By Missy Chase
Lapine
www.TheSneakyChef.com
One day, my youngest
daughter had strep throat,
and in the time-honored tradition of mothers
everywhere, I hid her foul-tasting medicine in some
chocolate pudding. As I watched her swallow it
without protest, I couldn't help thinking about all the
wars I had fought to get my kids to eat a fabulous
grilled salmon or delicious carrot soup for dinner. Like
other American children, mine had learned to run in
horror from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish and
legumes. It dawned on me that if I wanted them to
grow up healthy and fit, I would have to take
this "hiding" idea a step further. If it worked for healthy
medicine, I reasoned, why couldn't it work for healthy
food? And as I looked at the bigger picture, I knew
there had to be a way to rescue dinner hour from
being a battlefield, but without giving up on getting my
kids to eat nutritiously. As a mother, this was a battle I
couldn't afford to lose.
Thus was born The Sneaky Chef. I compiled a list
of kids' favorite foods, the ones they would eat without
resistance. I then came up with List B -- "superfoods,"
the world's healthiest ingredients. And finally: How
could I hide the items on List B inside List A? How
could I conceal the foods they should eat inside the
foods they would eat? After trying out hundreds of
ideas in my own test kitchen, I came up with the
secret: As long as they couldn't see, smell or taste
anything too different, they would eat what was placed
in front of them without a fight.
Through careful testing, I eventually perfected the
art of 13 hiding methods such as pureeing, using
foods that hide well, and using visual and
taste "decoys" to give food irresistible kid appeal. In
the "make-aheads"-- the recipe within a recipe that I
worked into almost every dish-- I made sure I used
superfoods, which are ingredients that pack the most
nutritious punch. Among them are spinach, which
contains iron, calcium, folic acid and vitamins A and C;
blueberries, which contain antioxidants, potassium,
iron, calcium and magnesium; cauliflower, which is
packed with vitamin C, folate and fiber, and which
fights disease and enhances immunity; and sweet
potatoes, which stabilize blood sugar levels and
contain vitamin B and folates. The basic principle was
that if I wanted to eat smart, I had to buy smart, so I
kept as many of the superfoods in my kitchen as
possible all the time.
The way I looked at this endeavor was that I was a
warrior going toe to toe with the food giants,
companies that threw millions of dollars into seducing
my kids into eating refined sugars and trans fats and
empty carbs. If they could "package" their products in a
way that enticed little ones into craving soda instead of
milk, salty snacks, deep-fried vegetables and
ultra-sweet junk foods of every conceivable variety,
why shouldn't I entice them right back? Except that I
would fool my kids, not with the goal of making a profit,
but with the intention that they grow up strong and
healthy.
Now I had my mission. All the sneaky methods I
used in my signature "make-aheads" were designed
to present the healthiest ingredients in great tasting,
good looking "packaging." I realized that the success
of any recipe depends on the kids' willingness to eat
it. Any time doubt reared its head, I simply did more
homework. Thousands of scientific articles pointed to
the benefits of eating better, aside from the obvious
point that it makes your body feel better. Add to that
fewer illnesses, increased brain power, enhanced
qualities of attention, strengthened immunity, better
mood, and more energy.
Watch Missy Chase Lapine on the
Today Show on
NBC, this Monday, April 2nd between 8 and 10am!
