The reason that it is called Deceptively Delicious is because this is a sneaky way to get your kids to eat vegetables without turning it into an issue, because the puree totally blends in with the meal and you can't tell that there are sweet potatoes or squash or spinach in it.
What's great is how inexpensive this whole process is because you are buying the vegetables in their whole forms instead of specially packaged. For example, $4 worth of squash from the grocery store makes over 5 cups of puree (more than 10 1/2 cup portions; 1/2 cup is the typical amount called for in these recipes). For $2-3 you can buy a head of cauliflower which will make 4-6 cups of puree. Also, if you think in terms of baby food (because baby food is basically what these purees are)...Gerber baby food costs around $1 for two small (maybe 2 or 3 oz.) portions.
Spinach and beet puree:
Anyway, I've been using it for about a month or so now and so far my family (especially the girls) and I have loved everything we've tried. Also, I have gotten comfortable enough with the concept that I've started just putting these purees in all of my regular recipes. I've taken a bunch of pictures so that you can see how great all of this food looks.
Scrambled eggs with cauliflower puree.
Applesauce strudel muffins with squash (or carrot) puree.
Cheesy chicken wraps with squash and carrot puree.
Kraft macaroni and cheese before adding squash...
Kraft macaroni and cheese after adding squash puree...notice no real difference in appearance.
Lasagna with sweet potato puree in the red sauce and cauliflower puree in the cheese mixture.
Carrot cake cupcakes with carrot and cauliflower puree.
A carrot cake cupcake topped with cream cheese frosting.
Brownies with spinach and carrot puree.
All I know is I feel like a better mom when my kids are getting their vegetables. It's easy to get kids to eat fruit, but vegetables are another thing...especially all of these awesome vegetables like broccoli and sweet potato and beets. A lot of these are vegetables that I would rarely buy and prepare in my normal cooking. In some of these recipes you can taste the vegetables a little bit (like in the scrambled eggs), but I actually think that's good because then your children get familiar with the taste of vegetables and they will more likely enjoy eating it when they are served that vegetable in its normal form.
Like I mentioned earlier, I have started putting these purees into my normal recipes which has been my favorite part so far. Last night I made my famous chicken enchiladas and I put squash puree in the filling and sweet potato puree in the topping. It was awesome and made the enchiladas extra creamy and saucy. Tonight I made mashed potatoes and added cauliflower puree and they were so rich and creamy. I took them to a Young Women's activity (I got called to be a beehive advisor about a month ago) and everyone loved them.
It's so funny because I'm so excited about this that I end up telling everyone that I talk to about it. Sorry if you've heard it more than once (particularly Bradley), I feel a little bit like a sales woman selling people this concept. Anyway, it's fun to be so excited about something that really works. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want any of these recipes so that you can give it a try yourself!
Let's all get healthy and eat our vegetables. Let the deception begin...
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