TIP ONE: Pick your recipe carefully. Make sure it has a good task in it that your child can do. Leave the difficult recipes for another time, or leave them out.

Kid-Friendly Tasks:

• Decorating and sprinkles are ideal projects for kids, if a bit messy. Working with just the finished cookies also removes the chance of your child eating raw eggs in the dough. You can use pasteurized egg if this is a worry.
• Sugar cookie dough is usually forgiving and easy to work with. Kids love to help roll out the dough so you might consider a few child-friendly tools. I realized my finger-crushing marble rolling pin was better left in my hands. I bought a child-size silicone version for the small sous chef.
• Measuring ingredients and sifting are great kid tasks and a good opportunity to teach some basic math skills.

TIP TWO: Pick your time even more carefully. If the kids are not ready, most dough can chill for a couple days. And so can you.
Missed naps, bad days at school, a tantrum or two (or eight) usually means time out on cookie-making. Heed the crayon writing on the wall.
It’s easy to forget, we moms put ourselves last a lot around busy holidays (okay, in general), but make sure you are up for it, too. The process takes extra time and patience, if you don’t have that in store, just wait.

TIP THREE: Tell your inner-Martha to get lost. Holidays are a lot more fun without that kind of pressure.
If you are gazing at the cookie issue of Gourmet, visualizing your cookies to look like this, remember you have child labor. The end result is going to look a lot like their other art projects. Adjust your vision.
Finally, when it comes to sprinkles and gumdrops and frosting, you might want to get a good meal into little bellies before you line the countertops with sugar. Face it, the rest of the day is blown nutritionally and a layer of healthy food can buffer the sugar rush.

TIP FOUR: Some assembly required.
If you choose to do a gingerbread house this year, consider a pre-made kit that you just assemble and decorate. It took several hours to get the pieces baked and ready and buy all the candy. Smaller kids don’t have much patience for this level of effort. Heck, I don’t have much patience for this level of effort. Skip to the fun part, or pre-bake where needed. It’s not like you are going to eat it, even if the candy does get picked off.

TIP FIVE: Christmas is supposed to be fun.
I’m still contemplating therapy from a childhood spent around a “Christmas Perfectionist.” So, no hiding the cookies that don’t look “good enough” for company. Laugh when there are mistakes, consider the vacuum an essential part of the process, lighten up. When you start to feel controlling, stop and think, “Is this how I want my child to remember the holiday?”

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, many families celebrate by having green food. While it may be tempting to artificially color your way to a green St. Paddy’s day dinner, health-conscious parents can achieve a better result by choosing locally grown green herbs and produce and throwing them into the mix.

My kids don’t like green foods, you say? Let’s take a step back and see why this might be. Just about all naturally green foods are vegetables. And a large number of vegetables happen to be green. That said, it can’t just be a vegetable’s green color that leaves so many kids sticking to their story that they just don’t like vegetables? Given the opportunity, very few kids will turn down green SweeTarts or Skittles, so we’re clearly not just dealing with shades of green. It must then boil down to the fact that vegetables, and green ones in particular, unintentionally (or intentionally) be given bad press by children’s most influential role models—their parents! Add to that the fact that green foods don’t get much love in television commercials or in casual conversation amongst friends and classmates—two other important influencers in children’s lives–and we seem to have identified the root of the problem.

So what can you do to bring green back into your child’s diet?

• Keep any anti-green propaganda to yourself. Hearing disparaging remarks about asparagus and other green veggies on a regular basis is certainly not going to result in them receiving a warm welcome at mealtime, and can even lead children to shun foods they otherwise might like.
• Keep a can-do attitude. It is very useful to keep in mind that it can take multiple exposures to a food before a child will eat it. It’s not surprising that parents often give up serving green vegetables after one or two rejected attempts. Just knowing that many children require a dozen or more tries before realizing a food isn’t so bad (and may actually taste pretty good!) can help you promote the cause a little longer.
• Don’t turn green vegetables into second-class citizens. Forcing a child to eat his veggies in order to get dessert is a common ploy that can backfire. Instead of seeing green as a good thing, kids will see it as a means to an end and actually grow to dislike it even more. The desired food (dessert) simply becomes more desirable, while the “required” food becomes more of a chore.
• Get your creative juices flowing. Look around and try to find healthy foods—green or not—that appeal to both kids and adults. Mix green foods and herbs with other foods your family loves, and you’ll have a menu that you can all feel good about.

Here’s a sample menu you can try. We’re hoping these flavorful green, nutrient-rich foods will overcome any fear of green you or your child may have—and leave your friends and neighbors green with envy.

