticks.
2. Place the sweet potato
fries on a lined bake sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt, then toss with
your hands. This step helps to save on cleanup.
3. Bake at 450 degrees
for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve hot!
*
How do you like to make sweet potato fries? What’s your trick for making them
crispy? Do you have a favorite spice that you like to add to these healthy
fries? Share your tips and tricks!
Craving more easy recipes to try? Catch up on
last week’s new food: Apple galette.
About the author: Jennifer
Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® --
award-winning nutrition
games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled
to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into
a healthy
eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’
nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum
Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to
get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making
mealtime fun and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips,
and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, The
Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on February 17, 2013 0 Comments
This easy apple pie recipe is a simple French
twist on a favorite sweet treat: apple galette.
“Get the galette!”
shouted my 6-year-old son with the tenor of a football captain cheering on his
teammates toward the game-winning touchdown. Called into the kitchen by the
sweet smell of warm apples and cinnamon, my kids raced to the table and huddled
around our delicious French creation, hoping to be the first to snatch a bite
of this sweet treat.
It was no surprise to me
that they were excited about trying apple galette. A perfect combination of
their favorite flavors and textures – crisp apples, gooey cinnamon, and flakey,
buttery pastry – it was a new food I knew everyone would enjoy. After my failed
leek soup attempt last week, I needed an easy win. So much for no emotional
eating!
Inspired by Martha Rose
Shulman, we decided to add this French-style, easy apple pie recipe to our list
of 52 New Foods. Without a doubt, this will become a regular part of the lineup
at our family table!
What we Liked: Although this is a sweet treat, this easy apple pie recipe has a
minimum of sugar. Like Martha says, “It’s all about the apples!” That’s what we
loved.
An Easy Apple Pie Recipe: Apple Galette
Prep time: 15 minutes
(plus 45 minutes in the freezer)
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings Crunch a Color points: 5 red
2 lbs Braeburn apples
¼ cup brown sugar plus 1 Tbsp
1 small lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 premade dessert pastry pie crust (12” diameter)
Note: When I have the
time, I love to make my own apple pie crust. But with busy weekdays in full
swing I wanted to find an easier solution so I made our apple galette with an
organic, pre-made pastry crust. If you go this route, be sure to pick a crust
that has five ingredients or less. The ingredient list on ours was: unbleached
organic flour, butter, water and salt.
Directions:
1. Peel and slice the
apples. Wedges should be between ¼” and ½” at the widest part.
2. Toss the apples with
the juice from one small lemon.
3. Heat the pan over
medium, then add the butter. When the butter is bubbling (but before it turns
brown) add the apples and ¼ cup of the sugar. Toss gently in the pan. Simmer 5
to 7 minutes, or until the apples are brown on one side. Then add the vanilla
and half of the cinnamon / nutmeg mixture and turn the apples gently. Simmer
another 5 minutes until the apples are golden brown and fragrant.
4. Place the cooked
apples on a parchment lined bake sheet and let cool. While the apples are
cooling, remove the pie crust from the freezer and allow it to thaw slightly
(about 10 minutes).
5. Place the pie crust on
a lined bake sheet. I like to use a Silpat liner for easy cleanup. Add the
apples and then fold the pastry around the edges of your pie, pleating as you
go. Place the galette back in the freezer for 45 minutes. This will help to
keep its shape when baked.
6. Preheat the oven to
350 degrees. Remove the galette from the freezer. Beat the egg together with
the milk to create an egg wash and brush over the edges of your galette.
Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon / nutmeg mixture and 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
7. Serve warm or cool,
whichever you prefer. Either way, enjoy with friends and family!
*
Do you have a favorite easy apple pie recipe? Have you tried apple galette?
What other ingredients have you tried with this rustic French pie?
About the author: Jennifer
Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® --
award-winning nutrition
games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled
to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into
a healthy
eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’
nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum
Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to
get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making
mealtime fun and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips,
and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, The
Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on February 11, 2013 3 Comments
Resiliency is the parenting manifesto du jour. But
as a busy parent, being resilient (especially in the kitchen) is something I
find hard to do.
