Nikki Dinki is here to help you feed your family more vegetables. She’s not someone who wants to take away your butter, cream, sugar, or flour. She doesn’t want to take away your meat or your cake or queso. She just wants to show you how you can use veggies to make those not only more nutritious but also more flavorful. For her, it’s not about hiding vegetables into meals so your kids will eat them without realizing it. More Veggies Please! is about using veggies in clever ways, to add moisture, texture, and subtle flavors that will take your family meals to the next level.

Dinki was a picky eater as a kid, not interested in vegetables until she was in her 20s. But as a kid not wanting to eat vegetables, her mother made her cook her own meals, so that got her started on this path. As she got older, she found it harder and harder to avoid them. She started with an easy one—tomato, which she liked in her favorite jarred pasta sauce—and moved out from there. And now she’s here for us, helping us all expand our veggie horizons by adding them in new and interesting ways to the dishes we all know and love.

She understands that kids aren’t big veggie fans and may need some encouragement, so she uses baby steps. You can move from your regular scrambled eggs to her Cauliflower Scrambled Eggs, which just has a couple of tablespoons of cauliflower rice with the eggs before moving on up to the Cheesy Green Eggs, which includes spinach. For other breakfast ideas, you can try the White Bean Pancakes and Waffles, Pumpkin Pie Granola, or Zucchini Biscuits. Sounds weird, but these recipes are included because they are delicious and have more veggies, not the other way around.

Looking for lunch ideas? Try the Souped-Up Broccoli Cheddar, Cauliflower Egg Salad Sandwiches, Chicken Nuggets, or a sandwich with her Strawberry and Chia Jam and Peanut Butter and Hummus Spread. Time for dinner? Go with the Taco Meat with Pinto Beans, Mushroom and Beef Bolognese, Cauliflower and Potato Gnocchi, Eggplant Parm Meatballs, or Sweet Potato Pierogies. Or you could even try her Zucchini Crust Pizza, since she includes all the information you need to bake a pizza in the oven, on the grill, or in a skillet.

There are, of course, veggie side dish ideas, like her Creamed Spinach Garlic Bread or Twice-Baked Potatoes. And there are snacks, like her Buffalo Cauliflower Wings, Pea Guacamole, or Parmesan Spinach Crackers. And is it time for dessert? There’s a Brooklyn Blackout Cake, Black Bean Brownies, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls, Peanut Butter Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Willa’s Lemon Bars.

She includes lots of extras throughout, like a list of recipes that are freezer friendly, and recipes that are flagged as her Top Ten (like the Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Sweet Potato), Classic (like her Chicken Cauliflower Alfredo), and Remix, which is a new spin on a classic (like her Roasted Garlic, Spinach, and Tomato Grilled Cheese). Plus she includes swaps that can make things easier or hacks that can save time. For example, for her Loaded Queso that includes butternut squash, she has a hack where she explains how you can add the squash to store-bought queso to get the silky texture and flavor bump without spending as much extra time putting it all together.

More Veggies Please! is a fresh take on how to incorporate more veggies into the foods we love to eat, and I love that. I love that she uses roasted eggplant to coat her chicken tenders instead of egg, that she thinks about what you can do with an ingredient after you make a recipe (you only used half a can of pumpkin puree—what do you do with the rest?), that she understands life is busy and chaotic and time is precious. I love that she still believes in cheese and chocolate and putting cream and parmesan into an alfredo sauce.

And the photos of the food and of her and her family are beautiful and fun and enticing. I do think that the recipes themselves tend toward Italian—not a surprise, she mentions her Italian heritage more than once—and while it certainly doesn’t bother me, a hearty pasta eater, I can see how others might be disappointed by the lack of diversity. But it’s also a family-friendly cookbook, and Italian recipes can be more accessible to kids, so maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

So if you are a cook wanting to add more vegetables to your dishes, or wanting to get your picky eater kids (or boyfriend) to be more open to veggies, then the ingenuity of DInki’s recipes will give you some good ideas for new ways to incorporate more veggies in your cooking. I know I’m going to have to try some of these recipes, and I look forward to seeing what clever ideas she comes up with next.

Egalleys for More Veggies Please! were provided by BenBella Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

All I can say about this book is WOW!

I don’t know if I have I ever found a cookbook where I wanted to make nearly everything in it until today.

Not only is this cookbook absolutely adorable, from fun pictures, backdrops, and little details that make it an absolute treat to explore, but the recipes all sound amazing! There are a host of really awesome recipes that anyone could love that each have a healthier twist (something I can really get behind). I’m not trying to sneak vegetables into food, but at really just looking for ways to make comfort foods healthier and this book ACES that.

