Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Praise for purees!

My puree addiction came about when I realized that my kids were supposed to be eating 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day. No, I didn't say fruits and vegetables--that's just vegetables. 2 1/2 cups a day. How many cups are your kids eating?

There are some veggies my kids eat willingly, but that is still a lot to get into one day's worth of eating. I added V8 Fusion into our weekly shopping staples. I have also found "Fruitables" at Sam's which taste okay. But these juices are both pretty expensive when you have four little mouths to feed.

I then bought the book Deceptively Delicious which teaches the basic concept of cooking with purees and gives lots of recipes--some good, some not so great. I realized you can pretty much add veggie purees to anything without affecting it that much. So that's what I do. Cookies, sauces, breads, muffins, pizza, casseroles, oatmeal, brownies, cakes, smoothies--almost everything I make has added veggies. It's a great fat substitute. I stick to two "flavors" because I find them to be easy and versatile--sweet potatoes and green veggies (mixture of zucchini and spinach.) I also always have pumpkin in the freezer (leftover cooked and pureed Halloween pumpkins.)

It's really simple. I just buy a bunch of fresh veggies and cook them up in the microwave.

Then I add a bit of water and blend until smooth.

I let it cool, separate it into 1/2 cup serving sizes and scoop them into snack sized baggies.

I lay them flat on a cookie sheet and freeze them overnight in the deep freeze, then put them all into my small inside freezer to be available whenever I need them.

It doesn't take long and it's a great way to add veggies to your diet.

Which by the way...should include 3 to 5 servings of vegetables a day!

4 comments:

Becky R. said...

Thanks for explaining the benefits of purees. I've been really enjoying them as I've tried your recipes.

Amy said...

just a random FYI, the Deceptively Delicious cookbook is on sale right now at Kohl's of all places for $5.00. It's in the front by the cash register where they usually sell a story book and stuffed animals. (I think the proceeds go to Make a Wish or something like that) Anyway, I picked it up on Tuesday. Can't beat $5! There were some cute Winnie The Pooh stuffed animals next to it too but we really don't need anymore stuffed animals in our house. :)

Rebecca said...

I've been a Deceptivly Delicous mom for 9 months. It's been great! I, too, add it to anything I can think of! Butternut squash is one of my favorites.

Becca said...

I think the recipes in DD are not the greatest but I agree her concept for puree is great. I like yours better. You are a rock star and I think you should publish a book instead of Jessica Seinfeld.