I'm so happy you have found my sweet corner of the internet. Let's have some fun! As a busy Mom of 3, I'm here to help you find the simplicity in cooking. I've already developed easy dinners, side dishes, breakfasts and desserts for you so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Use my recipes to feed your family!

latest recipes from the blog

Powered by Blogger.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
Friday, April 8, 2011

An Easy Way to Eat More Veggies


Lets be honest.  Most of us do not eat the recommended amount of veggies each day.  Me included.  In fact I don't think I had anything "green" yesterday.

So when I came upon this article in Redbook awhile back, I thought, what a great idea!  I'm sure you have all heard of sneaking veggies into meals, especially when trying to "hide" them from your children, but this article shows you how in a way that I thought was pretty clever.

Look at the four listed purees, along with dishes you can hide them in...genius!

Purple puree
6 c. raw spinach
1 t. lemon juice
3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

*Puree all ingredients with 2 T. water in a food processor until smooth.  Use it in brownies (substitute for the oil), or add in taco or burger meat.

Orange puree
1 sweet potato, peeled, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled diced

*In a medium pot cover with water and boil for 20 minutes, until very tender.  Drain, place in food processor with 2 T. water and puree until smooth.  Use it in banana bread (substitute for the oil), or add 1/4-1/2 c. to boxed or homemade macaroni and cheese.

Green puree
2 c. broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
2 c. raw baby spinach
1 c. frozen sweet peas

*Steam broccoli and spinach for 10 minutes or until tender.  Add in peas last 2 minutes.  Drain, puree in food processor with 2 T. water until smooth.  Use it in guacamole in replace of the avocado, layer in with lasagna, or add to any spaghetti sauce.

White puree
2 15 oz. cans white beans (such as white northern or cannellini)

*Rinse and drain beans.  Place in food processor, puree with 2 T. water until smooth (will have the consistency of peanut butter).  Use in coffee cake, muffins or any type of cookie dough (substitute for half the butter in the recipe), or mix with your favorite seasonings (garlic, pepper, cumin, etc.) for a dip.

Start your blenders people!  I'm making guacamole later today, so I might try the green puree!

Which one would you like to try???

Would you like to comment?

  1. That really is a great idea...especially for the kids :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The white puree sounds like something I would like to try!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've recently starting doing veggie purees in some of our foods cause it's a hard battle to get my daughter to eat many. We recently did butternut squash in mac and cheese!

    Thanks for sharing this!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those are great ideas Ally! I know I don't eat enough veggies.

    Hope you have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The purple blend sounds great to me! I love all the blueberries...yum!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The purple puree sounds fabulous but the other ones don't sound too shabby either. I definitely find it easier to get my veggies in during the warmer months. I load as many as I can into my salads!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The purple puree sounds fabulous but the other ones don't sound too shabby either. I definitely find it easier to get my veggies in during the warmer months. I load as many as I can into my salads!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The white puree sounds like something I would like to try!

    ReplyDelete