New Year - Healthy Eating Resolutions for the Kids, Too!

Most folks who purchase my cookbooks and come to my events in my other life don't often realize why I do what I do. Though I've always loved cooking - grown up in a home that celebrated authentic Indian cuisine and flavors - it was not until I had children that I realized cooking it at home and finding ways to get them to eat it was paramount. As I struggled to get food on the table and maintain my day job as an early morning television reporter in Chicago, it hit me that through the ups and downs of growing up Indian-American in the 1970's and 80's outside of Philadelphia - Indian food was my rock. Young, awkward and often confused about my own identity, I could refuse to wear Indian clothes to parties, I could be embarrassed about my parents' heavy accents in front of sales clerks, and I could feign deafness when yet another kid in my school made fun of what they deemed 'poverty-stricken' India where people all lived in 'huts'. But, in the safety net of our home - away from the prying-judging eyes, I could revel in my preference for dal chawal or a spiced Indian onion salad. We ate fragrant curries instead of big macs and cumin in our spaghetti - and no one needed to know. We also ate super healthy - my  mother was militant about it. Eating fruit and veggies was the norm not an aberration. It's why, when my girls were young and starting school, I was determined they should also be exposed to Healthy. Indian. Homemade. I knew that figuring out ways to get them to eat the food I cooked for them would help them not only become healthy eaters, but also give them something cultural to call their own - even in difficult times. Pride in your roots and culture goes a long way no matter where you grow up or how. They are 10 and 13 now, and what I've learned - the good, bad, and ugly - is something that I'll be putting on this blog. Tips on getting it right and stories on doing the opposite. It's okay. That's life. It's my life. My family's life. Right now, we are in a spot where I feel like the craziness of late last year has pushed us to give up some tried and true healthy eating habits and start ones that I'm not happy with. An example? My older one has been defaulting to drinking Gatorade during soccer and basketball games. Huge 'no' in our house - their growing bodies - in my opinion - do not need the sugar, the dyes, or the electrolytes. Their doctors agree with me. You may not and that's cool. But, that's not the point. I'm going to talk here about weaning your kids off the habits you likely know are not good healthy eating lifetime choices and instead instilling moderation and balance. In the above example - if the girls want Gatorade it's seen as a truly once-in-awhile treat and not the daily norm. Water is what I want their default to be - easy and clean. So, bookmark this blog and check it weekly for the tips and thoughts that will get you through your days as you set and reset your kids' eating habits. We'll agree on many things - agree to disagree on others, but the key is that you will see true and tried ways that I have gotten my kids to TRY fruits, veggies, and many other healthy food. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm a mom. A cookbook author. And, someone who believes in keeping food simple, stupid. Give some of my tips and recipes a shot in your house - I guarantee at least few will stick. And that's all you need to get the process started. Healthy Eating in the New Year may be your 2016 resolution - but make it your Kids' as well!