All I wanted was to make
the perfect leek soup. I wanted to get it done, have my kids rave about it, and
move onto the next thing. In my racing mind I was thinking, “I’m busy, I’m
tired, and I just need to get this recipe done for the week.” The last thing I
wanted was to fail.
Resiliency. Like
“happiness” was last year, “resiliency” seems to be the new parenting
manifesto. During a lively discussion about Paul Tough’s new book, How Children
Succeed, a friend suggested that maybe what our kids need is “resiliency camp.”
A funny mental image, to be sure, but that may be missing the point. What
experts are encouraging us to do as parents is to let our kids fail, in the
service of building grit and character, and to set a good example by modeling
this behavior ourselves -- welcoming failure and using it as a springboard to
learn and grow.
I don’t know about you,
but as a busy parent I have very little resiliency. In the rare moments when I
do have it, I need to work hard to get it. This weekend, I had no resiliency. Absolutely
none.
Like a well-mapped domino
run, it was a series of missteps and errors on my part that led to my French
food flop. After a year of getting my kids to try new foods, I should have
known by now what works and what doesn’t work. Instead, I unwittingly proceeded
down the path to failure with the force of a dragon.
Mistake #1: Not letting my kids choose.
When we started 52 New
Foods, I made a pact with my kids: “You choose, we make it together.” The key to
our success was putting my kids in charge of the adventure. Heading to the
market on our typical weekend outing, my daughter wanted to make lemon tarts.
“Deliciously French!” I thought. But I was unable to find a single recipe that
wasn’t loaded with sugar and egg yolks. So I decided to make leek soup. How did
I go from lemons to leeks? Worse, I didn’t ask. I just decided.
Mistake #2: Forcing the issue.
My first attempt at leek
soup was a complete flop. “French Glue” would have been a better description of
my concoction. But blinded by my busy-ness, I went ahead and served it to my family.
“It doesn’t look good.” my daughter complained. “Just try it!” I coaxed.
“James, you try everything I make. Come on, just give it a taster!” He sniffed,
he sipped, and then he shouted, “Blech!” That was not what I wanted to hear. “It
can’t be that bad!” I retorted.
But it was.
My husband, my
cheerleader and biggest supporter, slowly took a sip of soup. “I think you need
to try this one again.” he encouraged. Not only was my soup the texture of Oobleck,
it was overloaded with salt. In the final steps of the recipe I had forgotten
to add the seasoning. So I put a dash of salt in the pot, and got distracted,
forgetting to blend it all together. Ready for lunch, I served up a cup,
scooping from the top of the pot. Et Voila! Simmering, salty Oobleck.
Mistake #3: Adding insult to injury.
In a huff, I grabbed my
reusable grocery bags and stomped out the door. “You’re back!” greeted the
clerk at our local market. “How did it turn out?” I grimaced. She backed away.
I wasn’t making friends. Re-stocked with the fresh ingredients I needed to give
my recipe another try, I raced home. “Did you just drive to the market?” my
husband innocently enquired. Our favorite local market is two blocks
from our house. “Yes, I did!” I snapped. So much for setting a good example of
how we can take care of the environment by walking to the store.
In the end, I was able to
make a delicious soup. A simple and soulful
French Vichyssoise that would make Julia Child proud. I hope you will learn from my mistakes, and then try
this healthy leek soup recipe (and enjoy it) with your kids. It will be a long
time before my kids venture to try leek soup with me again, whether it’s tasty
or not. I guess I’ll be dining alone at lunch this week. I hear leek soup is on
the menu.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom of two
children and the creator of Crunch a
Color® -- award-winning nutrition
games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled to get
her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into a healthy eating game
and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’ nutrition programs. Winner of
the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved awards, Crunch a Color® has been
featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie
David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun For
Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to eat
healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun and
healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food
adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, The
Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on February 11, 2013 0 Comments
A healthy leek soup recipe that your kids will love (but not mine)!
This week I ventured
to try a simple, healthy leek soup with my kids. Classically French
and easy enough for a five year old to make, I decided it would be the perfect
addition to our 52 New Foods adventure in France this month. The problem was
that I decided, not my kids.