“Spring Green” Pasta
For the sauce:
1 tbs. butter
2 tbs. pesto
1/4 cup half and half
1 large leek, cleaned well of grit, rinsed and chopped
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
salt and pepper to taste

For the veggies:
1 bunch chard, washed, stems and center rib removed, chopped
1 cup frozen peas (or fresh if you can find them)
1 bunch asparagus, cut in 1/2-inch pieces OR 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, diced, whichever your child will more likely eat

Pasta:
1/2 pound spaghetti OR spinach pasta storebought OR
1/2 pound spinach pasta (recipe follows)

Boil the water for pasta. While waiting for the water to boil, place the veggies in a steamer, and set timer for only 4 minutes. Vegetables often taste best “tender crisp” and not overcooked. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter and add the leek. Sweat the leek until white parts are translucent. Add the half and half, stir until it thickens, then add the cheese and pesto. Boil the pasta, following directions, to al dente, drain, but do not rinse.

You may notice that there are a lot more vegetables than sauce! This is intentional to keep the dish light and to let the flavor of the spring vegetables come through. Combine the ingredients, tossing lightly. Garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan, if desired. Serves 8.

Spinach Pasta
6 cups fresh spinach, cleaned and drained
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed
1 cup semolina flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp. Olive oil
1/2 tsp. Salt

“Pan” the spinach by putting the damp leaves into a pot and heat on low just until the spinach wilts. Drain the spinach and let cool. Squeeze the spinach into a ball with your hands, pressing out as much of the water as possible. Chop fine.

Add the spinach to the eggs. Olive oil, and salt. Place all but a 1/4 cup of the flour and semolina in a food processor work bowl. While the blade is running, pour the egg and spinach mixture through the feed tube. Pulse until the dough comes together, sticky and still a bit rough. Do not over mix. Place the dough on a work surface, sprinkled with some of the reserved flour. Knead the dough, adding flour if needed, for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, but not sticky. Allow the dough to rest for one hour before rolling.

Using a pasta roller, roll 1/4 of the dough at a time into sheets. Cut to fettuccine size with blade attachment, or by rolling the sheet of dough (lightly sprinkle with flour) into a roll and slicing the roll into 1/4 inch thick strips. Toss the strips with a bit of flour, and keep covered with a kitchen towel until use. You can also freeze the pasta at this stage for later use. This recipe makes about 1 pound of pasta, you will only need half of a batch for the above recipe.

Lucky Fruit Salad
5 Kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 cup green grapes, sliced lengthwise
2 granny smith apples, cored and diced
1 lime, zest and juice
1/2 cup apple juice
Toss the fruit gently in bowl with the lime and apple juice. Garnish with lime zest and optional mint.

Chocolate-Pistachio Zucchini Bread
Dry Ingredients:
1 3⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 tbs. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbs. cocoa powder

Cream together:
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Fold in:
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup dark chocolate (bittersweet) chips
2/3 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the dry ingredients, blending well. Using a mixer, cream the “wet” ingredients and sugars. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in the zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts. Put batter into a standard loaf pan.

Bake for about one hour. But the water content of the zucchini can vary, so check the bread. If a toothpick inserted in the top and center comes out clean, it should be done. I baked mine for closer to 90 minutes, so you have to watch it.

The end result is rich, moist and chocolate-y without being overly sweet. Is it bread, vegetable, or cake? Does it matter? You can also bake the batter as cupcakes or muffins and frost for a St. Pat’s celebration. Adjust the baking time to about 20 minutes and check, baking longer until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

To be fair, they were decent meatballs, but made with sausage and a bit heavier on the pepper. Still, these are the words that make a Mom’s heart sing. She likes my cooking! After all the food worries from the days of baby food, to eating dirt, to Battle Orange, to now, she likes my food.

It’s these comments that keep me trying. I decided maybe I would take on the, uh, cuisine at school with some real versions of their dishes. First I had to figure out just what those are.

Basically, two-thirds of the meals consist of some kind of condensed canned soup, a meat, and a starch. So it goes like this; chicken and noodles, ham and noodles, beef and noodles, beef and rice, chicken and rice, ham and potatoes … and so on. Three ingredients, not a tough challenge. I had some Thanksgiving turkey, cooked, in the freezer, so I opted for the recipe du jour of Turkey and Noodles.

Real Turkey and Noodles
1 lb. cooked turkey, chopped
1/2 lb. pasta (I like whole grain Barilla plus)
1 shallot, chopped
4 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Cook the pasta as directed. While waiting for that, heat the butter in a sauce pan. When it is melted, add the shallot and sweat until translucent. Add the flour, whisking and cooking the “roux” until it just starts to smell nutty, or cooked, but has not yet started to brown. Slowly add the stock, whisking as you go to keep it smooth as it thickens, about five minutes. Add the cooked turkey and heat through. Season to taste.