Another standout about this book is that you can tell it was made by a real person who has a busy schedule and is doing the best she can to add extra health without adding extra time. Wherever possible she uses canned foods (and the whole can no less), she uses whole vegetables, she uses accessible ingredients, and even gives instructions for how to freeze things for later. Plus, the book is filled with enough details that even the most nervous cook can have success through substitutions and cooking tips that don’t require a bunch of extra work. Again I say, not only are the recipes healthy and delicious, but they are actually made to be made in your regular life.

The book is beautiful (probably one of my favourites ever), the recipes are phenomenal, the ingredient list isn’t crazy or hard to find, the food is healthy and actually tested and re-tested to perfection, and the instructions are so easy, fun, and helpful. I truly don’t know what else anyone could want in a cookbook.

I don’t say this very often, but in my mind, this cookbook is a must buy for just about anyone, but especially for those looking for healthy meals and reasonable recipes!

This book I would argue is for the more experienced but, looking deeper I feel there may be something for everyone. Also, maybe be a little adventurous, be adaptive. I'm sure you will find something.

The photography is amazing. However the things I tried looked nothing like the pictures. Practise makes perfect I guess.

If you want your kids to eat more veggies, or even yourself. There are some very creative ways like chocolate cake with zucchini. Weird I know. Not sure I'll try that one. But each to there own.

Enjoy!

A beautiful cook book.
The title got me to request this book. Being a lot of time in the kitchen sometimes I really like to try something new,and I like to play with ingredients.
Some of the dishes I make will definitely be influenced of this book as I got lots of new ideas.
I believe it's a well organized and presented book that's wort having around when planning the family meas.

First, what a beautiful book with so many great photos. The recipes sounds great. I read through the recipes and am excited to try many of these for myself and my family. These days with busy schedules and so much processed food, I feel so inspired after looking through the recipes. These will be great to include things my kids might not eat into meal giving us more variety. So often, working in a preschool, I see kids with lunches full of bagged foods. This book would be great to share some recipes with families who are looking to improve meals. Some are so super and easy to make. The foods we eat fuel us, so incorporating the healthy foods is important and I am excited to try many of these recipes as a way to include even more into our meals. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced digital copy of this book!

More Veggies Please! is a wonderful family cookbook that puts a healthier spin on many classic dishes. I loved the inclusion of (more) vegetables in the recipes. There was beautiful photography throughout which I loved too. A fantastic cookbook for families and children!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Thank you so much for the free ARC of this cookbook! It is the ultimate cookbook for veggie lovers.

Some of the recipes are beyond my skill level. I did, however, find a number of recipes for burgers and meatloaf that I can’t wait to try! Overall, a very good, versatile cookbook.

Thank you for this book! I’m absolutely amazed at the details that went into putting a book like this together for those picky eaters. I’ve never heard of this author but just the idea that you can use veggies to make great homemade dishes pulled me toward this book.

What did I like? Great pictures! The book is very family friendly. The chocolate cake with zucchini is going to be my first try. I’ve heard of this but have never had a recipe for it. For a ton of these recipes your processing the vegetables to make the recipe. So if you have a picky eater or you just need to incorporate more hidden vegetables then I’d recommend this. I will definitely order my own copy and check out the blog.

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!

I loved the layout of this book - fantastic use of multiple indexes (what have you got in, what do you want to eat, etc) as well as the very useful section at the back for writing your own notes about each recipe.

I tried several of the cake recipes and I'll put it down to my baking skills / filters but none of them looked as fantastic as hers and some of them really tasted like the vegetables included (beetroot, I'm looking at you!). A lot of the recipes were pretty straightforward, and the idea to use store bought cake mix with a few extras is genius. That said, a few of the recipes seemed quite fiddly and whilst they looked great, my gut reaction was that as the parent of two small children that seems like a lot of work for a weekday. But maybe something to add to the weekend rotation.

As a mom of a toddler I absolutely loved this one! I love that she takes recipes loved by all, and makes them so much healthier without making it noticeable. Definitely recommend this one to everyone!

I am quite impressed with this recipe book! Read this!

I love the down-to-earth introduction, as the author quickly connects with the readers. I love the discussion on the goal of this book - ways to incorporate vegetables into common recipes as a way to get them comfortable eating more regularly. These seem to cover all the basics from breakfast, lunch and dinner, with ingenious ways to incorporate fresh and frozen veggies.

The recipes are clearly well done, with tips and tricks, ways to freeze and reheat, and personalize. The final touches of a checkoff list at the end, a list of "what to make with what you have" (a list of recipes based off primary ingredients), a list of freezer friendly recipes, and small lists including "top ten", "classics", and "remix", make this quite the masterpiece!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great cookbook. The recipes are interesting and diverse. And the pictures are beautiful!

So many yummy recipes in here! If you’re looking for an easy way to incorporate veggies into your meals, this cookbook is for you and your family!

Really impressed by this book, everything is well-thought off, the photography and the layout are wonderful! I would be tempted to say it maybe more for experienced cooks, but I think there is something for everyone. Love the checklist at the end where you can rate each recipe.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free ebook copy in exchange of an honest review.

