What are your healthy additions to recipes?

[livinlovinlaughin]

I love finding recipes and making them my own with healthy substitutions and additions. For example I replace oil with organic unsweetened applesauce and sugar with local honey. I like adding wheat germ to breads and crackers when baking. I am looking for new ideas to add nutrients and protein to things I make. I would love to hear your ideas! What do you like to add to tradtional foods and how does it make the food healthier? I think I could learn a lot from you all. Thanks

[DaisyMay]

I add ground flax-seed meal to anything baked, also sprinkle over cereal and yogurt. I forget exactly what it has in it but I know it's good...! Omega 3 maybe...?

[Maiasaura]

I'm in!

It's not such an issue with DS anymore-- I can get him to eat, or at least try, nearly anything (he's 9), but I'm about to move near my long-lost love, and he is a grown little boy, srsly, about food. He has the most limited horrible diet I've ever heard of.
He won't eat things he doesn't like the names of. He won't try anything. He won't eat vegetables. He has made progress and will eat about one or two cans of canned veggies a week, and believe me, that's progress. He has never eaten things like broccoli-- and says the smell makes him so nauseous he has to leave the house.

I recently found out that he does like sprouts (?? That is so weird, for someone who lives on Pop Tarts and Chef-boy-ar-dee) and salad. But he's too-- I dunno, he's a bachelor. He won't make the things.
And he's like, if he takes too long in the store to decide something, he'll decide on nothing and not eat at all.

So, when I get up there (this fall, hopefully) I will be able to tweak his diet, like, I can make the sprouts; that's no big deal for me. And I'm hoping I can get him to eat smoothies now and then, if I can get them to be pretty (mine are usually butt-ugly).

So that's my long-winded way of wondering how to sneak vegetables in. Protein's easy. Any ideas on veggies? It's going to have to be uber-tricky, but somehow I'm going to try.

[witchygrrl]

Maia!

I have a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. It's by Jessica Seinfeld (yes, Jerry's wife), and it's all about sneaking veggies into food. I've made a few of the recipes and they are very tasty indeed. Worth a shot, I'd say. I know too many people like M about food, and it's just maddening!

[livinlovinlaughin]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura

So that's my long-winded way of wondering how to sneak vegetables in. Protein's easy. Any ideas on veggies? It's going to have to be uber-tricky, but somehow I'm going to try.

Roasting veggies brings out the sweetness. Yum. You can cook veggies, run them through the food processor and hide them in all kinds of things, pasta sauce, ground meat, pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, gravy, soups, mac n cheese. If you are really concerned with hiding the veggies go with like colors. For example cauliflower in mashed potatoes and mac n cheese.

So....how do you add protein so easily? My DS does not eat nuts and seeds yet so I am looking for more ideas.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by witchygrrl

Maia!

I have a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious. It's by Jessica Seinfeld (yes, Jerry's wife), and it's all about sneaking veggies into food. I've made a few of the recipes and they are very tasty indeed. Worth a shot, I'd say. I know too many people like M about food, and it's just maddening!

witchy!

I have heard about that book. What kind of recipes, for instance?

M normally eats things like cheeseburgers and chicken legs for the not-prepackaged food. He did say he never met a bean he didn't like. I'm going to introduce him to edamame but just tell him it's a bean, until he tries it, THEN I'll tell him the Japanese name

His idea of a relatively healthy home-cooked meal that includes veggies is this: chicken legs (in bread crumbs), roasted in the oven, with boxed mac-n-cheese and canned corn
I do have to say that that's a VAST, and I mean VAST improvement over what he was eating when we re-met, last October.

Originally Posted by livinlovinlaughin

You can cook veggies, run them through the food processor and hide them in all kinds of things, pasta sauce, ground meat, pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, gravy, soups, mac n cheese. If you are really concerned with hiding the veggies go with like colors. For example cauliflower in mashed potatoes and mac n cheese.

