Eat Those Veggies!
When my oldest, Ewan, was a baby he would eat ANYTHING! Asparagus, kale, broccoli, peas, spinach, carrots, you name it. Well, he is 4 years old now and vegetables don’t have the same appeal they once had. What can I say, he’s acting his age. Surprisingly, the things he LOVED as a baby are not as fun to eat now. He actually prefers raw vegetables these days to cooked ones. Isaac, my 3 year old, eats a bigger variety of food than Ewan, including vegetables. I have been worried about whether or not Ewan gets enough veges in his diet. He would eat bread, pasta, and rice until he turned into a giant carbohydrate if we let him! I personally have a hard time getting the recommended amount of vegetables in my own diet. It is always easy to include vegetables at dinner time but I have a harder time for lunch.
It is because of this that I was interested in the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I had heard about it several months ago and put it in my mental catalogue of cookbooks to try. Then some friends were telling me about it and some of the recipes and I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. When my friend, Kim (who has 4 kids), shared that her kids were gobbling up the food she was cooking I got excited!
The way it works and the reason it is called “Deceptively Delicious” is because you add pureed vegetables to the recipes. It doesn’t affect the flavor in an obvious way but you get some of the extra veggies you need. The book has some great information in it on how the different vegetables are helpful to our bodies. She has a thorough list of foods to keep on hand in your pantry in order to make the recipes from the book. After reading over the list I noticed the things she recommends are items that I usually have on hand anyway. For example, whole wheat flour, whole wheat tortillas, parmesan cheese, brown rice, whole grain pastas, wheat germ, cottage cheese, chicken broth, canned beans. The list is much longer but that gives you an idea of what is required of the recipes. The only thing that I don’t normally keep on hand and needed to get was Flax Seed meal. Flax seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids to your diet which is a great alternative if you aren’t a fish eater. They are good for your bones and your heart.
In the front of the cookbook she also has a list of helpful cooking tools for pureeing the vegetables. The pureed vegetables you add to the recipes are carrots, butternut squash, spinach, beets, avacado, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, summer squash, red peppers, and peas. A couple of recipes call for pureed fruits. She walks you through how to prepare the vegetables for pureeing which I found very helpful. For instance, I have never cooked beets in my life so I had no idea how to cook them before pureeing them!
The categories of recipes are breakfast, meal times, and desserts. Several of the recipes are kids favorites like macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, pancakes, hamburgers, quesadillas, and the list goes on.
So far I have made a turkey meatloaf (delish!), chicken nuggets (mmmmm…), and chocolate chip cookies–with garbanzo beans (the kids LOVED them!). Next on my list to try is pancakes with beets, aloha chicken kebobs, and rice balls.
Overall I think the meals are healthy choices and I love that a lot of the recipes are things that kids tend enjoy eating. Her suggestion, and I agree, is to make the purees ahead of time and freeze them in portion sizes (1/4, 1/2, or 1 cup) and then pull them out when you need them. Trying to make the purees in addition to the dinner would take extra time. That works for some people, but I usually feel pressured to get dinner finished in time for baths, jammies, books, and cuddles before bedtime. I spent 2 afternoons cooking and pureeing most of the veggies I mentioned above and have a good supply for several recipes.
There are all sorts of interesting nuggets of info and tips in this book that I have found helpful. If you are feeling worried about getting more veggies into your family’s diet and like trying new recipes then I would definitely recommend this book.
Share the fun: Email + Del.icio.us + Digg + Technorati
I have been using her cook book for about 6 months now. I have made about 3/4 of the book and they are all wonderful and very Good Eats as my husband says. We LOVE the book and my 13 month old loves everything she has tried. But my big test was my little brother. He hates veggie of any kind, He does not know it but he has had so many veggies from this book and it has eaten everything and loved it! I also have the THE SNEAKY CHEF by MISSY LAPINE. I found her book to be way more complicated in her puree’s. What I love about DD is they are easy to do and before long you can find other ways to add veggies to your favorite family meals.
I have the book as well. Infact, last night we made the chocolate chip cookies with the garbanzo beans for the first time. The kids thought they were great!
