Sneaky Vegetables: Trick Yourself (or Someone Else) into Eating More Vege’s

It’s been a busy week moving from the Midwest to the East Coast and I haven’t had a lot of time to post, but promise to pick back up after this weekend! I did come across an article today that I had to share as I closely related.

The article, in the NY Times, was about stealthy vegetables and getting your children to eat more of them. While I don’t have children, I do have a fiancé that is vegetable adverse and I regularly think of ways to trick him into eating spinach, cauliflower, etc.  I know, I know, it’s somewhat deceptive and I won’t even get into how long he didn’t talk to me after he found out the garlic mashed potatoes he LOVED were actually made from cauliflower, but the concept can be applied without even making it “sneaky.”

The article in the NYT was based on research with preschool aged children and resulted in a substantial increase in vegetable intake and reduced calorie intake.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University substituted those vegetables, puréed, in children’s meals, reducing each meal’s calories but keeping its weight the same. One day a week for three weeks, 40 children were randomly given regular meals, meals with three times as much vegetable content, or meals with four times as much vegetable content. The children were told to eat as much or as little as they wanted.

The 3- to 6-year olds, attendees at a day care center, consumed the same amount of food by weight, regardless of whether the meals included puréed vegetables. But those who ate the meals with quadrupled vegetable content increased their total vegetable intake by 73 grams and reduced their calorie intake by about 12 percent during the study.

We all know the many benefits of vegetables and a diet heavy in naturally occurring plants, but it’s hard to pass up mashed potatoes or pasta in favor of broccoli.  So why not get the best of both worlds and make recipes that are vegetable based but taste like your favorite dishes?

Check out these tested and yummy recipes that incorporate “stealthy” vegetables…

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes with Sundried Tomatoes & Parsley:
http://cleancuisineandmore.com/cauliflower-side-dish/

 

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti:
http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-spaghetti-squash-spaghetti/

Zucchini Pasta:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/health/22recipehealth.html

NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/health/research/02nutrition.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition

Posted in: Clean Food