I was sort of intrigued when I saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah recently. She has a book entitled Deceptively Delicious with recipes on how to "hide" vegetable purees in all sorts of food for her kids.
This is not a new concept. My life-long wonderful friend Tara Kim has a dad who cooks a lot. Ever since we were little, he's been "hiding" stuff in food. I remember there being zuchini....and who knows what else...in his pancakes. As a kid, it sounded a bit strange, but now I want his recipes!
I wanted to try some of Jessica Seinfeld's (I keep wanting to type Jessica Simpson) recipes not really for my kids, but for myself! And although it's not a new concept, she gives lots of recipes that she has tried and likes.
So, last night I went to work. Went to work on doing the purees. I pureed spinach (a HUGE costco bag yielded a little more than 4 cups puree), carrots and butternut squash.
Then I tried her brownie recipe! Not only does it have spinach and carrots in it, but it has VERY little butter and VERY little sugar.
I was a little nervous and skeptical, but I actually like them! I don't think I'd say they are my favorite brownies of ALL time, but they are really good...especially considering that they are "healthy". I sprinkled powdered sugar on top, which was a great touch.
Here's the recipe (I doubled it):
INGREDIENTS
Nonstick cooking spray
3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I added a little extra)
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I used butter)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Nonstick cooking spray
3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (I added a little extra)
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I used butter)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.
12 comments:
I have seen her on all the talk shows lately (and by the way, I think she is really cute) and I must admit, I am convinced this is a GREAT idea! So, I will be asking for the recipe book for Christmas, and in the meantime, will be trying these brownies!
Ha! You were raised on hidden veggis! I must say those bags don't look lovely in the morning. Don't forget too much of a good thing can ruin your food. Reference: I put too much oatmeal in a meatloaf and a family member said it taste like dog food! My confidence plummeted forever!
Kar - There are probably 6 of her recipes on Oprah.com, if you wanted to try some out now! That's where I got this.
I also agree with her when she says she hides veggies in lots of stuff, but STILL serves veggies to her kids so they know they need to eat them.
I love to steam zuchini or squash, and I have given it to Lexi like 15 times...finally the other day she said "Mom, I really like this!". A testament to KEEP TRYING! :-)
Anonymous aka Mom: Don't worry, you'll be getting a sample of these brownies today! ;-)
Jamie
I am sure they will cut down on the HIGH YIELD consumption our family does with your unhealthy, delicious Brownies shall see.
Mom
Luckily my kids love veggies and eat them with every meal. I don't know if I could ever give up my brownie recipe:) I do love butternut squash though and have a wonderful recipe for soup that my kids love.
I will ask my dad to send me his recipe for the whole-wheat/yeast/veggie pancakes. Carly and I were having this conversation the other day about my dad's cooking. I don't think you want to know what else was in those pancakes. He not only put ALL manner of veggies, (zuchini, peas, broccoli, spinach, carrots, squash, corn, etc), but he had the habit of using the pancakes as a substitute for the traditional use of meatloaf as the way to use dinner leftovers. I remember one time he put the leftover garlic/herb-mashed potatos and corn in them, along with canned pineapple no one was eating. yumm....
Oh wow, Tara. Had I connected all that at the time, i probably would NOT have eatent them! We used to call your dad the human garbage disposal. I would LOVE the recipe for the most normal version of his pancakes :-)
Funny huh? Now you understand why we would SMOTHER his pancakes with butter, syrup, applesauce, and sometimes powdered sugar. :)
i have also seen her and NEED the cook book. i will go on oprah and check it out, thanks jamie.
thnaks for the insight. I am alsways willing to try new & healthy recipes. I may need to try "hiding" the veggies in some things too. kaipo, who used to A LOT better, is falling right in line with his picky sister! Not good.
ps how do you puree ( I know its a dumb question)? In the blender???
Britt - To Puree: you steam the veggies, then I used a food processor but you could use a blender too. Make sure its REALLY smooth. Sometimes you have to add water.
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