going green

Margaret, none the wiser, enjoying a green smoothie

I have been trying inventive ways to add green veggies to our diet. Margaret loves fruit. She will eat any kind of fruit. But she is much pickier when it comes to green things. When I was pregnant with Margaret I swore that I would not be one of those moms who hide vegetables in things to make my children eat them. I had this vision of my children loving a vegetable as is-no disguise or costume. Well, reality doesn't always match up with how we envision things. So here I am trying to be "Deceptively Delicious". My friend lent me a copy of this book but I have yet to read it. I am sure there are many more wonderful ideas in it. Here are a few things that have worked around our house lately. My main objective is to get Margaret (Jackson and I too) to eat more spinach and kale. I have started making green smoothies in the mornings. I prefer to use Kefir over yogurt because it is fermented longer and contains more healthy bacteria. I keep Cascadian Farms organic frozen fruits in our freezer and usually add whatever I have on hand. I use a banana for sweetness and then the green part; a big handful of organic spinach. I add a little bit of breast milk to Margaret's to make it more watery so she can sip it easily and voila she has a pretty healthy breakfast.

Another easy way to add vegetables to your diet is in meatloaf. I love this recipe for meatloaf from my favorite blog Passionate Homemaking. I add carrots and spinach to the ground meat by pulsing it all in the food processor a few times. Also if you have a hunter in your home, like I do, this recipe is great with ground deer meat. Another variation of this is to make meatballs with added vegetables. The key for me is to keep my food processor and blender handy. I have recently moved our wine refrigerator off the counter and replaced it with my food processor and blender. If that doesn't say something about how children affect your life I don't know what does. The next recipe I am going to try and alter to contain greens is oatmeal. I eat oatmeal almost every morning. I like to soak our grains for at least 24 hours for optimal nutrient consumption. (here is more info on soaking) Margaret prefers her oatmeal more creamy so I always pulse hers in the blender a few times. I usually add banana or apple sauce to sweeten it for her. I am going to try adding a handful of spinach the next time I make it for her. Any kind of egg bake or egg casserole also provides an easy opportunity to add greens. In my opinion the pureeing or at least finely chopping method is the best way to assimilate these vegetables into your recipes. As I come up with more recipes I will post them here.