OK, so how? Pasta sauce, I used to do that for my ds when he was younger. I can probably get away with that. Ground meat-- how? He eats burgers. Pesto is probably out of the question, cause it's green, and pizza sauce, well, we'll have to see on that one cause he saw a photo of a pizza I made, which I thought was gorgeous and so yummy looking, and went "blech!"
Hummus, well, forget hummus. Couple of months ago, he called me up and said "Someone introduced me to this food today, it looked like it came out of a cow's ass, it's called...hummus? Have you ever heard of it?" I had to laugh, cause he is so dang politically anti-correct, but dang. Cow's ass indeed. I LOVE hummus
I wonder if he's a gravy sort of guy.

So....how do you add protein so easily? My DS does not eat nuts and seeds yet so I am looking for more ideas.

Hmm, I'll have to remember what I did when ds was young. You can add powdered milk (cow or soy) to just about anything. Like a tablespoon until they get used to that, then up it in increments.
You can add protein powder, the same way.
You can add just about anything to a smoothie-- even raw spinach leaves. If you make it blue, or dark, like with blueberries, you don't even see the spinach at all. And you definitely can't taste it.

I'll have to think on it and try to remember. Oh, I used to add TVP to spaghetti sauce. We were vegetarian for ds's early years and for whatever reason, I was all concerned about protein.

I had a book from the 70s called, I think, "Confessions of a Sneaky Organic Cook". Tiny little paperback. I think I don't have it anymore, but I bet you can find it used real easily.

The Seinfeld lady-- was she the one with purple whatever-it-was to put in brownies?

[ledzepplon]

I almost always add pumpkin or butternut squash purees (and cinnamon) to pancakes and waffles. I just follow the recipe as written but add about a half cup of veggies. Sometimes the batter will need a little more milk/liquid to get the consistency right, but it adds a fantastic flavor.

[caiesmommy]

I sneak healthy food into EVERYTHING I make it seems. My dc(ds, 3.5 and dd 17m) ARE pretty good and will eat the majority of things on their plates but it doesnt help to push it!

-pasta sauce-I add veggie puree(carrots,celery ect) I puree my own, but you could use baby food
-Same idea for ministroni soup-my kids will eat everything in that soup, but I do add veggie purees as well
-hemp seeds(we call them SPRINKLES)-on pasta, stirred into muffins, pancakes ect
-mashed potatoes-mash turnip or cauliflower into it
-pumpkin puree-in fall I make pumpkin puree and freeze it and make muffins, pancakes ect w it. The kids have no idea its healthy
-I made peanut butter cookies this week and even my uncle and dhs family had them and said they were amazing-I used whole wheat flour instead of white, halved the oil w applesauce, used honey to sweeten, all natural peanut butter
-I make pureed soups which are easy to hide veggies into and use homemade broth
-Banana bread I add sunflower seeds and hemp seeds
-Rice I cook in broth-I don't know if that adds very much nutrition but I figure it cant hurt
-I hide vitamins, and greens into smoothies for the kids
-Kids love eggsalad sandwiches and I dice very finely carrot, onion and celery
-"zuke french fries" I use ww bread crumbs out of the ends of bread and coat the zukes cut into fries and bake them until crispy, the kids gobble them up. Dipped into tomato pasta sauce with other pureed veggies inside
-"orange soup" carrot soup w oj w hemp seeds on top-They have no idea that its super healthy!
-I make yeastless ww bread w a mixture of tomato juice instead of water, added onions, garlic(which I think is a great thing to hide into food for health!), chopped sundried tomato, flax seeds

Im sure as I start making dinner I'll think of a lot more

[luv-my-boys]

I cook what I call whole. For instance you mentioned he likes

boxed bread crumb chicken, box mac-cheese, corn from the can

well how about revamping initially what he likes for healthier food choices than completely changing everything. For instance using whole grain pastas and real butter, 100% cheese to make mac-cheese, corn fresh from the cob and chicken rolled and baked in whole oats/grains. Looks like what he'd make but much less processed and healthier for him.

[witchygrrl]

Maia--there are recipes for French toast, scrambled eggs, muffins, etc., for breakfast. For lunch/dinner, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, chili, lasagna, sloppy joes, etc.. For dessert, there's brownies (with spinach), cupcakes, cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, etc. I bet there's a few things he'd eat in there, and it would have vegetable matter in it and he wouldn't know it!

