Eat your Veggies!

I have NEVER been one to eat my vegetables. And it's not because my parents didn't try (right Mom?). I can remember nights when my parents said I couldn't leave the table until I ate a certain number of bites of whatever vegetable was served that evening and sitting at the kitchen table until bedtime-veggie untouched. And to be honest, it's not just vegetables. It's most foods. Let's face it. To say I am a picky eater would be an understatement. If I was served something that had minced onion or garlic, not only would I know, I'd be able to pick out each individual piece of onion or garlic. When Adeline started making the transition to table food, I became very anxious about making sure that she did not become the picky eater that I am. For the most part, she does a pretty good job (she actually LOVES broccoli), but she definitely has her picky moments ("I no yike!). We recently got the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" (thanks Mary Jo!) where every recipe has a vegetable puree in it. And a lot of it is food that kids want like macaroni & cheese or even doughnuts. So I was very excited to try out some recipes. Todd ran to WalMart and picked up a $25 dollar food processor, and the "veggie hiding" began.

The first recipe we tried was the grilled cheese sandwich. Adeline ate her whole sandwich without blinking. I even tried a bite and would have eaten one (with chips and a diet coke, of course)!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (next time I may use a little bit more), 1/2 cup sweet potato or butternut squash puree (I used butternut squash), 1 tablespoon trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 slices whole-wheat bread, nonstick cooking spray

First we pureed the butternut squash. To do this, we cut off the stem and cut the squash lengthwise. After scraping out the seeds, we baked at 400 for 45-50 minutes on a cookie sheet, flesh-side down. Then Todd scooped out the flesh into the food processor and blended for about 2 minutes.

When the puree was ready, I mixed together the cheese, vegetable puree, margarine, and salt.
Then I spread two slices of bread with the cheese mixture and topped with the other two slices. After spraying the inside of a waffle maker with cooking spray, I placed both sandwiches inside and cooked for 2 to 3 minutes.
These could definitely have been made on the stove, but I have been making Adeline grilled-cheese sandwiches in the waffle maker for a while now, so I thought she may be less likely to notice the squash. I just cut the sandwich into strips. I felt great knowing that she was eating a fruit and veggie at lunch!

Stay tuned...tomorrow's recipe: chocolate chip muffins *with pumpkin and yellow squash :)