Sneaky Chef Make-Ahead Recipe: Purple Puree
Contributed by: Missy Chase Lapine of The Sneaky Chef
If you think your kids will never eat anything healthy -- think again!
Learn how to make the meals your children already love -- but with secret sneaky ingredients that pack a healthy punch. Your kids will never suspect that there's blueberries pureed into their brownies, cauliflower in their mac 'n' cheese, or sweet potatoes in their lasagna -- but they'll love every bite! Here are simple, practical recipes and techniques that will help every busy parent create healthy meals for the whole family.
"Sneaky" recipes include:
- Masterful Mac 'n' Cheese
- Power Pizza
- Incognito Burritos
- Hi-Fi Fish Sticks
- Guerilla Grilled Cheese
- Brainy Brownies
- 5-minute quick fixes for Jello® and other kid-popular mixes
And much more!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups raw baby spinach leaves (or 2 cups frozen chopped spinach, or frozen chopped collard greens)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no syrup or sugar added)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Directions:
If using raw spinach, thoroughly wash it, even if the package says "prewashed." Bring spinach or collards and water to boil in a medium pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.
Fill the bowl of your food processor with the blueberries and cooked spinach, (or collards) along with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water, and puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push top contents to bottom. If necessary, use a second tablespoon of water to make a fairly smooth puree.
This amount of spinach and blueberries makes only about 1 cup of puree. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of the puree. It will store in the refrigerator up to 2 days, or you can freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.
Copyright © 2007 Missy Chase Lapine
Missy Chase Lapine is the author of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals (Running Press, March 2007). She is the former publisher of Eating Well magazine and the founder of a natural baby product line Baby Spa®. Missy is currently on the Culinary Arts faculty of The New School, in New York City, and operates The Sneaky Chef workshops, which is a program of cooking classes and demonstrations that teach families how to eat healthier. She is a contributor to Parenting Magazine, ediets.com, and education.com, and available to individuals, groups and businesses for private cooking instruction, workshops and personal coaching in The Sneaky Chef methods and recipes. Missy lives with her family in Westchester, New York. For more information visit www.TheSneakyChef.com.
