My family is eating veggies without even knowing it.
So, I've heard of this book and been semi-intrigued but I haven't wanted to spend the money. Then I saw it at Seagull for $7.50 and bought it. You may have heard of it. It is written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife and I think it was featured on Oprah.
I have been a little intimidated by the thought of making all of the purees. But when I read through the book, I thought it looked doable. So I made butternut squash, cauliflower, and broccoli purees. She usually uses about ½ cup of puree per recipe, which is about the size of a Baby 2nd Food. I found that the homemade squash was about 70 cents per half cup, and I could get a baby food squash at Wal-mart for 25 cents. The broccoli was only 22 cents and the cauliflower was 16 cents.
Anyway, so far I have put pureed squash in Billies mac n' cheese recipe, pureed squash and tomatoes in my taco meat (which I think made the meat taste better than usual), pureed cauliflower in my Crock-pot Italian chicken, and chickpeas in my Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made for the Blue Gold Banquet.
No one has noticed and everything has been really good. I was not going to let it intimidate me and maybe try one breakfast, one dinner, and one dessert from her book per week. But I've enjoyed it so much that I think that once you get started you will find many ways to add these purees to your food.
For those of you who have kids who love their veggies already, maybe this isn't that neat. For the rest of us, I would highly recommend this book. I'm hooked!
I feel like I should get loyalties for doing these favorites.
My cousin has done this a few times. I know she has put vegetables in her brownies before. Kambria actually eats vegetables, but I should figure out how to do this with meat. :-) I will have to check this book out.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of this book but never bought it! You have inspired me. I made all of Gages baby food, my squash puree ended up 11 cents a serving. I wonder what she does diff. Thanks for the idea
ReplyDeleteKatie-how did it end up being 11 cents? Did you buy it in the summer? She doesn't include prices in her book. Those are my prices from the veggies I bought at Winco. Maybe we are totally getting ripped off on the veggies in ID.
ReplyDeleteKrista-here is how I did the taco meat: Coat your skillet with cooking spray and then set at med. heat. When your skillet is hot add a little oil. Add the your meat, breaking it up with a spoon. Brown for 4-5 min stirring occasionally.
Stir in canned pureed tomatoes (with juice include) and 1/2 c pureed squash, and taco seasoning. Reduce to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until meat is no longer pink.
Julie, Are you going to continue using your homemade purees or are you going to use the baby food that was cheaper? Thanks for the post....very informative.
ReplyDeleteI just bought a large organic squash from albertsons. I bet the price diffrence is from the portion sizes. Did you say it was a 1/2 cup? mine were the ice cube tray size.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this book before. Maybe I will have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteShe got a lot of flack about tricking her kids and whatever. I remember it being a big deal. Here's the thing - if you trick your kids into eating something good shouldn't you get a medal instead of rude comments? Why are people more inclined to let children today live on a diet composed entirely of processed chicken beaks and fat isntead of delicious homemade fun stuff with the veggies disguised inside. Yes, you love veggies - and I am just helping you not know it! She is a wizard!
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to try that cookbook. That was a good deal! If you find a recipe you love, you should share it!
ReplyDeletePS I changed my blog address to tylerandamberly.blogspot.com
I have this book, but I have not made anything from it yet. I do make brownies a very tricky way.
ReplyDelete1 Box brownie mix
1 can black beans
Put the black beans in the food processor and sping 'em until they are unrecognizable. Add brownie mix. Cook as directed. Yumm-o and high in fiber!