Hidden Treasures
Use a food processors to mince raw vegetables or fruit within seconds
or a blender to puree cooked vegetables. Wash and dry greens, cabbage,
broccoli, or carrots, then all you need to do is place them in a food
processor and let the metal blade do all the work of creating finely
chopped veggies that can be added to all of your family's favorite
foods.
The real trick here is to choose dishes that offer a good cover-up,
such as soups, stews, mashed potatoes, marinara sauce, pizza, pasta
dishes, sloppy Joes, chili, and pasta salads. No one will be able to
taste the difference. Overall, the beauty of minced or pureed
vegetables is that they are easy to make, and for convenience if you
make large batches they'll easily store in the freezer for months.
If chunks of vegetables are out of the question in soups, casseroles
and stews it is quite easy to satisfy the recommended daily allowances
for vegetables by putting your blender to good use or investing in a
decent food processor. Your favorite vegetable, beef, or chicken soup
bases make a great start for a variety of ingredients you don't have to
see when eating it.
Try mixing some minced or grated vegetables like carrots along with the
other ingredients for your hamburgers or meat loaf, it is a great way
to increase your daily intake and the meat will be moister.
Dipping Treasures
Everyone likes dip and children are natural born dippers so introduce
them to the world of dipping; they are sure to take a liking to crunchy
raw carrot sticks and other raw veggies. Vegetable or fruit and dip
makes a wonderful appetizer, a great snack or even lunch. Some good
dippers include celery, bell peppers, cucumber slices, zucchini,
broccoli, and cauliflower. Plus firm fruit like apples, pears,
pineapple, grapes, and oranges. Encourage your family to experiment
with a variety of different dips; hummus, guacamole, salsa, peanut
butter, almond butter, tahini, as well as the more traditional dips
made with cream cheese, mayonnaise yogurt, or cottage cheese. I've
included a couple of recipes to get you started!
Fruit Dip
This is favorite fruit dip. Blend first four ingredients using electric mixer. Serve with fresh fruit.
1 package (8 oz/227 g) cream cheese, softened
1/4 to 1/3 cup/60 to 80 mL brown sugar
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Original Double-Strength Vanilla
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Caramel Extract
Fresh fruit cored and sliced, Apples, pears, grapes, etc
Greek Artichoke And Spinach Dip
In medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate two hours. Serve with lots of cut fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
1 package (10 oz/280 mL) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup/250 mL mayonnaise (low fat if desired)
1 cup/250 mL sour cream (low fat if desired)
3 tbsp/45 mL Watkins Cucumber & Dill Snack & Dip Seasoning
2 tsp/10 mL Watkins Onion Liquid Spice
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Garlic Granules
1 can (13.75 oz/390 g) water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
Sweet Treasures
If your family likes sweet treats like muffins, cookies, cakes, and
pies, then you'll love the recipes that use vegetables or fruit as
their main ingredients. Some of the more common selections include
Apple cake, Zucchini Muffins, fruit crisps, cobblers, Squash Bread,
Carrot Cake, Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie. Add more nutrition by using
whole grain flour and a small amount of sweeteners, such as honey or
reduce the sugar by half. Plus pureed produce is the perfect way of
sneaking some extra nutrition into bread, pizza crusts, and rolls.
Buried Treasures
Maybe what a maligned vegetable needs is a little topping? It's common
to sprinkle grated or shredded cheese on broccoli, cauliflower and
brussel sprouts. Or try this cheese sauce recipe:
Quick And Easy Cheese Sauce
Combine Cream Soup Base and other ingredients in a medium sauce pan;
bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil for one
minute. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Serve over
cooked vegetables.
1/2 cup/125 mL Watkins Cream Soup Base
3/4 cup/180 mL all-purpose flour
1 cup/250 mL 1% milk
1-1/2 cups/375 mL water
2 tbsp/30 mL Watkins Onion Flakes
1/4 tsp/1.2 mL Watkins Black Pepper
8 ounces/227 g shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Smooth Treasures
Drink your fruits and vegetables! Smoothies are most often made with
fruits but vegetables also make a healthy boost for the body. You'll
find they make a great snack or on the go breakfast. They're also easy
to prepare and best of all delicious.
Try this combination of vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables, blend 1 1/2
cups of apple juice, 1 apple (sliced), 1/2 a raw sweet potato, 1 sliced
carrot, 1/4 cup of chopped kale or cabbage, and 1 banana.
For a more traditional smoothie blend 1 banana, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2
teasp. Watkins Vanilla or Vanilla Nut extract, 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup
crushed ice. Great with Carmel extract too.
Or this one made with berries, blend 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup
blueberries, 1/4 cup raspberries, 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract, 1/2 cup
of milk and 1/2 cup crushed ice.
Now, with all these tricks up your sleeve you should have no problem
getting enough fruits and vegetables into your family's diet!]]>
