The most important tactic you can take when it comes to swapping out foods in your kids' diets is to go slowly. A Hook recipe is a tasty homemade version of my kids' favorite foods. My Goal recipe is the recipe I'm hoping to serve my family on a regular basis. Transitional recipes, also known as my Hook and Goal recipes, are based on the foundation that it's very hard to change habits.

I find that anything I make that isn't healthy is easier to slowly change. Take premade chicken nuggets, for example. It's probably harder to transition your kids off of them because you're making changes from the inside out.

So here's the key to success: Have them fall in love with your cooking. In Michael Pollan's newest book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, he explains that the single biggest decision you can make for you and your bodies is whether or not you cook — not whether you eat low-calorie or buy organic. The real question is: Did you cook it?

I have my own rule: I don't worry about a single thing my kids eat as long as I know I've made it. If I make a cake out of fresh butter, sugar, etc., I worry less about that than when I purchase a cake. The best thing you can do for your kids is cook their food.