Sneaky Frugality

While cruising the Interweb, I came across this cry for help from a mom trying to feed picky eaters with already-cooked carrots, cauliflower and squash she was given. Apparently, her husband and sons refuse to eat those items.

The suggestions focused on pureeing the vegetables to hide them in foods her family would eat. One commenter suggested the book Deceptively Delicious. Now, dishonesty isn’t cool. But it’s no lie that I’m all for a little deception in the name of nutrition and avoiding waste (like brownies with carrot and spinach).

Ironically, some have accused Deceptively Delicious author Jessica Seinfeld (wife of Jerry) of dishonesty in using others’ ideas. The Sneaky Chef came out about a half-year earlier (this post compares recipes from the two books), and Sneaky Veggies was published more than a year earlier.

For this blog, though, the important thing is the tactic of avoiding waste by pureeing and inserting vegetables into recipes, not who published it first. Besides, as the Slate piece points out, it’s not a new practice. Just one that we may have forgotten about.

Have you used any of these cookbooks? Or do you have a sneaky strategy you’d like to share? I’m all ears.