Interview with chef Domenica Catelli

Celebrity chef, author and recurring judge on the Food Network’s hit cooking competition show Iron Chef America, Domenica Catelli is a woman of many talents. Her first cookbook, Mom-a-licious: Fresh, fast, family food for the hot mama in you! which was published in 2007, was a major success.

She also has been a guest on Oprah with Friends, with Dr. Oz on XM Radio as well as being a featured chef on Fox News in Houston, Texas for the Fox Grill. Ms. Catelli has also been featured in publications such as Vegetarian Times, Kiwi Magazine and Oprah.com.

Dominica’s even cooked for such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams and even ex-President George H.W. Bush and ex-First Lady Barbara Bush. TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Sari N. Kent had the opportunity to speak with Dominica about her hit cookbook and how she keeps her recipes healthy while still maintaining their flavor.

TheCelebrityCafe: On your web site, it says “your claim to fame is getting children to eat rare vegetables like Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard and cauliflower, without hiding the ingredients!” How do you accomplish such a feat?

Domenica Catelli: My theory is just to keep it simple and I think one of the biggest obstacles is texture. A lot of times kids are presented with vegetables that are overcooked and really mushy and they’ve lost their flavor. But there’s also an attitude around it that it’s something horrible that they have to get through. So, that kind of mentality the, “If you eat this, you’ll get this.” So for me it’s keeping it simple like by using salt, pepper, olive oil and heat and for example putting asparagus with salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven at 450 for three minutes and the vegetables will cook for such a small amount of time that they still have a little crunch and still retain their flavor.

TheCelebrityCafe: Your first cookbook Mom-a-licious: Fresh, fast, family food for the hot mama in you! which was published in Fall 2007 and was an instant smash. In it you talk about the “stick with it” mentality that leads to less fussy eating for children. What exactly does that mean and how can families implement it?

Domenica Catelli: Well, medical advice says that it takes up to 15 to 20 times to take on a habit like with food, so if your child turns like nose up at a certain food the first time, so it may take two to three tries. There’s also a pattern. Like with my daughter, when she was little she loved salad but around 6 years old she couldn’t stand it but by 7 years old she was into it again so. So, it’s a matter of reintroducing certain foods. It can be hard but the benefits can be rewarding.

TheCelebrityCafe: I know what you mean. When I was little my mother told me that I couldn’t get enough of sweet potatoes. When I got older, I couldn’t stand them, but, a few years ago, she reintroduced them to me and now I love them again.

Domenica Catelli: Well, there’s no scientific proof of this but I’ve heard that there’s a seven year cycle for the palette. That its tastes change every seven years. There’s no medical research to back that up its just something I’ve heard over the years.

TheCelebrityCafe: Also, in your cookbook you advocate a number of ideas to get kids to start the day NOT with a sugary cereal, but with for example, a fruit and kefir parfait w/ Kashi cereal on top. What other quick breakfast ideas can you share for parents who are looking to feed their kids healthier breakfasts?

Domenica Catelli: Sure. A lot of times I’m in a hurry or I have to get my daughter out so as much as I would love to make a big breakfast, sometimes it doesn’t happen. So, for me I LOVE Kashi cereal. For example, the Cinnamon Harvest has like four ingredients. One thing I highly recommend parents to do is learn about the ingredients, they should be simple, they should be things you understand, things like wheat, flour. If it’s got a super long name that you need a Ph.D. to decode, it’s something that doesn’t belong in your body. *laugh* A lot of cereals are so packed with sugar that they can have three or four different forms on the ingredient label, so it’s like giving your child candy. So, giving them something with whole grain and put milk or yogurt with it, or some frozen berries which have antioxidants, that gives extra protein and you can add as much or as little as you want and you can create an energy boosting morning quickly.

