Happy almost new year! It's hard to believe that we will be ringing in 2012 in less than 48 hours. Where has the time gone? The Christmas season was a joyful one around here. We were able to visit with family, relish in the magic of Christmas, and even pick up a double ear infection and soaring high fevers for the little one. So needless to say, we are praying for good health and happiness in the new year.
Back to purpose of this post...veggies. We're pretty good eaters around here. Large appetites, eclectic pallets, and easy to please. As you can tell by the looks of Mack, he is too. However recently he has begun to turn his nose up at vegetables. I swore I would never have a picky eater as a child. Picky eaters top my pet peeve list. My students can tell you that they must try everything that I serve them in our classroom. So it came as a shock to me that my own little farmer, would not LOVE every veggie I put in front of him (wink,wink).
Thankfully Santa brought this mama a copy of Deceitfully Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It has been out for several years, so you might already be familiar with her ingenious way of sneaking veggies into your child's diet.
I started with Blueberry Oatmeal Bars (I changed that to blackberry). After sauteing some spinach, pureeing it, mixing up the oatmeal crust and topping, we had a sneakily scrumptious snack!
I know, I know...blackberry preserves and spinach don't look great together at first, but just trust me. The glob of low fat butter spread, doesn't help either.
Waiting anxiously for a taste
Tada...spinach served! Mack has eaten for snack the last couple of days as I sit back and giggle in delight!
Here is the recipe:
nonstick cooking spray
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup balance trans-fat free margarine , chilled
1 cup no-sugar-added blueberry spread
1/2 cup spinach , puree
Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 375.
2 Coat an 8"X 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
3 In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir to mix well.
4 Add the margarine and cut it quickly into dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do no overmix--bits of margarine will still be visible.
5 Set aside about half the oat mixture; press the rest firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.
6 Meanwhile, mix the preserves with the spinach puree in a small bowl.
7 Spread blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake until topping is slightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars.
8 Spinach Puree:.
9 Steam baby spinach(for mature spinach-remove stems) for about 30-40 seconds or cook in skillet with 1 tablespoons water for about 90 seconds or just until wilted. Puree in food processor or blender for about 2 min until smooth and creamy.
Today I attempted her mozzarella sticks with cauliflower puree. I formed them into balls instead, and they didn't turn out pretty. However, they're good!
I would pick up a copy of the cookbook (it's under $15) so that you can achieve ultimate deception!
