Have you heard of the new cookbooks that call for pureed spinach in a brownie recipe? I must admit I am fascinated by the whole story. Apparently Jerry Seinfeld's wife appeared on Oprah touting her recipes that are full of secret vegetables. Only the problem was that several of the recipes in her book were originally found in a cookbook that was published six months earlier by Missy Lapine. Both books call for pureeing vegetables that kids won't eat and adding them to recipes that are similar in texture and color. For example adding pureed squash to macarroni and cheese. Sounds like a fabulous idea! However, some critics are saying that the cooking, pureeing and then re-cooking of the vegetables totally strips them of the nutritional value they once posessed. So I'm curious as to what other people think. Have you used either of these books? Which one would you recommend? Are the vegetable quantities enough to add nutrition to a meal? Do you think it would make enough of a difference to be worth it?
4 comments:
As you probably know from my blog we do indeed have The Sneaky Chef. Hubby liked that one before the other came out. Personally, the controversy with the two is insane since using purees is nothing new in the land of cooking.
Tonight JL is making macaroni and cheese which has orange puree in it. I believe that is a yam and carrots. There is a decent amount within the mix. I will let you know how it goes.
We like the overall concept since it adds extra fiber to things as well. Oh and neither cookbook says to get rid of plain veggies on a plate, just recommend this to add more to everyones diet. /to me it is a lot of work, but as an added bonus the puree makes great baby food that we can use later on with the little guy.
PS I also plan on buying the other book by Seinfeld soon.
Well this isn't really a sneaky idea but little kids might not notice the difference. Sometimes instead of using regular spaghetti pasta when I make spaghetti, i substitute a spaghetti squash instead. you cut the squash in half, baste it with Olive oil and salt and pepper. Then roast it in the over for about 45 minutes to an hour (until it's soft). Then let it cool enough that you can pick it up. And scrape the inside with a fork. It will come out of the squash skin looking like spaghetti! The taste is similar to pasta, a little sweeter.
I make this with my favorite pasta sauce and some turkey meatballs for a pretty healthy dinner!
I make zucchini bread sometimes, and I often put frozen spinach and really finely chopped carrots in my spaghetti sauce, but that's about the extent of it. :-) If Annalie was a picky eater, I might try more of the sneaky stuff, but she loves broccoli and eats blueberries and green peas like candy. I think, as theangelforever said, at the very least the extra veggies add fiber and a few nutrients, and might replace some of the fat that would otherwise be in some of those foods.
Also, I second melissa's suggestion of spaghetti squash, which is actually quite delicious in its own right!
Hi. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I don't have either book, but I have made the "white puree" from the Sneaky Chef web site. I add it to mac and cheese. The kids haven't noticed, but I think it has a slight cauliflower taste. It doesn't bother me, but I notice it.
I am sneaky myself. I have been using my own version of hiding food in foods forever. If you check back at my site under "good food" you will find a recipe for some really good muffins that do just that.
I also hide carrots and spinach in spaghetti sauce and meatloaf. No one, including myself, can tell the difference.
Is it enough to make a difference? I don't know. My son eats pretty well. My daughter could live on bread and cheese. It certainly makes me feel better to know that she is getting some vegetable somewhere.
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