Despite this being a soulfully simple and delicious dish, a
healthy remake of Vichyssoise that would make Julia Child proud, my kids did
not like it. Blinded by my own boldness, this recipe turned into a French food flop for my family. It was the perfect storm – a series of
well-timed mistakes that kept me barreling down the path to failure. It all started
with me taking control of the menu instead of letting my kids choose, a
cardinal 52 New Foods rule. Be sure to read my post on our French food flop and (hopefully) learn from my
mistakes so your kids won’t grow up with a fear of leek soup.
With the wisdom of 20/20 hindsight, I hope you
will enjoy making this healthy leek soup recipe with your kids. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for
lunch. I’ve got loads of leek soup to share.
A Healthy Leek Soup Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 to 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 6 servings Crunch a Color points: 15 white
Ingredients:
4 leeks
4 russet potatoes
2 ½ cups of low sodium chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 Tbsps butter
1 tsp Kosher salt
Chives for garnish
Directions:
1. Chop the leeks.
2. Wash the leeks. Be sure to give them a good
bath to rinse away all of the dirt. Then rinse again in a sieve.
3. Peel and chop the potatoes.
4. In a stockpot over medium heat, melt the
butter. Add the leeks, sautéing lightly until golden brown and fragrant. About
5 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes, broth and salt to the
leeks. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until
the potatoes are tender.
6. Working in small batches, transfer the soup to a blender. Pulse gently
until just combined. You may need to add a bit of milk to the mixture to get it to blend. It’s okay if there are a few chunks of leeks and potatoes
remaining.
WARNING: Do not over blend! Over blending was
the reason my first version of this recipe turned into French Glue.
7. Return the potato leek mixture to the pot
and add the milk. Stir gently. Simmer a few minutes more, until the soup is
heated through.
8. Garnish with chives. Serve warm.
* Have
you tried leek soup? What is your favorite way to enjoy this simple French dish?
About the author: Jennifer
Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® --
award-winning nutrition
games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled
to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into
a healthy
eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’
nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum
Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to
get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making
mealtime fun and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips,
and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, The
Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on February 10, 2013 0 Comments
52 weeks, 52 new foods. How our family discovered the secret to happy, healthy eating.
It all boils down to pasta and peas. That’s why I started
this journey. Determined to find a better way, I was on a mission to end
mealtime battles over broccoli. I resolved to make the family table a place
that we all wanted to be. I did it by making it fun and focusing on one simple
goal: 52 weeks, 52 new foods.
It’s been a year of ups and downs. One of the highlights was
when my daughter created her very own recipe for Michelle Obama’s Healthy Lunch
Challenge, Friendship Garden Soup. There were lows, too, like when she chose
Cheetos for her lunch during an interview about how to get kids to eat healthy.
But when you put all of the good with the bad, the tough days with the terrific
days, it was worth every minute.
During a frantic visit to the grocery store, in the days
leading up to Christmas, it all came together for me. Standing with my son in
the frozen food section, feeling dizzy about how I was going to host 12 guests
for three non-stop days of holiday meals, I suggested we pick up a few prepared
foods to have “as backup.” I reached into the freezer and his sweet little hand
grabbed my arm. I paused. With a look of complete bewilderment he stated with a
kindergartener’s conviction, “But Mommy, we don’t eat anything from a box!”
I’m honored to have shared our story with The Huffington
Post, Jamie Oliver, Edible Silicon Valley and Canada AM. Thank you to the
hundreds of thousands of families who have cheered us on and joined our journey
to healthy eating. The support I’ve found through this community is one of the
many wonderful (and unexpected) gifts I discovered this year.
If you’re just tuning into 52 New Foods, welcome to the table!
I’m so glad that you’re here. Together with your family, check out our best
healthy recipes list to get inspired and then join us each week as we sample
and savor foods from around the world. Share your ideas, recipes and questions
with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or simply on this blog. I hope 52 New
Foods will help you plant the seeds of change at your family table like it did
for me.
About the author: Jennifer
Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® --
award-winning nutrition
games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled
to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into
a healthy
eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’
nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O!, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum
Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to
get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making
mealtime fun and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips,
and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, The
Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
