Pureed Veggies

You will see a lot of pureed veggies in my foods. It is a great way to get extra veggies into your kids diet. I was given a cookbook by the wife of a famous comedian, I am sure you know which one I am talking about ;) We could not use any of the recipes because they all contained something that my son was allergic to. But I loved the idea of including the purees into the foods to give them an extra boost. It has been an amazing journey with some good and some bad combinations. You will only see the good combinations here! After bagging I label and lay flat in the freezer. Once frozen I put them in a basket in the freezer for easy access. I put them in snack bags because it is the perfect size for 1/2 cup of puree. It may seem like a lot of work, but you won't believe how wonderful it feels to know that your kids are getting an additional serving of vegetables with every meal! The first night I did this I had a smirk on my face the entire meal. My husband kept asking me what I was so happy about. I later told him that he had just eaten butternut squash and he was shocked.

Steaming: carrots, squash, broccoli and cauliflower are the vegetables that I steam, puree and freeze in 1/2 cup portions.

Roasting: sweet potatoes, butternut squash and pumpkin are the vegetables that I roast in the oven at 350 until fork tender and then puree and freeze in 1/2 cup portions.

Raw: zucchini, apple (cored and seeded), banana and spinach I puree raw and freeze in 1/2 cup portions.

Roasted Asparagus

Description: This is so easy and delicious you won't believe it. It is simple enough for a week night dinner and delicious enough for a holiday meal. Try it and see!

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus

1-2 Tbsp. EVOO

1-2 tsp. sea salt (I use McCormick sea salt grinder)

Preparation: Heat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with foil. Was asparagus and snap ends off. If you hold it in the middle and the bottom and bend it slightly, it will snap itself perfectly. Dry and lay flat on baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle sea salt over top. Roll spears around to ensure that they are completely covered in the EVOO and salted evenly. Put in oven for 5 minutes. With a spatula or tongs, flip over to ensure the bottoms do not get browned. Put back in for another 5 minutes.

Alteratives: None needed! This is a great recipe for everyone :) Feel free to also sprinkle ground black peppercorn and/or lemon juice as well. I also put all the ingredients in a ziploc bag and then throw them on the grill right before the other food is ready.

Rating: This gets 4 stars from my crew, how about yours? My husband hates asparagus and he ate 4 spears, but did not ask for seconds and my son ate his only after promising dessert if he finished. I would personally give this 5 stars!