Sneaking in the Veg

Whether you're trying to get your three-year-old to eat his broccoli, or you want to help your hubbie lose that belly that seems to have suddenly sprouted out of nowhere, you can be just a bit sly and incorporate some healthy foods into a meal that might otherwise be a complete nutritional dud!

Keep in mind that while I may offer a suggestion of 'toss some spinach into your spouse's mac & cheese', I'm NOT suggesting that you begin eating mac & cheese, just to get the spinach in!   To clarify, the following suggestions are for when you're making meals for family members, friends and so on, who aren't ready to give up their processed foods yet.

-As I mentioned above, throw some spinach into a  batch of mac & cheese.   You don't even need to cook it as spinach is one of the most fast-cookin' veggies around!  If you're the primary grocery shopper in the house, you can at least buy one of the organic, non-hydrogenated versions of a mac & cheese mix.   Together with the spinach, this makes the usually noxious mac & cheese into a somewhat reasonable meal!

-How about throwing a bit of greens into a home made smoothie, along with some lovely, dark berries (read between the lines:  the dark colour of the berries will camouflage the green juice!).   There will still be some fibre in the shake from the fruit, but you'll have the added benefit of all the nutrients that the greens have to offer!

-Do your kids insist on sandwiches?  Add a layer of finely chopped steamed kale (once steamed, kale squashes down pretty nicely and if it's chopped up finely, the kids won't notice as much as if you were to simply place an entire leaf between the bread!) to a sliced turkey, avocado & tomato sandwich, accompanied by a side of baby carrots and sliced cucumber.

-As we move into a cooler season, how about a hearty stew?  Here's another great place to hide some veg!  Saute some cubed, lean beef in a stock pot with Olive oil, onions, bell peppers and your choice of spices & herbs.  Add water and let simmer.   Throw in some cut carrots and potato and continue to simmer.  Shortly before serving, throw in whichever veggies you like (I say shortly before serving to as to preserve more nutrients, versus cooking them to death, rendering them mushy, brown and unappealing!).   Try any of the leafy greens, to name one option!  Once again here, the darker color of the stew lends itself to be a good hiding place for some nice veggie additions!

-After the hubbie, or kids, or roommate compliments the chef, then and ONLY then, go ahead and tell them the secret- there were veggies in there!