Reprinted from Start Fresh: Your Child’s Jumpstart to Lifelong Healthy Eating by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.

“This tastes like Christmas. I was looking for a puree to serve with a quail dish at my San Francisco restaurant, Wayfare Tavern, and after a few trials I landed on this savory combo. It’s crazy good.”

Photo by John Lee

Ingredients:

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 Bosc pear, cored and cut into chunks

3 dried figs

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

In a saucepan, combine the parsnips, pear, and figs. Add 1 ⁄2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the parsnips are tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Transfer the parsnips, pear, and figs along with the cooking liquid to a blender and puree until smooth consistency. Fold in the orange zest and maple syrup and stir until well blended. Serve warm.

Makes four 1/2-cup servings or two 1-cup servings

Reprinted from Start Fresh: Your Child’s Jumpstart to Lifelong Healthy Eating by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.

“Beets and spinach make this salad incredibly nutritious, but it’s the addition of quinoa that catapults it into the realm of superfood! This South American grain is just as easy to make as couscous but packs a lot more protein and has a nice toothy crunch. You’ll find this salad quite delicious and easy to make, so give it a try, especially if you haven’t really played around with quinoa that much.”

Photo by John Lee

Ingredients:

5 small golden beets, scrubbed

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup quinoa

1 ounce fresh spinach, stems removed, shredded

3 tablespoons raisins

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1⁄2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Arrange the beets on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the beets until tender when pierced with a fork, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the beets stand until cool enough to handle, then use wet hands to slip the skins from the beets. Cut the beets into quarters.

Meanwhile, in a 11 ⁄2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fold the spinach into the quinoa and set aside.

In a large bowl, fold the quinoa mixture, beets, raisins, and feta together and drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil and the lemon juice.

Divide the entire recipe into both adult and child-friendly portions. For adults, serve as is. For children, transfer to a food processor and puree or fork-mash, as appropriate.

Makes 4 adult servings or about 6 kid servings

Reprinted from Start Fresh: Your Child’s Jumpstart to Lifelong Healthy Eating by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.

“When your child tastes this for the first time, watch as he thinks about it for a second, and then smiles for another bite. None of the ingredients in this smooth pudding are cooked, so it’s as easy to put together as a smoothie.”

Photo by John Lee

Ingredients:

1 banana, sliced

1⁄4 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

1⁄2 Hass avocado

1⁄2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes four 1/2-cup servings or two 1-cup servings

Reprinted Start Fresh by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.

“Brace yourself for one of the most amazing flavor combinations you’ll ever taste. Zip, bang, pow, you won’t know what hit you first: the bright orange of the beta-carotene in the carrots, the sweetness of the apples, or the fresh tang of the mango. In all the years I’ve been cooking, this is one of the best things I’ve made.”

See Tyler make this recipe on The Today Show!

Photo by John Lee

Ingredients

3 medium carrots, peeled
1 mango, cut into chunks
2 medium Granny Smith or Rome apples, halved and cored

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Arrange the carrots, mango, and apples on the baking sheet and roast until the fruit has browned and the carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Scrape the fruit and carrots into a blender and puree until smooth.

Makes about 11⁄2 cups