Ask The Sneaky Chef: January 2012 Archives

Your Name: Alex C., Australia
Inquiry: I just wanted to say I haven't even made any of your recipes yet but I am so excited that someone finally is being serious about what our kids like and realise most kids like sweet treats. I have looked at so many vege cookie recipes before I stumbled upon yours. Who wants to eat actual vegies shaped like a cookie? Your recipes look so yummy and I really believe they will taste as good as they look simply because they will taste normal. Your recipes are exactly what I have been looking for thank you!

Dear Alex,
Wow, all the way from down under! We have lots of love from happy readers using Sneaky Chef in Australia, in fact! Can't wait to hear what you think of my recipes - and you're correct, kids are way too clever these days to simply cut veggies into cookie shapes and call them cookies....a rose by any other name....
Pls stay in touch!!
My best,
Missy

P.S. I couldn't resist sending this quote I got from a wonderful mom (Mum, as you say!) in Australia:

“I am a mum of six children ranging from 19 to 8. My three youngest have autism.
Finding food that they would eat is hard enough but healthy food is even harder. We decided to take out a lot of the preservatives in their diet as well as getting them to eat healthier. Finding your book was a Godsend. While making up the purees, I despaired getting them to eat them. Then I stood in awe as my 9-year-old took off with the bowl that I had made the "Brainy Brownies" in and began to lick it.

I can make up food now knowing that in most things they are getting such wonderful vegetables. Putting a White and an Orange Puree into plain baked beans and watching them eating it is incredible. My son’s teacher came up to me after two weeks and asked me what I had done. She told me that my son was now working alone without needing much help and his spelling and English had improved dramatically. My 9-year-old daughter is amazing. Since starting with the purees and other things in the book, her speech has improved dramatically and she had now at least twice the amount of words. When she got out of the car the other day, and just before she ran off to school, she turned and called out. "I love you mummy." I sat and cried because that is not something she says. If I could meet Missy I would give her the hugest hug because without this book I would definitely not have the kids I have today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving my kids back to me.” Tina E., Australia (mum of 6)

Twitter request
 @harikanyc: @sneakychef corn flakes & cheese pudding? Sounds interesting!  
Here you go, Harika....thanks for asking:

GRANDMA BETTY’S CORNFLAKE AND CHEESE PUDDING
From The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue
I dedicate this recipe to my late Grandma Betty. As with many of the recipes passed down from generations above, there’s no way to replicate the exact taste of my wonderful Grandma’s pudding (it was either the love – or some other secret ingredient they never wrote down – that made it taste different), but this is pretty darn close – even with all the extra healthful ingredients that I slipped in to give it a boost. I make this every Sunday and on rushed weekday mornings when I want to give the kids an instant hot breakfast.

Makes 6 servings
1 ½ cups low-fat cottage cheese (ideally “whipped”)
2 large eggs
¼ cup Sneaky Chef White Bean Puree
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole grain cereal flakes (like Wheaties® or Total®)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease or spray a loaf pan (approximately 9-inches by 5-inches) with oil.

Using a rolling pin, gently crush cereal (in a sealed plastic bag) into coarsely crushed flakes. Alternatively, you can quickly pulse the cereal in a food processor. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, eggs, White Bean Puree, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Pour about three-quarters of a cup of the crushed cereal on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Next, pour all of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the cereal, then top with the remaining crushed cereal. Spray the top with oil and bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. Serve with drizzle of maple syrup.
 

Thank you Laura Fuentes, Chief MOM
www.MOMables.com

Three years ago my daughter entered a picky eating stage and I could not get her to eat anything! My son followed her path a year later. I came across Missy’s book The Sneaky Chef and I immediately fell in love with her ingenuity! The brownies were such a hit that I began putting them in their lunch box. They wanted a treat? Have a brownie! I’d say.

My daughter has slowly grown more open to trying new things; my son is another story. For the past year he has eaten macaroni and cheese nearly 2-3 times per week. Initially, I used Missy’s technique of adding pureed carrots or squash (anything orange) to add a nutritional boost to the organic, out of the box pasta. Soon, it became apparent that I needed to come up with my own “power sauce” in order to really maximize nutrition.

They say desperation is the mother of all invention. After trying many sauces and online recipes, I realized that simple ingredients worked best. There are days I whip up a single serving of “power sauce” while the pasta cooks; other days, I get really inspired and whip up a huge batch so all I have to do is pull a serving from the freezer and warm it up. Below, I’ll share with you both options so you can make the power sauce at home.

Power Sauce: Homemade Creamy Cheese Sauce
Courtesy of MOMables™’ Recipe Stash

Large Make ahead recipe: yields 12 1cup servings.
Ingredients:
• 5lb bag organic carrots, peeled and washed
• 32oz (2lb) container part skim ricotta cheese
• 12 oz sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
Directions:
1. Peel and wash carrots. Cut in a few pieces. Steam
2. Steam carrots until soft (12-15min for that size load)
3. In a blender/food processor add half of all the ingredients above and blend/puree well.
4. Repeat process for second batch.
5. After cooling, pour 1 cup of pureed mac and cheese into individual zip bags or freezer containers.
6. To make mac and cheese dinner: pour 1 cup power sauce and mix with cooked pasta (12oz dry pasta)

Single Batch: yields approx. 1cup sauce
Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup steamed carrots
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 1-2 oz sharp cheddar cheese
• 2TB milk
Repeat directions.

Enjoy!

Laura Fuentes is the Chief MOM at MOMables™. A wife, mother of 3 and a lunch enthusiast who insists on healthy, wholesome food for her family. 
She’s on a mission to help busy parents overcome the difficulties of packing fresh school lunches. On her personal blog, SuperGlueMom.com, she writes about motherhood, deadlines, healthier living, and keeping her cool, even when her kids super-glued her hair. She’s also a food contributor to numerous sites and is published weekly on an online news hub.
You can find her on Facebook or Twitter and MOMables on Facebook and Twitter