Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Cookbook

I am really into Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious.  The concept of this book is using fruit and vegetable purees to "sneak" healthy stuff into picky kids.

I've heard critics moan about how being sneaky only encourages kids to be picky and that true healthy eating begins with the acknowledgment of healthful foods as delicious, etc.  I would say that I fall somewhere in the middle of the two camps.  I don't go out of my way to hide foods from Ikaika (frankly, if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat it - but there isn't going to be anything else offered) and I'm never opposed to beefing up the healthy factor in anything.

These recipes are downright awesome.  Especially the desserts.

Kekoa started eating solid foods about a month ago and I admit that I've been relying on a box of Earths Best brown rice cereal and the Gerber jars-of-whatever that I'm getting from WIC.  Much like cloth diapering after a long stint of disposables, it's hard to get back into the swing of making baby food. 

This book, with all it's tempting velvety purees has lit the proverbial fire under my ass and tonight my food processor was whirring!  Just look at that bounty!  Cauliflower, kale, carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, and spinach.  Yum yum.

These can all be used as either baby foods for Koa (right now we are working on sweet potatoes and avocados, tomorrow I am introducing millet cereal) or as add-ins for our meals.  I can see why this system might seem sort of overwhelming if you aren't simultaneously making baby food, but it would probably be worth the effort if you had at least one kid that doesn't eat veggies.

Tonight I made a seafood & potato bake for dinner.  I took a cue from J. Seinfeld and replaced half the mayo in the recipe with pureed cauliflower.  No one noticed any difference.  Then I went one step further and made oatmeal-raisin cookies with banana and zucchini and brownies with (get this) carrot and spinach.  Ikaika DEVOURED the brownies.

Next, I think i am going to tackle some blueberry cheesecake muffins with yellow squash and spinach or mozzarella sticks with cauliflower. 

The little muffin up there is all that is left of some flax muffins (based off of this recipe) I made last night.  The recipe calls for one egg.  I didn't have any eggs so I replaced it with half a banana (mashed) and 1/4 tsp of baking powder.  I would argue that they turned out even better than normal.