The big controversy surrounding Jessica Seinfeld’s new cookbook for parents, “Deceptively Delicious,” is whether Jerry’s wife might have copied recipes (or even the idea for the book) from a less well-known author, Missy Chase Lapine, whose cookbook, “The Sneaky Chef,” appeared a few months earlier.
Having worked at Parents Magazine for 20 years, I can vouch for the fact that sneaking veggies into foods kids like is nothing new. We used to get at least a dozen such tips from readers each year. It always struck me as morally dubious to sneak spinach into brownies or secrete squash in chocolate pudding. But, hey, I always allowed my kids to drown everything in ketchup, so I’m probably not one to talk.
Still, child-raising books with words like “sneaky” and “deceptive” in the title imply that it’s acceptable to lie to kids. Now food author Mimi Sheraton has joined the fray on Slate with a smart analysis of why sneaking veggies into sweets is to be discouraged on both nutritional and ethical grounds:
With the dangerous rise of childhood obesity and diabetes, do we really want to encourage the eating of sugars and starches? And, ultimately, and more seriously perhaps, lying to children via trickery–even “for their own good”–can feed a lifetime of distrust, as it should. I wonder how these undercover mothers keep their secrets. Are children locked out of the kitchens at cooking time, lest they see Mommy slipping pureed zucchini into their beloved mac ‘n’ cheese?
–By Wendy Schuman
posted October 31, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I was disgusted to see Jerry Seinfeld slander that poor woman, Ms. Lapine, on Letterman. Boy, I’ll bet Jessica told him to go salvage her reputation or else. His diatribe was outright slander, and I think that this shows WHAT JERRY IS REALLY LIKE.
I wouldn’t go see his humorless BEES movie (which is really just a rip-off of the ANTZ movie, done several years ago). I always felt that Jason Alexander really carried Seinfeld all those years.
Jerry has a cruel streak as seen with his remark about Ms. Lapine, but, if you really know Jerry, it’s just par for the course.
posted November 3, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Anyone who is a parent or has worked with children has had to disguise vegetables r made them more appealing to children, and for many adults. I don’t believe that bashing one person makes the other look better. As for Sienfeld, the actors were like four tires on a car, they all made the show work.