As I started making the “Mashed Potatoes” recipe in this book, I was becoming a tad annoyed with something. It didn’t seem like there was really that much “veggie” in the recipe. For example the mashed potatoes call for 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree, but the recipe servers four. Hmmm…that’s not much cauliflower, when you break it down. Only 2 tablespoons per person. Well, my kids will eat 2 tablespoons worth of veggies, so what’s the big deal. I mean are they really getting that much more to cook this way?
But then I thought, well, maybe because it’s a puree. When you look at a serving size of cauliflower, it is 1/2 cup cauliflower, not cauliflower puree. So, I did a little experiment.
I measured out 1 cup of cooked cauliflower…
…then pureed it.
It reduced down to roughly 1/3 of a cup. So, really in using 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree, each serving would include nearly a full serving of veggies.
Least you think I am a complete idiot, I knew that the puree was going to be more “concentrated” I just wasn’t sure how much!
Good to know!
And, lest you think this blog is now all about hiding veggies in your kid’s food, come back later for something a tad more fun ;)
I have that book (I collect cook books). After a few recipes I too got annoyed with different things and eventually just started making up my own recipes with the purees. Adding it to things you already make is a lot easier and fools the kids (and hubs) alot better!
I was thinking the same thing, that I could really just add the purees to the recipes I already have. But, I am trying to get out of this cooking rut I am in, so I am going to stick with it for a while.
Don’t tell…I have all these jars of unused baby food…see where this is going? :)
Awesome!