I am really excited to report that I just picked up this cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, at Sam's Club this week. I've heard about it before, and I thought, "Hey, if I can sneak some more vegetables into my kids diet without them noticing, maybe I won't notice them either!" The whole basis of Jessica Seinfeld's cooking method is to puree common fruits and veggies and sneak them undetectably into everything from macaroni & cheese to brownies, meatloaf to muffins. She sneaks some pureed cauliflower into scrambled eggs, butternut squash in the macaroni & cheese, and chickpeas in the chocolate chip cookies. You say it sounds gross? I guess we're about to find out! The recipes are common foods that kids (and their parents) usually have in their repertoire, with the added twist of a little extra nutrition. In addition to over 70 innovate recipes, Jessica outlines instructions on how to cook and puree fruits and vegetables (handy simply for making your own baby food!), and with the help of nutrition experts, she breaks down nutritional guidelines geared specifically toward children. She also details what nutrients are found in each vegetable, thereby identifying why it is important to have a variety--then she provides approachable ideas for incorporating them into your and your children's diets. I found this particularly informative and important since children are so physically active and since their bodies and minds are in such a crucial stage of development.
I love her tips for approaching picky eaters and I found that I generally agreed with her opinions and tactics about feeding kids (and adults!) in general. I love that she is down to earth about what our bodies need and don't need, and her recipes tend to constitute a good variety of nutrition and flavor. Its amazing how inadequate our standard diet is in vegetables--particularly fiber (YIKES!!). A diet adequate in vegetables can provide more energy, better skin tone, smooth digestion, better eye and mind health, and so much more. Why has it taken me so long to get on board? I think this cookbook could change the world!
Usually, I flip through a cookbook and anticipate that I will only ever attempt to make 10% of the recipes, and maybe one ever makes it into our regular dinner rotation. Last night I went through all the recipes in this cookbook, and anticipate that I will try half of them. They all look and sound so good, and seem very nutritious. Stay tuned for my recipe reviews as I try them out!
I've already made a list of the basics that I need to add to my kitchen to complete some of the recipes in this book, and I'm prepared to head to the grocery store and start pureeing some vegetables. I'm going to start with Applesauce Muffins (with butternut squash or carrot puree), and I plan to bring them with me to our Relief Society cooking group tomorrow--we'll see if anyone notices the vegetable content!
I am so excited to try out these recipes and I have so much confidence that they will work that I want to share the joy with you! Leave me a comment answering these three simple questions--I'll pick a random winner on Tuesday the 19th and I will send you your very own Deceptively Delicious cookbook!
1. Do you think your regular diet (and what you serve your family) has
a big enough variety of vegetables in it? Is there room for more?2. Would you feel comfortable "deceiving" your children by sneaking
vegetable puree into their favorite recipes? Or does the idea of being
deliberately deceptive bother you?3. Do you think this would work for your family?
9 comments:
Wow sounds like a great idea!
1. No where near enough vegetables in our family. If I didn't have a husband to ask "Where are the vegetables?" I'd never remember to serve them.
2. I don't think deceiving is the right term. I think as adults we have to just expect them to eat vegetables. If we treat vegetables as something "icky" then they will treat them as something "icky" in their minds. I like the idea of including nutritious things in common recipes though. That's great! That said, Paul has always gagged when I feed him pureed corn. Then I mixed pureed corn into his pumpkin, onion, and carrot mixture and he didn't gag, so there you go.
3. As long as it tastes good, my family doesn't care what is in it. (with the exception of cornflakes or potato chip-topped casseroles. I draw the line at those ingredients when it comes to dinner time!)
We can always use more veggies. We get stuck eating the same carrots with dinner every night, etc.
I wouldn't mind tricking my kids into eating veggies, and this method is definitely worth a shot!!
No my family doesn't get enough veggies (maybe fruit during the summer) and no I wouldn't feel bad about "deceiving them". I think it would be doing them a favor. And me, too! I could use some more veggies just as much as the kids! I've already learned ways to deceive myself - the texture of onions totally grosses me out so I've learned to chop them up so tiny that I don't notice (which is kind of the same thing she's teaching in this book). Anyway, thanks for the chance to win this book. What a great giveaway!
Hi Jenny--I'm not sure if you remember me, but we were in the BYU 199th Ward together...we even sang together in Sacrament Meeting once (sorry, I'm trying not to give out my last name on here, though it does start with an S :) ). I found your blog through someone else's, and I have to say that I LOVE reading your posts! I added your blog to mine...if that bothers you, let me know and I'll remove it. Take care!
You'll have to let me know how this book works out! i see it at Sam's all the time, but I'm hesitant to buy it because I also only use about 10% of recipes. This sounds like ti might be a winner though!
I never have enough vegetables (or fruit) because I just don't think about making them.
I think it would be great to be able to deceive my kids (in a couple years when they can eat real food) but more importantly deceive my husband! :)
This would for sure work in our family!
We don't eat meat much--actually, I just don't cook it. So a lot of our meals are veggies pureed into something. Frankly, the kids complain about almost everything I make. But that's because they're hoping for pizza every night and that's not my problem.
Hey, we are ready and waiting for our slumber party with Leah and Samuel. Just let us know when.
Hi Jenny,
Thank you for experimenting one of these recipes on us. We loved the muffins and we love you!! We are off to better health!!
Yippee!!
Joe makes sure we have veggies for lunch and dinner everyday but I could definitely go for a little more variety. It is usually the same old frozen veggies most of the time (brocolli, peas, corn, etc.)
I would have no problem sneaking it in. It's good for them right? Landon would like it still the same I'm sure.
Yeah, definitley!! It's super fun and creative. Why not give it a try?
And the random winner is NANCY!!!! HOORAY!
Stay tuned for my review of the recipes I've tried this week--coming soon to a blog near you.
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