Wendy McCallum, a mom with a high pressure job, a husband, and two babies, was trying to do it all -- including making sure her kids were eating well. When her children turned four, she decided to leave her first career behind and focus on learning more about natural food -- and how to get all of us eating more of it, starting with her own family.

Four years later, she's ready to share what's she's learned. We can all eat less of the packaged, processed, and prepared food and instead enjoy real food that is quick, easy, and delicious. In this cookbook, she offers easy-to-make real food alternatives to the most popular processed foods -- from Kraft Dinner to Bear Paws. Every one of her recipes is kid tested and kid approved. The recipes range from Ain't Jemima Pancake Syrup to Popeye Pesto to Free Range Goldfish and This Chalet Chicken.

Wendy offers ideas on how to take the small steps that can ultimately lead to big changes in how a family eats and feels. Great presentation ideas and appealing photographs of the dishes make this book practical and useful. There's a wide range of gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free dishes for families who have food allergies to consider.

Wendy McCallum is a great guide for parents who want to make a shift from convenient but unhealthy prepared foods to quick-to-prepare real food that everyone will love.

"My two favourite snacks are the Don't Have a Meltdown Pops and the Kalato chips. They're both so good I don't want to choose." Mae, age 7

"Even if you're a non-beet lover, the gravy covers them up -- this is a ten out of ten!" Ayla, age 9 (trying the Karmic Buddha Bowls)

"Crunchy. Salty. Yummy." Dahlia, age 6 (on the Garbanzo Gobble)

WENDY McCALLUM followed her passion for real food by leaving her first career as a lawyer and going back to college to learn more about nutrition and food. She now operates a business which helps families make a move from popular processed food to making and enjoying real food alternatives. She lives in Halifax with her family.

Visit Wendy online at simple-balance.ca.

Wendy McCallum's profile page

"I bought your cookbook today and spent a fun hour with my boys tagging the recipes we want to try -- happy to say we ran out of post-it notes, there were so many! I especially appreciate the 'real facts' about 'not real' food - it was nice for the boys to read it in black and white instead of just hearing me rant about it... Thanks, Wendy!"

S. Kirby (real parent!)

"Dont Worry, Make Curry [p. 70 was a huge hit with my family. Definitely a new fav for us!"

C. Cowan (real parent!)

"I am enjoying you book so much, my fav is the oatmeal, we make the dry portion in small mason jars for the week and then through the week we add water and a bit of maple syrup! It is fantastic!! Breakfast is ready to go for those busy mornings."

C. Coish (real parent!)

"We try a new recipe from the cookbook every week and so far we are batting 100! The kids love them all!"

L. Webber (real parent!)

"This lively cookbook exuberantly proclaims what parents should feed their kids as substitutes for popular prepared foods. Parents needing new food ideas for their kids just might want to thank her."

Atlantic Books Today

East Coast Momma Collective

"p 54 [Vitamin ABC Soup ... Seriously amazing. Kids and adults loved it! Can't wait to try some more."

T. Miller (real parent!)