Experimenting with veggies

Have any of you read the book Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld?

Stacey recommended this one to me way back on one of my garden posts. I was intrigued so I got on the hold list at our library and have been waiting ever since. It came in this week so I've been "reading" the book. "Reading" is in quotes because it's primarily a cookbook (and I don't know if you get reading points when it's a cookbook), with a little introduction at the beginning about her method to get her children to eat nutritious foods. Basically, she sneaks it into their meals. What she does is puree all sorts of fruits and veggies, package them up, label them, and toss them in the freezer. And then when she's cooking, she pulls them out and adds them to her recipes.

She gives instructions for the best way to prepare, cook and puree the vegetables (avacados, beets, broccoli, peas, red bell peppers, spinach, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and zucchini/summer squash), and fruits (apples, bananas, berries, cantaloupe, cherries, and pineapple).

Now. I'm sure we've all tried to sneak good foods into our kids. My girl doesn't like fruit. (I know. Who has ever heard of such a thing?!), so I've tried to be creative to get fruit into her by pureeing berries and/or bananas and "hiding" them in the pancake batter (works good as long as there are no chunks), or offering smoothies for breakfast (which she won't touch, but the rest of us love) or smoothie popsicles (which she does love). Veggies aren't so much a problem if we're talking the basics: beans, peas, carrots, and potatoes they love and eat without complaint. But squash, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach? Um, not so much. Beets? Ew.

So the idea isn't new to me but the method of stocking up on those purees by having them ready in the freezer is a new one.

I must say, I wasn't impressed with the recipe section of the book, though there are a few I may try. For the most part I just liked the idea of trying to get some of these veggies and/or fruits into our diet by adding them (in puree form) to the meals I already make.

Well, then. There are two butternut squash from our garden that have been sitting on my counter since sometime in November. They've been calling my name (Really, I've been wondering how long they plan on sitting there before they'll go bad. And feeling a little guilty that I haven't used them yet.) But today I was newly inspired to try this whole method. So I cut off the stems, took out the seeds, sliced the squash, and roasted them on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes at 400°. Then I let them cool, scooped out the flesh, and pureed them in the blender. As I was scooping it into some freezer containers, I wondered if I could somehow work it into our meal that night.

We were having homemade pizza.

But it was pizza with alfredo sauce and chicken, so I decided I'd give it a whirl.

I made the dough, rolled it out, and put down a layer of pesto, then added a few tablespoons of butternut squash puree, then a few of the alfredo sauce, and finally the chicken and cheese.


It was "belicious!", Isaac said. And Ella's words? "Scrumptious! The best pizza I've ever had. This is my favorite kind.." I told them why it was so good (and it *was* good) and now my mind is reeling with the possibilities.

Beginning with the cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach.

I'll let you know how it goes.