This book helps me to sneak in the veggies my kids normally wouldn’t eat. My husband who can taste a drop of splenda or a tablespoon of whole wheat flour likes the dinners but doesn’t like the sweets.
I have been the lucky recipient of Trina’s Oatmeal Blueberry bars from this book and I thought they were great. Ace couldn’t get enough. I liked how it gave me an alternative to oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast!
I have this cookbook as well. Everyone loves the chocolate chip cookies. I have taken them to pot lucks and everyone always ask about them. Then once I tell them they have garbanzo beans in them they can’t believe it. I did try the brownies and they tasted awful. They had pured spinach in them. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to make them. They went straight in the trash.
@Sara- I used a boxed brownie mix and made sure to let them cool over night. They were a big hit. I have not tried her brownie recipe out of the cook book.
@ Trina w/the spinach puree? If so I will try that next. Also did your spinach puree become creamy?? I had a hard time getting mine to become creamy.
I will have to check out this book!!
@Sara-yes, the spinach puree and you can add carrot puree as well if you want to make it a little sweeter.
I added about a tbs of water to my spinach. And if you over cook the spinach it will not get creamy. (That is what happen to me the first time)
So far anything sweet with spinach I make the night before that way I know it is completely cool.
I have tried most of the book, let me know how it works for you.
I just came back from my 4-year old son’s checkup today and had a lengthy discussion with the doctor regarding veggie battles with my son and perhaps buying this particular cookbook. The doctor instantly laughed when I brought up the “Deceptively Delicious” cookbook because practically every mother that comes her way has brought up the idea of hiding veggies. From what my doctor told me, this book is more about giving parents a peace of mind than teaching their child how to learn to enjoy eating vegetables. Nutritionally she says kids still aren’t getting their daily allowance of veggies from the recipes in the book, so it’s deceiving parents as well.
I’m still debating whether to purchase this book or not, but I have a question for you moms who’ve used this cookbook….(1) Does your child know they’re eating veggies in the foods you’ve created out of the cookbook? (2) Do you still offer real veggies during mealtime?
@Heidi- yes, per the cookbook and my own opinion, you are still supposed to be letting your child get normal veggies and explore new veggies as well. This is just a way for mom’s and dad’s to know if the child only eats one thing at least it has the most nutritional value for them that they can offer. The auther worked hand in hand with a nutritionist Joy Bauer.
I also spoke with my daughter many doctors and they all approve the book.
Hope this helped.
I still offer veggies. The kids must take a bite from their veggies at dinner. And if they don’t like them fine, but they have to at least try them. Even if we eat carrots two days in a row, each night they still have to try a bite.
I tell Josh after he eats the recipe I made with DD what is in it if he like it. Usually he is like no way. But eating the veg. by itself next time typically doesn’t happen. But my kids can eat fruit all day long if they are allowed to. They like all types so I got lucky there. As far as veggies, it’s a hit and miss. I offer them whenever possible. The boys just started eating romaine lettuce. At first they only liked iceberg (which has no nutritional value). But once I stopped buying iceberg all together they eventually gave in, but it took about a good 6 months. Anything with ranch or red wine vinaigrette they will love.
I figured they were not getting tons of nutritional value from some of the recipes, but it couldn’t hurt. I give the boys a daily vitamin as well. Just as long as you continue to offer veggies you should be good.
One good tip they did have in the book was while you are cooking dinner have some cut up carrots, broccoli and things for them to dip in their favorite salad dressing as a snack. I know my kids are always asking for food while I am cooking. If I have these on the counter I offer them that as their only option. Either they eat it or wait till dinner, which if they wait till dinner is ready they usually have a bigger appetite anyways. So it is a win win situation.
I am so-so about this book. My kids eat vegetables anyway, but I don’t think it hurts to add more. I just haven’t liked the taste of a few of the things I have made. The concept is definitely good though.
I may just have to buy that book – not for the kids but for my hubby! The kids ate far more veggies than he does!
Visit me @ http://www.momontherun.net
I still make veggies in addition to the meal too. I haven’t tried putting out carrots and celery and other veggies to eat before dinner but I loved the idea and am going to try it soon! I wanted to try some of the dips she has in the book. My kids already like hummus and that it great for dipping veggies in.