Here’s how to fix something the kids will want to eat

By EMILY NUNN

Making the kids happy with menu options isn’t always easy.

Any parent not vexed by the amount of time, worry and finesse required to feed a child well these days is either the inventor of the Food Pyramid or is rich enough to employ a nanny/nutritionist/professional chef/circus clown.

Which is to say, almost everyone needs help, whether they know it or not.

So, when we get invited to serve on President-elect Barack Obama’s Really Great Idea Committee, we’ll suggest issuing all parents a copy of Tracey Seaman and Tanya Wenman Steel’s “Real Food for Healthy Kids” (William Morrow, $29.95), a terrific primer on how to cook for and feed their offspring, from toddlerhood to teendom.

Seaman is the test kitchen director for Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine and Steel is editor in chief of the invaluable Web site Epicurious.com. Each woman has kids (including a picky eater and a special-needs son on a strict gluten-free, casein-free diet). That blend of experience and expertise makes the book seem less bossy than simply caring and helpful.

“One of our strongest beliefs is that just as you don’t talk down to a child, you don’t cater to an inexperienced palate by constantly making a child his or her own dumbed-down, bland food,” they write in the introduction. They also want to dispel the notion that you have to trick children to get them to eat right. And help readers avoid falling back on processed foods — the notorious “microwave hot dog and frozen pizza” cycle.

Know the needs

Which sounds easier said than done of course. But the point of the book is to help you get into the cooking cycle, by understanding daily nutritional requirements, ingredient labels, portion sizes and food psychology for picky eaters. There’s also great help on stocking your larder, creating a kid-friendly kitchen, and setting useful rules/suggestions regarding kids’ table and kitchen behavior, as well as your own (including “Don’t feed kids something you wouldn’t eat yourself” and “Don’t use food as a punishment or a bribe”).

The authors’ warm tone makes it all seem quite doable, even if you’re not exactly a cook.

And above all, they’re realistic. The 200-odd recipes (baby food, breakfast, lunch box, snacks, supper, fun beverages, breads, cookies and desserts), are mostly simple and straightforward.

And the authors don’t talk down to readers by pretending it’s possible, in this insanely fast-paced world, to feed kids only hand-hewn morsels of goodness, with food they grew themselves. They include lists of “store bought” (aka processed) foods that they’re willing to recommend such as Nature Valley cereals, Amy’s cheese enchiladas, R.W. Knudsen’s juice concentrates, which are posted helpfully at their Web site realfoodforhealthykids.com.

Nothing difficult

It just seems reassuring to know that Seaman and Steel aren’t like those people we all know, who constantly remind friends (and strangers) that their children only eat organic and talk about their household ban on fast/junk food as if some insidious junk food cartel were trying to force it down their chimney at night as they sleep. (And who seem especially tedious once you discover that their children subsist on a diet of organic fruit leather and string cheese or whole wheat tortilla, peanut butter and mayonnaise roll-ups - because that’s the “only thing they’ll eat.”)

Anyway ... none of the nice qualities of the book would be worth a hoot if the recipes weren’t compelling (and appetizing), and if they hadn’t been kid tested by a team of tasters from around the country. Only recipes that got the thumbs up are included, and they are all nutritionist approved.

And a big bonus? The recipes are also appetizing to adults. Lemon turkey London broil sounds pretty good right about now, along with a side of “V is for Veggie Mash,” Yankee Doodle corn bread and a tropical fruit coconut macaroon for dessert.

MINI-CUBAN SANDWICHES

This recipe is adapted from “Real Food for Healthy Kids,” by Tracey Seaman and Tanya Wenman Steel, who say that “these messy sandwiches ... make a great weekend lunch or superfast weeknight dinner.” They suggest using leftover pork shoulder or buying thinly sliced roast pork from the deli. You could use cooking spray in the skillet and on the outside of the sandwiches to enhance browning.

8 slices (1‚Ñ3-inch thick) from a long Italian bread loaf

8 teaspoons Mexican adobo dressing, see recipe, below

Pickle slices

2 ounces imported Swiss cheese, shredded

1‚Ñ2 cup (packed) thinly sliced or pulled roast pork

4 thin slices boiled or baked ham

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat (or heat a panini grill or waffle iron).

Meanwhile, lay the bread in 4 pairs on a work surface. Spread about 1 teaspoon of the dressing on each slice of bread; place pickles on 4 of the slices, then top with half of the cheese. Divide the pork among the 4 bread slices with cheese; place the ham and remaining cheese on top. Cover with the remaining bread slices.

Place the sandwiches in the hot dry skillet; place another skillet on top of the sandwiches to compress them. Cook until the sandwiches are golden underneath, about 3 minutes. Flip; place skillet on top again. Cook until sandwiches are nicely golden and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

Mexican adobo dressing: Combine 1‚Ñ2 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons ketchup and 1 teaspoon each distilled white vinegar, yellow or Dijon mustard and chopped chipotle chili in a small bowl; stir to blend. Add more chipotle to taste, if you like. Makes about 3‚Ñ4 cup; the unused portion will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

Makes: 2-4 servings

Nutrition information per sandwich: 236 calories, 51 percent of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 51 mg cholesterol, 11 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 585 mg sodium, 0.5 g fiber