Drain the pasta when it is just al dente. In a 9×9 baking dish, combine the noodles and the turkey mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the panko crumbs with the grated cheese. Sprinkle on top. Place baking dish under the broiler for just a few minutes to make the crunchy topping golden brown. Serve.

This is basic and tasty comfort food. What makes it good is using real ingredients, not processed, canned soup full of saturated fats (it uses just butter and not cream as well) and salt in a gluey mass. The Kiddo really liked it, and frankly, so did I. Real food doesn’t always have to be slow. The recipe takes less time than a trip through the drive-thru. However, I am now being requested to pack someone’s lunch for school every day.

I am always on the lookout for recipe ideas for kids’ meals. I spotted this book, Salad People and More Real Recipes, on the shelf at a kitchen store and recognized the author from her Moosewood Cookbook, a top vegetarian title. When I opened the book, I quickly realized this is not a book for me to cook recipes from, it is a cookbook for my child to cook from. The recipes feature short lists of ingredients and easy, fun illustrations instead of instructions. Even children who do not read yet will be able to identify the steps and follow along.

The recipes start with the fun tips on making salad people and include other dishes like Polka Dot Rice and Counting Soup; all sound as creative and fun to prepare as they are healthy and tasty. All twenty recipes were tested in the kitchen with cooks ranging in age from just under three to age six. Deciding factors on the recipes to include in the book included the kids’ interest in eating the finished product as well as important considerations such as attention span, tasks, flavor, and variety of ingredients.

Each recipe includes information for the parent or teacher to help prepare for the cooking lesson and make sure the experience is a success. Indeed, the instructions for parents are of great value since they provide good insight on teaching your child to cook. Katzen has published two other books for young cooks; Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes for preschoolers; and Honest Pretzels for kids aged eight and up. She is currently a consultant and co-creator of Harvard’s Food Literacy Initiative.

For our test recipe, the chef and I chose the Mango-Honey Lassi. It was a much simpler dish than the traditional version you’ll find in an Indian restaurant, but it was tangy and just sweet enough. We all toasted one another at dinner to my child’s first recipe book success.

Mango-Honey Lassi
1/2 cup chopped mango pulp (or 4 oz fresh or frozen mango)
3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
Non-stick spray for the honey spoon
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
3 ice cubes

1) Combine the mango, honey and buttermilk in a blender and blend until smooth

2) Serve over ice and drink!

Yield 1 serving

Salad People and More Real Recipes
by Mollie Katzen
Tricycle Press
Suggested Retail: $17.95

Other chapters include Whining and Dining; Eating Out Without Reservations; and It’s Not Easy Being Green. Beneath the word play is sage advice served up in the same style as good parenting: consistent, constructive, guilt-free, with a side of of humor. The authors even use a “fork rating” system to help the reader understand which battles to take seriously and when to just lighten up.

While the book is beneficial for all parents with young kids, it offers a lot of up-to-date wisdom for new parents who are wondering how to start their little ones out at the table amidst a banquet of “advice” from others. The text also answers nearly every food question I have ever heard from other parents when they find out that I cook and have a young child. The humor and easy but informative prose make Food Fights an ideal book for a baby shower or new parent gift.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
Price: US $14.95

The book features 100 recipes that all adhere to the USDA Dietary Guidelines, even the desserts. Each recipe features a full-color photo and information on the nutritional benefits of key ingredients as well as helpful tips and tricks, and nutritional analysis. The recipes were originally published in an award-winning column by the same name in The Kansas City Star, as well as syndicated nationally through the McClatchy-Tribune News Services.

The chapter list has a section for Kids Meals, including such kid-enticing recipes as Pizza Pasta Salad, Guilt-Free Onion Rings, and Vegetable Calzones. Even so, nearly every recipe in the book will appeal to the whole family.

Best of all, the recipes don’t require any hard-to-find ingredients and they feature easy instructions and techniques. Most recipes can be made in about thirty minutes, making the book a great weeknight dinner resource for busy parents. Even the perennial high-maintenance dish of risotto has been made easy with a recipe for Slow Cooker Risotto with Swiss Chard.

“I think the main message is that a little can go a long way. Just a few, delicious, nearly imperceptible changes in the way you eat every day can make a huge difference in your overall health,” says author Silva.

I am thinking if those few changes include things like Greek Tacos, Farmers Market Salad, and Key Lime Tartlets, my family can handle them and ask for more. I opted to make the Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars since these are two of my favorite flavors conveniently put into one recipe that is perfect for the holiday season.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars
Makes 12 servings

2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup solid pack pumpkin
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square pan with non-stick vegetable cooking spray.

