It's not easy being green

Last night, I made the Deceptively Delicious vegetable sloppy joe's (again) for some friends.  It was another instant hit!  I confessed to my friend's husband it was loaded with veggies. To my shock he said he really enjoyed it. He's very much a meat and potato type.   I knew it wasn't lip service because he went back for a second helping.  AND I left them with the remaining leftovers.  It gave me great pleasure to do something kind for them.  They have a 1 year old and I could tell my friends appreciate some homemade cooking, even if it is from a veggie loving savvy foodie.

After dinner we started to talk about my new adventure.  I encouraged them both to eat naturally occurring food instead of resorting to popular processed foods.  My girlfriend, who is usually very laid back, said, "I hate taking my baby to the grocery store because she pulls everything within her reach off the shelves.  I frequent the place as little as possible.  And if you're suggesting I start eating more produce, I can't.  It's too expensive and I'd have to be making trips to the store every other day in order to get fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm a full-time mom and I work from home.  It's too hard and it's too expensive.  I need cheap and easy."

I got the sense she wanted to tell me to 'shove it' because she's currently in survival mode.  What she said is valid.  I agree, produce can quickly add up and it does require frequent trips to the store.  I don't have a child, so I can only imagine how difficult it must be to raise another human being and take care of yourself.

I gently reminded her it's her health I'm advocating for.  Her pocketbook may take a more severe beating later in life when she's popping pills and frequenting doctor's offices for health related problems.  She has the power to fill herself, and her family, with savvy choices!!  It's not impossible.  It will take some tweaking of previous habits.

I suggested she buy frozen fruits and veggies.  I also said in order to make these changes it takes determination and planning ahead.  One trick (that may take some time to get used to) is to redefine what you consider as a meal.  I, for one, don't believe in eating traditional meals every time.  I eat until I'm full and if I load up on string beans and almonds for lunch, it's cool.

I gave up on processed deli meats awhile back. They're the work of the devil, in my humble opinion.  There are alternatives!  I take a whole wheat wrap, put some mayo and mustard on one side, layer it with green leafy lettuce, 3 slices of cucumber, 2 tomato slices and a slice of swiss cheese.  It's filling and scrumptious!!

My friend inspired me to continue educating myself on alternatives for busy moms.  I picked up a book, Supermarket Vegan by Donna Klein, after my nutritionist friend recommended it.  It has a TON of easy to follow recipes.

Being savvy foodies is something anyone can do.  Let's continue holding hands and support each other.

Deceptively Delish!

I recently purchased Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook.  My family isn't wild about eating veggies, so these recipes incorporate the veggies into the dish.

There are many reasons why I love this book.  First of all, she provides an introduction that gives step by step directions for cutting, steaming and pureeing the vegetables.  It actually says: "cut the red bell pepper down the center, remove the seeds and the white stem", "steam for ____ minutes", "puree for ____ minutes"...BRILLIANT!  She also lists the benefits of the vegetables, just in case you had forgotten how healthy broccoli could be.  The recipes are geared towards kids, but kids aren't the only crowd needing to eat their vegetables!!

The one draw back to her method... it can take a super long time to steam and then puree the veggies.  After steaming the veggies, I throw them in a bowl and toss them in the freezer to aid in the cooling off time.  DON'T put pippin' hot veggies in the food processor.  If you are up for the challenge, heed my warning: make sure you read ahead to see how long the selected veggie will take to steam.  For example, the sweet potato (used in the sloppy joe recipe) takes 45 minutes to steam!  Prepare them ahead of time and freeze it.  This is what Jessica suggests for busy moms and dads.

So the two recipes I took on for tonight's dinner: Sloppy Joes and Spinach Brownies.  The Sloppy Joes have sweet potatoes and red pepper (you can use butternut squash instead and she also suggests carrots, but those are optional).  I was frankly too tired to cut the darn carrots!!  The recipe calls for 1 lb. of ground sirloin, I used 1.25.  Even with the quarter extra, I have very little for left overs.  I also used tomato paste flavored with Italian herbs.  I used 1/2 cup, instead of 1/4 like the recipe says.

  

It really helps to move things along if you keep all the ingredients conveniently next to the stove.  This is a recipe that you must stay on top of and constantly stir and add to the mix.  This was AMAZING!  I added some shredded cheddar and I'm tempted to have seconds?!

And for a special treat after dinner...I took on her spinach and carrot brownies.  Let me just say, when you puree the spinach, try not to let it deter you from enjoying the fruits of your labor.  I won't even say what I thought pureed spinach resembled!!!  

My mother reported, "They're not sweet, but you do taste the coco."  I think they're very tasty, but she's right they are not sweet.  One brownie bite and I'm left satisfied and I don't want to eat the entire batch.  This is a step in the right direction!  The book also lists the benefits of eating spinach and carrots.  These are wonderful!

I cut them fairly small so it's more like a brownie bite.  My father is always a veggie critic and he didn't mention a vegetable after taste with these.  Yeah!!!

Please allow for a lot of time to prepare her dishes.  I have dish pan hands and a sore back,  but it's worth it to know that my family is eating a healthy dish!