Add a little love...er, nutrition.

     I have some very picky eaters in my family.  I have a 5 year old who doesn't eat anything with sauce or cheese on it, so that leaves out your typical kid foods!   It is a struggle that every mom goes through, wondering if her kids are getting enough nutrition from chicken nuggets and Kraft mac-n-cheese. 

     A few years ago, I came across a cookbook that told about hiding different vegetables in "normal" meals in a way that would not be detectable to the typical child's taste.  This lady had a whole system of pureeing various vegetables once a week and freezing them in portion sizes and then using them in her various recipes.  Seemed like a lot of work, but I did like the idea of adding nutrition to every meal. 

     I can remember how my mom dealt with picky eaters when I was growing up.  I recall she would juice fresh green beans and put it in spaghetti sauce.  She would make jello and add yogurt to it (yummy, I may have to ask her about that to try on the kids!), or make special "cookies" with wheat germ and bran in them!
As we got older, we were wise to her tricks, but we also learned to like the good food she cooked and could tolerate a small portion of something that wasn't our favorite.
     So, our next simple step to healthier living, is to try getting some good veggies or protein in your picky eaters by adding it to something they normally eat.  My kids love veggies, but don't like a lot of protein, so I often add refried beans or puree'd black beans to spaghetti sauce.  I've made brownies with spinach and carrots in them and chocolate pudding made with avocado.  I've juiced fresh carrot and celery juice and made jello with it.  I add ground flax and oat flour to cookies and banana bread. I have a great recipe for sweet potato pound cake that everyone loves-- and I make it with whole wheat flour and coconut oil!

     One of my favorite ways to get my kids to eat good vegetables, is to let them eat them in a different way than they normally do.  My kids love frozen peas fresh from the freezer, or a slice of raw sweet potato.  We have eaten carrots with peanut butter raisins on it (celery,too). I just recently found out that my kids love beets, I guess just for the purple color! 

    I would recommend the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (Yes, married to Jerry).  She is the queen of hiding veggies in things.  Her recipes are a little dry because she also cooks extremely low fat (not the best for you-- as we will discuss another time), so instead of using egg whites and lowfat margarine in her recipes, I use whole eggs and butter.  Some of the baking recipes are a little dry and could use another egg or some buttermilk or oat flour to moisten things up. She does tell all about making the puree's in advance and freezing them, if you are interested in that.  I came across another book recently titled How to Cheat on your Man (In the Kitchen) by the Sneaky Chef.  Most of those recipes are things that guys would love with a little extra love added in there!

     I would love to hear your ideas on getting your family to eat right, or some favorite recipes that have some extra goodies added in!