Beat eggs with electric mixer at high speed 2 minutes. Add brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add pumpkin, molasses, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger; stir to blend. Add to pumpkin mixture; stir well.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool 10 minutes in pan; invert onto platter. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.

Recipe ©2007 Jill Wendholdt Silva

Book Details:
Eating for Life: 100 Healthful Recipes from The Kansas City Star
By Jill Wendholdt Silva

Publisher: Kansas City Star Books
Hardcover, 220 Pages
Price: 24.95
Available from Amazon

Indeed, the whole project began over a few peas rejected by her seven-year-old veggiphobe Freddie. Now, nearly a year later, the project is going to be published as a cookbook upon completion, and Freddie has a whole new outlook on eating. I caught up with her to do a “cross-Atlantic” interview by email.

You recently passed a “vegetable milestone” with peas since your son’s refusal to eat them started you down this path. What are the first thoughts that come to mind when you look back on this past year?

My first thought, looking back on the past year, is how much fun we have had as a family. What started as a rather desperate plea for help with a fussy eater has become a relaxing, involving activity for all of us. I have learnt so much about how you can create change in children who are scared of eating vegetables. And the person who has changed most is not Freddie, but me!

What is the most unexpected and pleasant surprise from this experience?

I hadn’t realised how rapidly Freddie would start to explore and taste vegetables. We have both loved making friends with people around the world, via the blog, all through vegetables. Who would have thought it? We have all been surprised how much we enjoy some of the weird and wonderful vegetables out there - the eddoe, edamame, artichokes, even dandelion leaves - these are just some of the veggies we have tasted and have now become firm favourites. I was the kind of parent who would offer, in rotation, broccoli, peas and carrots which Freddie would reject in rotation. So the surprise is if you leave your comfort zone and try new things, you will be rewarded.

As a mom of a picky eater, what advice and lessons can you share with other parents about getting past “picky?”

Every picky eater has different reasons for being scared of trying new things and each family has to find the best way for them. But the simplest piece of advice I can give is that you have to help a child to learn to explore food before they can learn to eat and taste. For us, for Freddie, this meant going to markets together, chosing vegetables together, visiting farms, talking to farmers about how they produce the food we eat, and tasting as many new things as possible. We try at least 3 recipes for each vegetable so that Freddie can see that even though he doesn’t maybe like peas boiled and served plain, he does like them as pea pesto or in a creamy pea soup. We also hold tasting sessions, trying different varieties of vegetables. Eating through the alphabet of vegetables might seem a bit extreme, but it gave us a momentum which helped him to feel safer and happier with trying new things. So if he came across a vegetable he really didnt like he knew we would in a short time be moving on to something new. Maybe parents could try eating through the letters in their child’s name instead of the alphabet, which I admit is a longer journey to take! And lastly letting them score what they like and don’t like gives them more of a sense of being in control. Freddie likes being the judge and jury — and I don’t take it personally now when he dislikes a recipe.

How have your children’s attitudes changed during this experience?

Definitely. Alex, my 11-year-old daughter, has always been a great eater, willing to try new tastes and enjoying mealtime. The Great Big Veg Challenge has made her even more adventurous, and she is very involved with the cooking. She is happy because mealtime has become far more interesting and delicious.

Freddie’s attitude is utterly different. He no longer sees himself as a vegetable-hater. He is able now to go out to meals with friends at restaurants and enjoy what is on offer. He is relaxed at mealtimes, sees the Great Big Veg Challenge as something to enjoy and something to be proud of.

What are your most favorite recipes?

My favourite recipes are probably the simplest family meals. I love Edamame bean, ricotta and bacon pasta. Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic was delicious and great fun. Ripe plantains baked in lime and ginger were fabulous.

What are your children’s most favorite recipes?

Well I would be lying if I didn’t say that they adore the Chocolate and Beetroot Cake! But on a more healthy note, Freddie has many favourites: edamame bean soup, pea pesto, spinach fritters, zucchini quesadillas, sweet potato calzone, and globe artichoke pizza, to name but a few.

Alexandra loves the Pumpkin Soup that we made, Dandelion Tart, Turnip Fries, Slow Cooked Green Beans, and Kale Chips.

I understand your project will be published as a book. When and where can we find a copy?

Yes, we are so excited about this. A book of the Great Big Vegetable Challenge will be out next July, published by Random House UK. I hope it will be available online on Amazon and in all good bookshops!

