Under Disguise?

A few years ago, I purchased Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef.  I was so inspired to ensure that my children were getting their veggies, even if it meant that I had to hide them in their food.  After reviewing the recipes, I decided that a. there were too few veggies per serving to really count and b. there was too much work required to do so.  At that point, I vowed to encourage my children to find a love of veggies now, so that I didn't have to hide them for the rest of their lives, and as adults, they would be able to make healthy decisions for themselves.

Needless to say, I was inspired by my girlfriend to use my food processor.  Hmmm...is that really the same as disguising their favorite veggies?  Yes, but on this occasion, I didn't care.  Another friend had been bragging about the excellent chicken cacciatore that she made, and I wanted it too.  To me, cc is characterized by strips of peppers and onions in a tomato sauce.  We've been doing so well though, with the lack of tears and wining at dinner time, I really didn't want to revisit this anytime soon.  So, I lamented and threw 3 bell peppers (orange, yellow, red), carrots and an onion into the machine and watched it pulverize.  Then, I just mixed it into a can of seasoned crushed tomatoes with 4 frozen chicken breasts, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp sage, 4 cloves of garlic, and some salt.

Served over brown rice,  I thought the kids would be thrilled, but instead, C and L insisted on just having rice.  Let's just say, they are addicted to rice.  So, disguising the veggies didn't really save me from the winy tears.  Instead, I got to hear them because I had adulterated their rice by adding cc to the top of it.  When the protest ended though, I was thrilled that L told me, "this is excellent!  When I'm done with this bowl, do you think I can have some more?"  Success!

Do I feel bad that I essentially lied to my kids about what they are eating?  Hmmm...yes and no.  No, because they ate their bell peppers, packed with vitamins A and C, that fight against free radicals, promote lung health and good eye sight, and all and all, good health.    Yes, because they don't know that they really enjoyed said peppers.  I mean, how can I make this translate into future healthy choices?  I guess every gain comes with some losses.

The lesson?  In the future, I may continue to pulse the food into smaller, more bite size and manageable portions, but perhaps, I will ensure the pieces are big enough to discern.  The kids should be able to recognize that they are eating something besides sauce, and when they ask, I will tell them that its something really healthy for them.  Only after their plate (or bowl) has been licked clean, will I reveal the real identity of this healthy hero.