Okay, if you have those dream children that eat every bite put in front of them, move on. You are a perfect parent and I suck in comparison to you and I don't wanna hear about it. But if you, like me, have kids that balk at most vegetables and routinely ask, "How many bites do I have to eat?" then you may be interested in what I have to say.A little more than a week ago I found Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, on sale at Barnes and Noble. I was intrigued. She proposes that she hides vegetables in her children's food without them even knowing...and they LOVE it. She has a brownie recipe containing spinach.
Spinach.
I don't even like nuts in my brownies. Spinach?!
So I brought it home. Well, first I paid for it, then I brought it home. And I couldn't wait to get started on my evil plan to lure my children into actually ingesting vegetables unawares.
The first recipe we tried was Chicken Nuggets with pureed sweet potato in the breading. Sounds weird, I know. Now, the trickiest part is actually sneaking in the sweet potato without them noticing, which I will tell you, if you're kids are always wanting to help cook, is no easy feat. But once I presented the finished product no one was the wiser. In fact, my little ones went wild over these! In fact, I was quite surprised at how good they were.
Our next recipe was Pancakes with sweet potato puree. Another hit. Last night it was Italian Meatloaf with carrott puree and Mashed Potatoes with cauliflower. The potatoes were excellent and though the meatloaf had a nice flavor, the texture was a little mushy, which turned my kids, and myself, off. However, with enough ketchup, you can disguise almost anything.
You might be thinking, as I did, that if you trick your kids into eating vegetables, they will never learn to eat them knowingly. However, she addresses this issue as well and never suggests that you stop serving fresh vegetables on the side and even as crudite while you are making dinner. But if you know they are getting at least some vegetables - however deceptively - then you don't feel like you have to spend the meal nagging and negotiating with them about eating. Personally, I hold the belief that kids are kids and eventually grow up and stop complaining about onions and peas. I eat loads of stuff now that I wouldn't touch as a kid.
Of course, I still don't do liver.
All in all, I highly recommend this book. So far, the recipes have been simple, kid-friendly and tasty. What more could you ask for?
And now I'm off to make Banana Bread with cauliflower.
11 comments:
That is so awesome. While my kids eat a few select veggies, i love this idea...especially because I get REALLY tired of peas/corn and broccoli (though I love it, I also prefer variety!). And so, I will check this out.
In our house, we make "veggie cakes"...ie, pancakes with shredded veggies...if you're worried about them seeing the veggie (we use zucchini, specifically), serve it on a night they're watching tv in dim lighting. They won't notice a thing. hahah! (uh, no, my kids don't EVER eat in front of the tv!! well, maybe once in a while, but not THAT often, thank you very much...) Oh, my oldest was cool with it once I told him what it was, but that's not to be expected of him too often. :)
So, let me get this straight... this book, that you're endorsing, encourages and enables dishonesty.
Deceive your child. That way you can trick them into eating Cauliflour or Beets or Rutabega and brag to all the other parents at the gym.
Well, that's a fine example of Biblical Family Values. Isn't that how Jesus tricked the disciples into actually caring about people more than their paychecks?
(snicker, snicker) ;!)
Yes, Kyle. I believe in lying to my children as frequently as possible. I mean, they would never agree to bow down before me and do my evil bidding if they didn't believe I was a mutant superhero.
Duh!
Okay, I'll have to admit that it sounds kind of cool. In large part because I love all that stuff and think it would be yummy mixed together. You've intrigued me.
I bought the downloaded computer version because my dh won't each veggies -- I have no children, I'm planning to hide them from the husband.
I've been waiting to get started because I didn't have the food processor -- but now I'll be rarin' to go. Thanks for the review!!
At least you cook. Which is more than my kids can say for me. So I think my parental suckiness trumps yours. (Not that you have any, actually...suckiness that is)
I should own stock in Papa John's pizza. I wonder how much it costs? Does pepperoni count as a vegetable?
Oh, I love it!!! Thank you so much for telling me about this book...I have to get it!!! My biggest thing that I hear is "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...do I have to eat that???".....*LOUD SIGH*
Blessings,
Ronnie
I love this book. I hope it continues to be a success for you and your family. :) Your blog is too cute!
Lying. That's what parenting is really about. Food is just the beginning. There's the whole Santa, Bunny thing too. I'm craving something healthy, yet deceptively sweetened-thanks!
I bought this book last month at Costco. It's good. Did you like the Banana Bread? We loved it. It was so moist. 2 of my kids also really like the Mac and Cheese (the other 2 could taste too much Cauliflower). Same with the eggs (I dig them). It's got some good ideas. I tell them what's in it sometimes before, sometimes after the fact. We have fun with it!
I just gave this book to my girlfriend for a gift. Might have to buy one for myself!!!
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