When it comes to culinary bravery, I'm not at the top of the list. I used to exist solely on chicken nuggets and mac and cheese - no, not in elementary school, but through college. (friends, I don't want to see "you still do" in the comments, thankyouverymuch)
Thank goodness for Tony, or I would either starve or weigh 600 pounds. [if you don't know by now - Tony always cooks. I have zero skills in this arena. This fact alone is why we got married... just kidding... sorta...]
Granted, since becoming a "grown up" - my tastes have changed and I no longer gravitate towards the kid's menu. I still won't eat green beans, but that's because they are the world's worst
Tony makes us pretty healthy meals for the most part, since he's quite creative in the kitchen and can think of ways to make yummy food with lighter ingredients. However, we don't eat our pyramid's worth of veggies.
So, when I hear about a cookbook to help sneak veggies to your kids - I naturally thought of ... myself.
I'm sure most people have heard of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook by now, since it's been out for quite a while. But I just recently got it, and I'm glad I did.
Basically, you steam and puree veggies to freeze in small portions and later use in all kinds of dishes. The veggies become invisible. That's my kind of veggies.
It's actually pretty fun to use our food processor and steamer to make these [ says the girl who doesn't have to cook every night! ] Tony's been incorporating some of the purees in regular dishes like red sauce, taco meat, mashed potatoes, etc. I've made carrots, squash, zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli so far. We've yet to make any of the actual recipes from her book (but it's great to use for the steaming/blending instructions), since Tony just throws something in to whatever he's making.
And seriously, done right - you can't taste the addition. Especially squash. Broccoli's a little trickier.
And I feel super proud of myself for:
- "Cooking"
- Eating veggies - ha! I tricked you Claire!
- Making good use of the veggies we always buy, but usually throw out because they go bad so fast.
In conclusion, I have the nutritional habits of a child.
Lol. Good for you getting your veggies in! Not sure if I'd rather just eat the veggie or know I'm eating invisible veggies - kinda weirds me out both ways.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Branching out with your culinary tastes!
ReplyDeleteFirst- I am proud of you as well!! I know, firsthand, what an accomplishment this is. I was the EXACT same way for years. Picky & didn't know how to cook (anything- except what we had to make for ourselves when my mom worked- quesadillas, mac & cheese:), Top Ramen... the basic nutritional meals); Ryan did ALL of the cooking (thank GOD) and still to this day, is seen as a God, oh- I mean, the chef in our household (no matter how 'culinary' I become:). All of the cookbooks were too complex, so I clung to my 'childhood cookbook' for the times that I HAD to cook.
ReplyDeleteAll of this to say, although I've taught myself to cook, and forced myself to like almost every ingredient (if I was really going to learn to cook, I needed to eat a wider range of ingredients!), I am still missing very basic skills and needed to eat things other than protein and carbs (and the occasional salad- smothered in dressing)... which is why I LOVED this book (and the many great tips!). Watching Food Network was great, but they don't teach or do COOL/BASIC things like this!! You're right about the broccoli... have a funny story, but again, I'm rambling. :)
Yay! Sounds like you are really branching out. And, this is all good for you health, so it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteThat's so wonderful! I've been meaning to start doing this. I have a book called, "The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (in the Kitchen)" which operates on the same principle as the "Deceptively Delicious" book. My husband won't eat anything that's green and a vegetable and consequently, I get less veggies and we'll both die from malnutrition. Way to puree!
ReplyDeleteI love veggies and have no problem eating them, but I still really want to try this out!
ReplyDelete