This September, Ayesha Curry released her much-anticipated cookbook The Seasoned Life. For those of us who have followed her blog or her social media pages, we know Mrs. Curry’s got some kitchen skills.
So, we decided to pose to her an age-old question—an ever-elusive mystery that has trumped even the world’s best chefs and the most talented home cooks: How do you cook for picky toddlers?
Many moms (raising my own hand) can relate to this conundrum with our finicky kids. But Ayesha Curry has an interesting dynamic.
She’s the wife to NBA star Steph Curry. So…not only does she have to deal with busy schedules and road games, she has to cater to the palates (not to mention dietary needs) of a 6-foot, 3-inch, high-calorie-consuming professional athlete, plus two young girls under the age of 4. Yikes!
If you’re like me, thinking where do you begin with this one, then Ayesha Curry lays out her strategy with four easy tips.
Tip 1: Meal prep
“For my husband, this works wonderfully,” she says. “I take a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday and bake high protein food like chicken and salmon. I’ll bake sweet potatoes and boil some quinoa. Then, I line my GLAD containers and fill them with the food, so that we’re ready to go for the week when it comes to snacks and lunches. They’re great for me, too, now that I am finally getting around to working off the baby weight.”
Tip 2: Cook with your children
“When you give them a job and let them prepare a meal with you, they are more apt to eat and try new things. It works like a charm,” Curry says of her daughters Ryan and Riley.
Tip 3: Shop wisely
“Take a look at everyone’s favorites and find that happy medium,” Curry says. As an example, she says her husband has a huge sweet tooth, so cooking apples into savory foods is a trick she often employs. “Shopping for the week works like a charm as well because it means you can’t divert from the plan of what you’ve already purchased.”
Tip 4: Sign up for a meal delivery service
There are several meal delivery kit services, which provide fresh meals or ready-to-assemble ingredients for an easy, guilt-free home dining experience. Curry, herself, recently launched a meal kit service called Gather.
“It makes it easy to cook with and for your family in an economical and environmentally-friendly way,” she says. “You pick the meal(s) you want to cook and for how many people, and we deliver everything you need to create a delicious meal right to your doorstep. There are other companies like this, but ours goes a step beyond by providing added options for kids meals and baby food!”
Want a quick taste of what Mrs. Curry is serving up in her new cookbook? See the recipe below for her breakfast bread pudding, which is great for those grab-and-go mornings with the kids.
Breakfast Bread Pudding
Serves 6 to 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups whole milk, warmed slightly to take the chill off
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- Grated zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3½ cups cubed bread, such as challah or brioche, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces (optional)
- ? cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts (optional)
- ½ cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, honey, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add the bread cubes and stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chopped apple and walnuts if you choose, and then mix in the oats and flaxseed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Drizzle with maple-orange glaze
To make the maple-orange glaze: Whisk together the maple syrup, orange juice, and confectioners’ sugar until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over the bread pudding and serve while the pudding is still warm.