Shhh . . . he doesn't know there are carrots in the smoothie!

Sneaky Vegetables

The irony of being a naturopathic medical student who loves nothing more than getting my food fresh from the farmer's market and making things from scratch is having a fiance who stringently believes that there are 4 food groups -- bread, peanut butter, milk, and Chinese take out.  Vegetables, especially green ones, can be a dirty word in our home at meal times. 

This Christmas I was the lucky recipient of the oh-so-coveted "Vitamix" -- a blender with the horsepower of a moped.  While I love that this machine can make nut butters, soups, even ice-cream, thus far my favorite use of this device is sneaking vegetables into meals of my fiance and his 3-year-old son who seems to take after his dad in terms of thoughts on the greener things in life.  With the help of my new super-sneaky appliance, spaghetti dinner can be instantly enhanced by adding 1 cup of pureed chard and fruit smoothies have hidden carrots. 

You don't need a vitamix to play vegetable espionage - a food processor or even a regular blender run long enough can do the job.  This is a simple way to make sure those picky eaters in your family get the nutrition and fiber needed for healthy daily living.  For example, chard is a super nutritious food high in antioxidants, vitamin K, A, and C as well as many trace minerals and more.  Check out one of my favorite food info sites World's Healthiest Foods at http://www.whfoods.com for more info on the benefits of all your favorite foods.  

For saving time, you can puree large quantities of vegis and save them is small portion size freezer bags for those nights when you have 15 minutes to get dinner on the table.  

I'd love to hear and share your recipes for super sneaky vegetables -- post your recipes!