I've made mac and cheese with cauliflower, for example, though I put WAY too much cauliflower in so it was definitely obvious. Still very tasty, though.

[livinlovinlaughin]

My family is mostly good about eating healthy but I am always looking for ways to boost the way we eat.

[QUOTE=Maiasaura;15504146]:
OK, so how? Pasta sauce, I used to do that for my ds when he was younger. I can probably get away with that. Ground meat-- how? He eats burgers. Pesto is probably out of the question, cause it's green, and pizza sauce, well, we'll have to see on that one cause he saw a photo of a pizza I made, which I thought was gorgeous and so yummy looking, and went "blech!"
Hummus, well, forget hummus. Couple of months ago, he called me up and said "Someone introduced me to this food today, it looked like it came out of a cow's ass, it's called...hummus? Have you ever heard of it?" I had to laugh, cause he is so dang politically anti-correct, but dang. Cow's ass indeed. I LOVE hummus
I wonder if he's a gravy sort of guy.
QUOTE]


Mushrooms and lentils both have meaty flavor than can be processed and added to ground meat before making burgers. (cook lentils first) While you are at it maybe throw in some onions or anything else you can hide.

Too bad he can't appreciate yummy looking food. Just be creative. Make whatever pizza he likes and hide what you would put on your in the sauce.

Originally Posted by caiesmommy

I sneak healthy food into EVERYTHING I make it seems. My dc(ds, 3.5 and dd 17m) ARE pretty good and will eat the majority of things on their plates but it doesnt help to push it!

-pasta sauce-I add veggie puree(carrots,celery ect) I puree my own, but you could use baby food
-Same idea for ministroni soup-my kids will eat everything in that soup, but I do add veggie purees as well
-hemp seeds(we call them SPRINKLES)-on pasta, stirred into muffins, pancakes ect
-mashed potatoes-mash turnip or cauliflower into it
-pumpkin puree-in fall I make pumpkin puree and freeze it and make muffins, pancakes ect w it. The kids have no idea its healthy
-I made peanut butter cookies this week and even my uncle and dhs family had them and said they were amazing-I used whole wheat flour instead of white, halved the oil w applesauce, used honey to sweeten, all natural peanut butter
-I make pureed soups which are easy to hide veggies into and use homemade broth
-Banana bread I add sunflower seeds and hemp seeds
-Rice I cook in broth-I don't know if that adds very much nutrition but I figure it cant hurt
-I hide vitamins, and greens into smoothies for the kids
-Kids love eggsalad sandwiches and I dice very finely carrot, onion and celery
-"zuke french fries" I use ww bread crumbs out of the ends of bread and coat the zukes cut into fries and bake them until crispy, the kids gobble them up. Dipped into tomato pasta sauce with other pureed veggies inside
-"orange soup" carrot soup w oj w hemp seeds on top-They have no idea that its super healthy!
-I make yeastless ww bread w a mixture of tomato juice instead of water, added onions, garlic(which I think is a great thing to hide into food for health!), chopped sundried tomato, flax seeds

Im sure as I start making dinner I'll think of a lot more

I can't wait to make zuke fries. Great idea and the dip with extras! I'm not a big soup person but might try it. Does your 17 month old self feed the soup? I just envision it falling off the spoon more than going in the mouth. i would love to hear more ideas if you think of any.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by caiesmommy

I sneak healthy food into EVERYTHING I make it seems.

