Lasagna

Lasagna has always been one of my most favorite dinners if not my most favorite. It taste so delicious and I can never seem to stop eating it. As I was doing this project, I began to wonder if there was a recipe to lasagna in my cook ebook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. Sure enough there was.

The ingredients are as followed:

• nonstick cooking spray 
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 lbs beef
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 garlie cloves 
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
• 1/2 cup parmesan grated
• 26 ounces can peeled tomatoes with juice
• 1 small onion
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup cauliflower
• 8 ounces no boil lasagna noodles
• 2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella

The first thing I did was in a pan with oil, cook the beef with the slat, pepper stirring occasionally. After a few minuets I added the flour, garlic, and stirred. Off the heat I added sour cream, sweet potato puree and parmesan cheese (Seinfeld 131). In the past, I've never mixed the ingredients in this order. But doing it like this, I was able to get better flavoring and make the lasagna taste much more authentic. 

After making the filling part, it was the sauces turn. "Combine tomatoes and juice, the onion, and the remaining parmesan in the food processor or blender and process until smooth (Seinfeld 131). I just put all of theses ingredients in my food processor and they mixed wonderfully. When I was younger and first started to make lasagna, I just made the sauce in a pan and stirred it constantly. Bu now with the instructions of how to make this lasagna, I was abel to mix the sauce much easier and better compared to before. 

I then had to assemble the lasagna which wasn't easy but it was done with some hard work and patience. 

In this recipe of lasagna, I was able to add sweet potato puree and cauliflower puree. No on was able to taste it or see it thanks to all the different colors that are in the dish. Not only was my family and I eating one of our most favorite dinners, we were also eating cauliflower and sweet potato. One of my family and I least favorite foods. 

What is your favorite dinner to make and eat? 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a classic. Almost everyone has had one. But have you ever had one with can chickpeas? I know I haven't until today.

In Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, she takes a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe and adds her own twist to it.

The ingredients are as followed:

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup of firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of trans-fat-free soft tub margarine or spread
• 2 large white eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups all purepose flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt 

I mixed all of these ingredients in a big bowl with an electric mixer. I made sure to add the oats and flour bit by bit so everything mixed well (Seinfeld 177). This step is key in making sure that the ingredients are well spread out and are in every individual cookie. "Drop the dough by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten (Seinfeld 177). In the past, whenever I had made chocolate chip cookies, they have always came out not so great looking. But by pushing the cookies down with a fork, they were a lot rounder and came out actually looking like a cookie. 

As you can see, these cookies turned out looking very nice and pleasing to not only the stomach but to the eye as well. The best part is you can't even see the chickpeas that I mixed into them. 

The cookies tasted amazing and you would have never guessed that there was a secret ingredient them. This is again testifying that you can make food that taste great and still add a healthy twist to it.  They looked amazing as well because I made sure to follow all of the instructions and tips that Seinfeld mentioned for the chocolate chip cookie process. 

Do you guys prefer your chocolate chip cookies with milk or by itself?                  

Tasty Healthy Brownies

Who doesn't love brownies? I know I do as well as my whole family. The only problem is brownies are basically a square of goodness that will kill your heart. So how can I make them healthier and taste amazing still? As I was looking through the different recipes in Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, I came across a brownie recipe that had a hidden ingredient.

The ingredients are as followed:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate 
• 1/2 cup of carrot puree
• 1/2 cup of spinach puree
• 1/2 cup of firmly packed or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened coca powder 
• 2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract 
• 2 large egg whites 
• 3.4 cup oat flour; or all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

The first thing I did was, "Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame" (Seinfeld, 156).  This is a necessary process to get the chocolate to the correct consistency. I then in a large bowl combined all of the other ingredient saving the egg whites, flour, baking powder, and salt for later. I whisked this in a bowl with the melted chocolate and then added the rest of the ingredients (Seinfeld, 156). 

Thanks to all of the chocolate in the brownies, it's basically impossible to notice and taste that there is carrot and spinach puree in it. My family ate up these brownies so quickly I almost didn't get a piece. I was able to give them all quit a scare about what I put into them. 

Not everything that taste good has to be bad for you. I was able to make another dessert that has some hidden and healthy things in it. Now my family doesn't feel so bad about eating sweets due to the fact that there is always a way to make it somewhat healthy for you. 

What are some of your favorite toppings to put on brownies or what do you like to eat with them?

Pancakes

I have always loved eating pancakes in the morning for breakfast. But after seeing what was in them, I realized how bad they are for our bodies. I kept wondering if there was a better and healthier way to make pancakes but still have them taste good.

In the cook book "Deceptively Delicious" Jessica Seinfeld states, "Sweet potato puree both sweetens and boasts the nutrition of this simple, quick breakfast."(Seinfeld, 57)

The secret ingredient to these pancakes if sweet potato puree. Not only does it make the pancakes healthier, but you can't even taste it. The ingredients are as followed.

- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup pancake mix
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 tb vegetable oil
- pure maple syrup, for serving

I decided to add some blue berries to some of the pancakes just to add some fruit to the breakfast and to add some sweetness to the overall taste of the pancakes. 

Seinfeld goes on to say "I had tried everything and finally released that if you put in foods that are healthy but appear the same color as the main dish, my kids weren't able to see it or taste the difference." (Seinfeld, 10) 

I too can testify to this. My family is very picky about what they put into their mouth. But they in fact gobbled down these pancakes and could not tell a difference compared to normal pancakes. 

I have now been able to learn that it is possible to sneak in healthy things and still have it taste amazing. 

What dishes, if any, have your parents snuck something healthy into it without your knowledge of it?

Seinfeld, Jessica. Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. New York, NY: Collins, 2007. Print.

Mashed Potatoes

I have been wanting to learn how to cook a variety of different things that taste good while sneaking in healthy things. I've often asked myself the question is it possible to eat something healthy and to have it taste good? To figure out the answer to this question, I have been reading Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious. In this book,, I have already found so many different recipes and ideas of ways I can sneak a variety of healthy foods into some of the unhealthiest foods out there.

I decided that for my first recipe to make, I would make mashed potatoes.

"Return potatoes to the pot and mash with a potato masher. Add the cauliflower puree..."(Seinfeld 80) The one thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that you can add a vegetable that almost everyone in my family hates and turn it into something delicious. I was finally able to trick my family into eating something that was good for them. Now I know that I can make a variety of things that taste buds like and your overall health as well.

"The whole purpose of this cook book is to be able to get your kids or anyone you make food for, to eat things that are healthy for them while making sure it;s not seen by the eye." (Seinfeld,10) I have finally been able to test this and it was proven true. You can make things taste good even if they have some secret healthy ingredient in them.

The ingredients include...

• 1 pound baking potatoes, pealed and cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cauliflower puree
• 2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
• 1/2 cup low-fat (1%) milk

My question to you guys is what other tips or tricks do you have on how to slip in different ingredients without them being noticed?