Be sure to look for that Kale Chip recipe, which ended up being included in the project! I had left it as a comment and thus, “met” the author by email. It’s been wonderful to hear from Charlotte and watch the creative recipes and projects on her site. I wish her the very best and look forward to the book!

According to the survey, called the School Health Policies and Programs Study, 30 percent of school districts have banned junk foods from vending machines, a significant increase from the four percent in 2000. Other improvements were made in the a la carte selections with the offering of salads and vegetables other than potatoes up nearly 20 percent.
Lunch programs serving fried potatoes are on the decrease as well, down 21 percent from six years ago. The sale of high-fat items from bake sales and fund raisers also showed nearly 13 percent decline. School districts that prohibited the use of food or food coupons as rewards also increased by nearly 15 percent.
Even with this notable progress, physical education programs still have a long way to go. Only fourteen percent of all schools, elementary to high school level, have physical education as daily curriculum. Twenty percent of schools required no physical education at all. Worse, fast foods such as Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are still available even at the elementary school level for 12 percent of these schools. The percentage increases with the age level to 19 percent for middle schools and 24 percent of high schools.

Even where fast food is not available, lunch items often still mirror fast food selections. In a recent informal and limited survey of just a handful of parents, school menu items still included main course items like; Nacho Chips with Cheese and Beans, Pancake Sausage on a Stick, Chicken Nuggets, Wrapped Cheese Dog, Hot Dog Tacos, and one menu where Bacon was the primary protein served with Cinnamon Roll and Hash Browns.

Healthy choices from a few schools included salad bars and veggie burgers. Not so surprisingly, these menus hailed from two of our nation’s “thinner” states, California and Colorado. The most enticing menus submitted were from Europe and the UK, including such things as Lamb and Vegetable Tagine and Carrot Soup along with fresh fruit and cheese courses for preschoolers.

Here in the states, we’re definitely lagging and hung up in the whole “Kid Food Myth,” but the progress is a welcome change. It will be interesting to see what happens when the CDC’s survey is repeated in 2012. Meanwhile, I might start looking for our passports!

(Cupcake originally uploaded by expatkitchen)

As far as the whole kid vs. vegetable thing goes, I play it pretty straight — no tricks. Yes, every lunch and dinner plate I serve has a vegetable on it. Usually more than one. If there is a vegetable in a dish, I tell the little one it’s in there. She’s under three, sure, but she should learn about what she’s eating. It works better in the long run to involve her.

It doesn’t work all of the time. I get rejections. The average child has to be exposed to a new food up to fifteen times before they may like it. I have to stay in the game, and when the going gets tough, well, the hard-headed get creative. You can put a vegetable that works without pureeing into nearly any kind of dish and for any meal of the day, even breakfast. Everything from main courses like meatloaf to a delicious dessert.

In fact, Halloween is probably the easiest time of the year to serve up veggie-treats like pumpkin bread, pie, cookies, and even pumpkin waffles. But why leave it at just pumpkin? Here’s two of my new favorite treats that may give you some ideas. Both of them use more vegetable than any other ingredient. And they just may get your kids to find vegetables frighteningly good.

Ginger-Carrot Raisin Cupcakes

For the dry ingredients, mix together:
1 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1/2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

For the “wet” ingredients, cream together:
1 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. orange extract
1/2 cup canola oil (or you can sub in 1/2 cup applesauce)

Fold in last:
3 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup raisins
2 tbs. chopped crystallized ginger

For the frosting:
4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
4 tbs. butter, softened
1 tsp. orange extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven 350 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Using a mixer, cream together the wet ingredients for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined well. Add the carrots, raisins, and ginger, and mix again just until combined. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake for about 30 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

For the frosting, cream together all the ingredients in the mixer on medium-high speed until light. Frost and decorate as desired.

Chocolate-Walnut Zucchini Bread

Dry Ingredients:
1 3⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 tbs. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
4 tbs. cocoa powder

Cream together:
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Fold in:
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup dark chocolate (bittersweet) chips
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grate the zucchini and set aside to drain. Mix together the dry ingredients, blending well. Using a mixer, cream the “wet” ingredients and sugars. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just blended. Squeeze out the excess moisture from the zucchini before adding. Fold in the zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts. Put batter into a standard loaf pan.

Bake for about one hour. The water content of the zucchini can vary, so check the bread. If a toothpick inserted in the top and center comes out clean, it should be done. I baked mine for closer to 90 minutes, so you have to watch it. The final product is incredibly moist, more like bread pudding bread than bread. Lovely. The surprise here is that both recipes use the vegetable as the main ingredient. They also use less oil than many baked goods because of the high moisture content you get from the carrots or squash.