TheCelebrityCafe: You also mention swapping healthy alternatives in kids’ lunches like jicama sticks instead of potato chips and a Kashi granola bar instead of a candy bar. Can you give the site’s readers any other healthy swapping ideas that parents can substitute in their kids’ lunches that they’ll enjoy?

Domenica Catelli: Well, I always encourage including fresh fruit, but you don’t have any, carrot slices are good. You want a balance so when they want a snack, you can use almond butter on apple slices and there’s another Kashi bar I love. It’s a chocolate bar, it’s really decadent chocolate, but it has dates too. So, you can give them something that’s decadent and satisfying, that’s a treat in a way without giving them cookies for instance, which are packed with hydrogenated oils and sugars. So, those are the things you should be looking for on the label, preservatives, hydrogenated oils. You want to give them snacks on the go that have flavor but that are also beneficial.

TheCelebrityCafe: One more thing, you mention is using unique ingredients in your recipes. Can you give me some examples?

Domenica Catelli: I would say, well I wouldn’t define it as ‘unique’ but using ingredients that people don’t think of as often. Like, one of my favorite things to use for flavor is fresh herbs, and what I’ve found is that people can feel overwhelmed with things like fresh basil. So, what you do is you can take basil leaves and tear them up or put them on a sandwich, or chop them up real fine and sprinkle them on top. If I’m making a dessert like a peach crisp, it’s a nice complement to add fresh herbs and it makes a huge difference in flavor and it’s not adding any extra calories.

TheCelebrityCafe: In the cookbook, you also outline certain items a family needs to “kick out” of their pantry and refrigerator and what they should add. Can you give me some examples?

Domenica Catelli: Yes, you can see that in my book as well as on my web site. Okay, the first thing you need to do is to take out anything artificial. But, you don’t want to overwhelm people. Some people want to just clean out everything and restock. You want to start small like with low-fat mayo, it has twice the sugar. To get the fat out, they have to double up the ingredients list to even it out so they put in lots of other things like salt. So, if you’re a fan of regular mayonnaise, I’d rather you keep with it rather than buying something that’s been concocted to be something that it’s not. Also try to eliminate hydrogenated oils, artificial sugars. You can try substituting organic milk versus regular. That’s an option that’s available at most stores. It’s all about the ingredient list. Let’s say you’re looking at the ingredient list of a bread. The front of the package could say that it’s a whole grain bread. Unfortunately, if you look at the ingredient list, you could see that one of the ingredients is corn syrup. You have to watch out for what it says and check if the ingredients match up to what the product is calling itself.

TheCelebrityCafe: Your cookbook also gives ideas for healthy foods to feed your baby, which most cookbooks for adults don’t usually include. I’ve read that a baby’s eating habits can shape how picky they are as an adult. Can you mention some tips on how to feed your baby a healthy diet from the start?

Domenica Catelli: Well, this is again about introducing different flavors. In the last trimester is when out palettes are most sensitive so introducing herbs, etc. is very important. The more flavors you can introduce the better. Sugar is usually too sweet so we try to encourage introducing that down the road. Things that are more savory, building on the flavors. It comes down to the foods you make yourself versus what’s in the jar. Like cutting up fresh fruit or an avocado, you’re really giving them a whole other level of texture and taste development.

TheCelebrityCafe: I know you have many recipes in your arsenal, but are there any recipes that stand out as your favorites?

Domenica Catelli: For a weekday on the go, I’d have to say the Lemony Chicken One Dish dinner, because you can make it in easily a half hour and Its everything in one pan, which means you have only one dish to clean up, which is fantastic, It’s in the book and on my web site. The key to it is that all of the vegetables are cut up. You put it in at a really high heat with the spices and it cooks real well. I also love the chard recipes, which are also in the book. It’s so good for us and our kids, and I’m seeing it used more and more. I recommend eating it ourselves, as well as feeding it to our kids, 2 to 3 times a week. It’s about chopping them up, cooking them over a high heat and splashing them with some olive oil and it’s delicious!