Although I don't have children myself I do like quick and easy meals and simple ways to add more vegetables to my meals to please my meat eating partner.

This was a book with many of your favourite types of meals but with an extra hit of good for you vegetables and they taste great. This is a book that isn't necessarily just for kids and they recipes used ingredients I have in my pantry and fridge and they weren't complicated so I found them easy to make and even adapt to my taste.

The photos were great and just reading through the cookbook was enjoyable so I would recommend this to everyone as it makes eating healthy fun whether you are young or young at heart!

Pros: I am an incredibly picky eater and know that I do not get all the servings of veggies that I should. Even though the premise of this book is getting kids to eat more veggies, I was interested in reading this book for tips on how to incorporate more vegetables into the meals I eat (even though I don’t have kids). I appreciate that the author is also a self-described picky eater—it makes me feel like she understands and uses that experience in creating her recipes. The recipes in this book are very approachable for cooks of all skill levels, and the ingredients can be found at any grocery store. In cookbooks I appreciate when there are lots of photos of the recipes so I can compare my attempt with the photo—there are photographs for all of the recipes in this book! Some of the recipes I want to try include the Zucchini Biscuits, Chicken Noodle Soup, Cauliflower and Potato Gnocchi, Penne alla Vodka, Spinach Pasta Dough, Cauliflower Chive Risotto, and Garlic Spinach Naan, to name a few. I realized that many of the cauliflower and spinach recipes sounded appealing, so I’m determined to start with those two vegetables. I also loved the recipe checklist at the back of the book that offers space for notes and ratings.

Cons: None that I can think of—this book has so many recipes that I think there is something for everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and BenBella Books for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a perfect cookbook for families! All the recipes in this book are made healthier by including some extra veggies or beans, but the food is recognizable, things the kids would be craving or asking for anyway. Recipes are in chapters on breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides and snack time, and dessert. There are full color photos of the recipes. Some of my favorite parts are at the very end - a checklist section to rate and write notes for the recipes you try, a "What to Make with What You Have" list of suggestions (perfect alternate index, although there's a traditional one, too), and a list of the recipes that are most freezer friendly.

Content:
The book " More Veggies please" is a vegetarian cookbook for the whole family. Dr nutritional value is increased by replacing unhealthier foods with healthy foods. And all of this, according to the book, barely noticeable on the taste. Nikki Dinki shows how she cleverly mixes the vegetables into other dishes so her kids don't even realize what they've been eating that's healthy.

Opinion:
I think this book is really well done. The pictures are of high quality and the dishes make you want to cook them. The recipes are very easy and I find the idea to consolidate a healthy diet in an unconscious way, a good idea.

Conclusion:
A useful cookbook with many great vegetarian alternatives. Therefore, I can easily give 5 out of 5 stars.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Although Nikki Dinki’s book, More Veggies Please!: Easy Kid-Approved Meals and Family-Friendly Comfort Foods with Surprising Veggie Twists is geared toward kid-friendly meals, it is also a perfect cookbook for those who have picky husbands who need to eat more vegetables and healthy meals. Husbands often get pickier as they age (mine’s 81) and it gets harder and harder to feed them and hopefully keep them alive and well. Dinki’s cookbook has dozens of recipes that will appeal even to my stubborn (but adorable) husband, and she has used her imagination to create great meals that everyone will love.

Spinach isn’t a much-loved vegetable and Dinki has included it in several recipes that will appeal to everyone. Eggplant is another vegetable that isn’t loved, especially by children, but as an ingredient in meatballs and other dishes, it adds nutrition and flavor. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes are also used often in this cookbook.

The recipes in this book are worth trying; it’s impressive how the author has taken vegetables and beans and inserted them secretly into dishes without giving it away that they are healthy. Children (and husbands) won’t know they’re eating healthy, but they will know that they like what they are eating.

This cookbook would make a good gift for cooks with small children. It has enough tempting dishes that everyone will love, and those dishes have been made much healthier than their traditional counterparts. My queue of meals to try keeps getting longer and longer as I try recipes from this cookbook and sample the dishes. Highly recommended for everyone who wants to eat healthy.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This is a very well-done cookbook! I really appreciated the philosophy of adding vegetables to recipes for what they can contribute to the dish (nutrition, texture, body, umami) instead of for what they can replace (fat, calories, etc.). The point is to enhance the food, not to make it "healthier" and just on the edge of tolerable.

I really liked:

Raw weights were given for produce (1 medium zucchini can mean lots of things to lots of different people!)
Recipes were beautifully photographed, including final results and technique steps
The list of suggested recipes based around what you have on hand at the moment
Convenient ingredients and quick techniques were encouraged where possible

This will be a great resource to have in the kitchen and I already have a list of several I can't wait to try!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!