-pasta sauce-I add veggie puree(carrots,celery ect) I puree my own, but you could use baby food
-Same idea for ministroni soup-my kids will eat everything in that soup, but I do add veggie purees as well
-mashed potatoes-mash turnip or cauliflower into it
-pumpkin puree-in fall I make pumpkin puree and freeze it and make muffins, pancakes ect w it. The kids have no idea its healthy
-I make pureed soups which are easy to hide veggies into and use homemade broth
-Rice I cook in broth-I don't know if that adds very much nutrition but I figure it cant hurt
-I hide vitamins, and greens into smoothies
-Kids love eggsalad sandwiches and I dice very finely carrot, onion and celery

I like all these-- brilliant! I might could get away with it, with him. I have to find out if he likes soups, or homemade ones. He eats canned veggies sometimes, and he loves beans, and he likes pasta-- I bet if I didn't call it something funky he's never heard of (like "minestrone" ) he might eat it!
And he likes egg salad. He eats it plain, though. He does not eat raw onion. I bet I can sneak those other things into it, though. He LOVES eggs.

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

I cook what I call whole. For instance you mentioned he likes

boxed bread crumb chicken, box mac-cheese, corn from the can

well how about revamping initially what he likes for healthier food choices than completely changing everything. For instance using whole grain pastas and real butter, 100% cheese to make mac-cheese, corn fresh from the cob and chicken rolled and baked in whole oats/grains. Looks like what he'd make but much less processed and healthier for him.

This is freaking brilliant. Why does it take other people to point out the obvious? When I get there, I am so doing this.

Originally Posted by witchygrrl

Maia--there are recipes for French toast, scrambled eggs, muffins, etc., for breakfast. For lunch/dinner, chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, chili, lasagna, sloppy joes, etc.. For dessert, there's brownies (with spinach), cupcakes, cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, etc. I bet there's a few things he'd eat in there, and it would have vegetable matter in it and he wouldn't know it!

I've made mac and cheese with cauliflower, for example, though I put WAY too much cauliflower in so it was definitely obvious. Still very tasty, though.

OK, I'm sold

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by livinlovinlaughin

Too bad he can't appreciate yummy looking food. Just be creative. Make whatever pizza he likes and hide what you would put on your in the sauce.

Right? Sigh.

You know what, I have done this with the kids: shredded zucchini and put it under the sauce and cheese on pizzas. They can't tell. Shredded zucchini is white and blends right in with the cheese, and you can't taste it.
I can make white-crust pizza (with whole wheat blended in) and do this. Maybe even with yellow squash, too.

[caiesmommy]

My computers deciding not to let me quote today so well here we go anyways

The soup w a 17m old works only b/c I strain off the veggies/beans/ww pasta. let her finger food that and then I put the broth into a sippy cup and she drinks it with her meal

[lonegirl]

If I make boxed Macaroni and cheese I omit butter and add a jr sized jar of butternut squash and a handful of real shredded low fat cheese, I add milk if too dry but generally the squash makes it creamy enough. It makes the mac and cheese nice and rich, DS loves it!!

When I make tacos at home again I use Jr sized babyfood and add in a jar of squash and a jar of carrots. (chopped veggies change the texture too much for ds).

Sometimes I do "Surprise Mashed Potatoes" -Cauliflower cooked soft, mashed or whipped with a splash of buttermilk, clove of crushed garlic and I can't believe it's not butter. Tastes like garlic mashed potatoes and only way hubby eats cauliflower.

When I make my batch of homemade meatsauce (pasta) I add a jr. jar each of Squash, carrots, green beans. I also chop up lots of fresh onions, peppers and finely chop carrots, add a jar of Classico Spicy Red Pepper sauce and add it all to browned extra lean ground beef. I make enough to freeze a few dinner sized containers for quick easy sauce.

[caiesmommy]

I can't wait to make zuke fries. Great idea and the dip with extras! I'm not a big soup person but might try it. Does your 17 month old self feed the soup? I just envision it falling off the spoon more than going in the mouth. i would love to hear more ideas if you think of any.[/QUOTE]

For my 17m old I strain the soup with one of those slotted spoons, put the veggies into a bowl and then put the soup into a sippy cup for her to drink

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

When I make tacos at home again I use Jr sized babyfood and add in a jar of squash and a jar of carrots. (chopped veggies change the texture too much for ds).

You know, this babyfood idea is really a good one! I get you on the texture thing. I can see that being a potential problem, with M. But I forgot about babyfood, and forgot that babyfood IS real food, just...smooth

Hmm. Brain cells percolating, now!