Sneaky Chef

A few weeks ago I checked out the book, "The Sneaky Chef", by Missy Chase Lapine. It contains simple recipes and ideas for hiding healthy foods in kids' favorite foods. I thought this concept sounded interesting and something I wanted to explore. I was also pretty skeptical. I wasn't thinking about being sneaky for Ava because she is a good eater. Some of her favorites include edamame, peas, broccoli, sweet potato, yogurt, and bananas. I was thinking more about being sneaky to help me be healthier. After reading some of the recipes I became even more skeptical, but decided to give it a whirl.

I started by making two of the secret sneaky purees. One was orange with sweet potato and carrots. This one reminded me of baby food. The first way I used it was in box Mac-n-Cheese. I basically made it the same but added some of the secret orange puree and cheddar cheese. I also added peas which is something I always do(I love peas with any pasta). It was good. I didn't taste the puree at all and I've had it since.

I also used the orange puree on toasted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. I basically made the toasted cheese sandwich the same but spreadthe puree on the inside of the bread. I also used olive oil on the outside instead of butter. This was another winner and I would do it again.

The other puree was purplish with spinach and blueberries. It came out pretty gross and smelled terrible like cut grass. I wasn't sure if I wanted to eat it, but I found a recipe that sounded good and gave it a try. I made Coco Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I was hoping the chocolate would mask the puree and make me forget the grass clippings smell. I was really surprised when I didn't taste grass or spinach. The pancakes ended up being pretty good. The only thing was the texture was a little off. I'm sure it was because it was made with equal parts flour, wheat flour, and wheat germ. The texture wasn't bad, it just wasn't a fluffy pancake.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the ideas and some of the recipes. I didn't have time to try more recipes before the book was due, but I plan on checking it out again. I still want to try the sneaky brownie recipe.

This is Ava after eating Coco Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

As you can see you loved them.