Everyone knows that a big part of being a mom is feeding the kids. When you’re talking about little kids, it’s often a big challenge. It’s a struggle to do it well (i.e., make sure they eat enough veggies and fruit, not much junk, etc). How many kids do you know love vegetables and ask for them, especially at this (Halloween) time of year when all that’s on their minds is CANDY?
So, of course I was intrigued when I heard about a cookbook that claims to provide recipes for great tasting food filled with hidden veggies. The idea is that you puree all sorts of fruits and vegetables so that, when you add them to your recipes, you retain the nutrients but disguise their appearance. In other words, you make pancakes with sweet potato puree or scrambled eggs with pureed cauliflower (which is a great example of a vegetable that my kids won’t let come near their mouths!). Deceptive? Yes, if you don’t tell your kids what’s inside.
Who better to write this deceptive cookbook than a Seinfeld? When my family and I first read about this book we looked at each other and said, “That’s SO Seinfeld!” (Yes, I admit that I let my kids watch certain episodes of our DVD collection of “Seinfeld” and they’ve watched enough to know the humor). Remember the frozen yogurt episode? Elaine, Jerry & the guys discover unbelievably tasty frozen yogurt and can’t believe that it’s supposed to be better for you than ice cream. Then they notice it’s not as healthy as they were led to believe. Well, now Jerry has the real thing! The food in this cookbook is tasty and healthy!
Jerry’s wife, Jessica Seinfeld, calls the book, “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food” and makes no attempt to apologize for her sneaky methods. Her sketched likeness on the cover of the cookbook winks at you knowingly. I suppose if her kids didn’t know about the stealth veggie/fruit inclusion before the book was published, they most likely know now.
I bought the book but haven’t yet made any of the recipes. Maybe it’s because my kids are older than Mrs. Seinfeld’s, but I felt compelled to tell them all about the hidden-veggies-in-the-food concept. I’m not sure whether that will doom the recipes, but I’d rather have them play along with me and be pleasantly aware of the versatility of food.
Tomorrow, I’m going to spend some time pureeing!!
Image from Amazon.
I’m interested in the book more for myself than for my child. She’s only 3 months old. I’d like to know if it’s good for adults as well as for children. My husband and I never get enough veggies in our meals.
Hi Dena,
Thanks for the comment!
Well, it’s intended for kids, but you could certainly make these recipes for yourself and your husband. I’m looking forward to making many of them for our whole family.
Her turkey chili, for example, is an interesting twist on a basic chili recipe — she adds red pepper puree and carrot puree! It sounds great to me.
Also, as your daughter gets older, you might enjoy some of Seinfeld’s tips and suggestions (like her “no toys at the table” rule).
Good luck!
I just love the cover. Thanks for featuring it. Sounds like something good for my sister and her two boys for Christmas.
Thanks for the comment, Beth.
I love the cover, too. And I think it’s a great idea to give it to your sister for Christmas.
Okay, I bought this book at a school fair that I worked at, because I just kept coming back to it. I don’t own a food processor, but i didn’t let that stop me. I took things a step further on the convenience list and just bought baby food. I know, they don’t carry red pepper or cauliflower, but the convenience of preportioned carrots, sweet potato, or ( my favorite) squash, was excellent. From the very first thing I tried (french toast with banana) the kids were hooked! It has gotten to where everytime I make something with hidden veggies, my kids, who do not know, rave about it. “Mom, this is SOoo good. Did you change the recipe Mom? ” Honestly, I have gotten to where even just Manwiches have hidden carrots and sweet potatoes. Spaghetti sauce is the same. Any packaged, pre-made sauce is an easy place to hide veggies. My favorite recipe is buutered noodles. I even made a slightly skewed version for a pot luck that got Rave reviews fro adults. I have never been as pleased with a cookbook. Not just for what it offers in recipes, but what it offers my beleaguered brain in new ideas and quirky, somewhat deceptive ways to make my family healthier. But I still can’t make myself put spinach in brownies, or chickpeas in cchoc chip cookies.