Sneaky Chef experiment...

So I'm starting a new thing and decided to share it with my blogging world because I know we all have the same struggles from time to time.
My 5 year old son knows I love cook books and decided to get me one for my birthday.
Yes - I'm very strange - I don't just cook out of cook books, I actually like to READ them, yes, read them like a book. May be strange, but I like them. My favorite is the Top Chef cookbook - it's so great. Anyway, I'm getting off on a tangent here - back to the point.

The new cookbook Shaun got me is, ironically, The Sneaky Chef. It's great. It is devoted to tips, recipes and stories about "sneaking" good for you stuff into the kids food without them even knowing it.

If you know me, you know I struggle with getting nutrition and really any food at all into my 2 year old, Ainsley. She just doesn't eat - so I try many desperate things in order to make every tiny bite count as much as it can. Don't get me started on the "she'll eat when she's hungry thing"...or try cutting it into cute shapes...or put it on a stick...douse it in ranch dressing...I've tried them all to varying degrees of success.

This cookbook is sooo cool. I'm sold on the idea. Basically, it has recipes for making a handful of different puree's of things based on what you are trying to hide. You still give them vegetables in their normal form on the side to try to develop the habit of eating them in life - but this way even if you lose that fight you know you secretly got some good stuff in them at the end of the meal.
Need more protien? - try the White Bean Puree.
Can't get them to eat Orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes - try the orange puree.
There is even a purple puree that combines spinach and blueberries that is used in brownies!
More fiber? - try making things with Oat Bran or a "better" flour blend that uses regular flour, wheat flour and wheat germ.
Some of it sounds hard to believe, but I was excited to try.

I dug out the old food processor my mother-in-law gave me years ago when she handed down her homemade egg roll recipe that my husband loves...yeah - that happened like twice. (sorry Matt ...I really should try that again). I hit the grocery store for some fresh produce, wheat germ, oat bran, etc... and got to puree-ing my brains out.
I already felt so proud of myself...I'm sure the grocery clerk thought I was such a great mommy with all this natural healthyfood!

So - here's the short of it so far...

Brownies made with Purple Puree (blueberries, baby spinach, water) and flour blend -
I loved them, kids liked them, Matt hated them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies made with White Bean Puree (White beans and water- that's it!) and flour blend.
Kids LOVE them and beg for them like it's a special treat, Matt and I don't like them.

Better Buttered Noodles made with White Bean Puree and Ckn Stock
Ainsley LOVED them - ate 2 helpings! She normally does eat pasta, but not as much as she did in this serving - and on top of it - she got protein out of it!!!

Pulled BBQ Chicken made with Orange Puree (Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and water) and oat bran
We all liked it! Kids at entire sandwhich AND all their broccoli - so they got 2 great servings of veggies and didn't even bat an eye!

So far it's been pretty successful, but time will tell. All in all I spent about 1 hour planning and shopping for ingredients and 1 hour making puree's and freezing them for future use. You can keep them for like 3 months frozen - and I made double recipes, so really that is only about 2 hours work for puree's that will last me quite some time.

As for week 1 I'd say Sneaky Chef experiment get's a passing grade and I'll keep trying it out.