When it comes to culinary bravery, I'm not at the top of the list. I used to exist solely on chicken nuggets and mac and cheese - no, not in elementary school, but through college. (friends, I don't want to see "you still do" in the comments, thankyouverymuch)
Thank goodness for Tony, or I would either starve or weigh 600 pounds. [if you don't know by now - Tony always cooks. I have zero skills in this arena. This fact alone is why we got married... just kidding... sorta...]
Granted, since becoming a "grown up" - my tastes have changed and I no longer gravitate towards the kid's menu. I still won't eat green beans, but that's because they are the world's worst
Tony makes us pretty healthy meals for the most part, since he's quite creative in the kitchen and can think of ways to make yummy food with lighter ingredients. However, we don't eat our pyramid's worth of veggies.
So, when I hear about a cookbook to help sneak veggies to your kids - I naturally thought of ... myself.
I'm sure most people have heard of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook by now, since it's been out for quite a while. But I just recently got it, and I'm glad I did.
Basically, you steam and puree veggies to freeze in small portions and later use in all kinds of dishes. The veggies become invisible. That's my kind of veggies.
It's actually pretty fun to use our food processor and steamer to make these [ says the girl who doesn't have to cook every night! ] Tony's been incorporating some of the purees in regular dishes like red sauce, taco meat, mashed potatoes, etc. I've made carrots, squash, zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli so far. We've yet to make any of the actual recipes from her book (but it's great to use for the steaming/blending instructions), since Tony just throws something in to whatever he's making.
And seriously, done right - you can't taste the addition. Especially squash. Broccoli's a little trickier.
And I feel super proud of myself for:
- "Cooking"
- Eating veggies - ha! I tricked you Claire!
- Making good use of the veggies we always buy, but usually throw out because they go bad so fast.
In conclusion, I have the nutritional habits of a child.