Deceptive or sneaky? Just give me healthy!

I think I'm becoming a food snob. If it's too salty, I don't like it. If it's greasy, it grosses me out. If it tastes fake, why bother? And if it's loaded with white flour & sugar, I know I'll love it going down, but I'll pay the price when the rush wears off.

A couple weeks ago, my little guy and I were home alone at dinnertime. I decided I didn't want to cook, so we went out to a local franchise restaurant. The service was extremely slow, the food was overpriced, and it just tasted BAD. Is it just me, or do you find this to be the case when you go out too?

It's a bummer, because I don't always feel like cooking. But I do cook, most nights. I do a lot of from-scratch cooking, to stay away from overly processed and preserved foods that aren't good for those with asthma and high blood pressure. Or anyone, really. But that leaves me in a pickle. It's hard to find good quality food as take-out. At least near my house.

So I cook or heat up leftovers.

And I have quite a collection of cookbooks. When I heard about two recent cookbooks that are all about slipping veges into any and all recipes, I was ready to check them out. Since I have a preschooler who likes mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, and pb&j, I thought maybe I'd find something to help inject some variety (and veges) into his diet. I make healthy versions of his faves already, but I am always looking to expand the repertoire.

And when I heard that there were controversies about these cookbooks, I added them to my library list. Personally, I don't think it's bad to slip veges and beans into cookies. Call it deceptive or sneaky if you must, but I call it getting them to eat good stuff, no matter the route. And as for which came first, and who copied whom? I don't really care. My sister-in-law has been doing this sort of thing for at least 15 years. It's not a new concept. Anyway, I proceeded to check out the recipes. 

First up, I borrowed the Jessica Seinfeld book: Deceptively Delicious (DD). To be honest, I didn't spend a lot of time with this book. It's a beautiful book - pictures, lay-flat format. Nice. It looks like it was a sky's-the-limit on the budget project. But in my opinion, it's lacking in substance. I was turned off by the not-so-healthy recipes. I made the chocolate chip cookies, which taste pretty good, but I thought about ways to doctor the recipe to make it healthier while I was following it. Isn't that supposed to be the point of the book? Healthy recipes in the first place? All-purpose flour only and tub margarine? Blech. And honestly, I was put off by the icons of Jessica, Jerry & family throughout the book. Kind of celebrity-in-your-face. I'm glad I only borrowed this book.

Then it was my turn to borrow The Sneaky Chef (SC) cookbook. I've been pouring over it for days. I really like this cookbook. What it lacks in pretty-ness (not enough photos), it makes up for in substance. I've made the banana "ice cream" and chocolate chip cookies so far. YUMMY! The cookies use a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flours, and wheat germ. Like the DD cookies, they include oatmeal and beans. Both use less sugar than traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes, and the Sneaky Chef cookies use BUTTER. Both my son and I preferred the SC cookies, while my husband like the DD cookies better. Either way, they're both healthier than the usual chocolate chip fare. And any time my preschooler asks for a second cookie that's made with whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, oats, and beans, I know I have a winner!

I've ordered my own copy of The Sneaky Chef, and the author, Missy Chase Lapine has a second book coming out. I have it on my wish list already!

Now, will someone near me please open a restaurant that serves this kind of food? Yes, I can follow a good recipe, but it's nice to let somebody else do the cooking once in a while!

Comments

[nat]

You know, I got a promo copy of Seinfeld's book from work and I'm not that impressed by it. After she appeared on Oprah, though, we ran out of it twice. One lady was really irked that she came "all the way in" to buy that book, so I put "The Sneaky Chef" into her hands. (This was before all of the controversy over the similarities Seinfeld's book had to this one.) I prefer Sneaky Chef, too, since Missy is an actual chef!

[Sarcasmo]

I agree I am not so sure about the sneaky part. I know we have to get kids to eat healthier foods, but we have to teach them how to do it and I don't see how sneaking it in their food does that. Those SC cookies sound intriguing though

[Jody]

I find that I prefer to make food at home, too. Even steaks. Have you been over to my rcipe blog? Just recipes that we love that I have found various places. And some of it is even healthy!

PS- I have a complete Valentine's dinner menu up- it's at the header of Iowa Geek. :)

[Marie]

Nat,
Exactly!! And yes, Seinfeld has the Oprah thing in her favor, of course.

Sarcasmom,
I like how in SC, Missy calls the pureed veges "boosters." There's just a small amount added to each recipe, and the idea is that you're supplementing what you can get them to eat any other way.

Jody,
Yes, I've seen it! Unfortunately my husband doesn't eat beef.

[kristi]

I'm still plugging my way though DD, but I think I agree with your assessment of it. My little girl is a fan of any vegetable covered in yogurt, as vile as it sounds. And as a mom desperate to turn a veggie-hater into a healthy eater again, I will do it until she starts spitting it back at me!