We have a bit of a vegetable dilemma at our house. Jacqui has only been off of her tube feeding since June of this year. Now that she doesn’t have the rounded nutritional content of her tube feeding formula to fall back on, it has been tricky to see that she gets all the nutrients she needs in her diet when all she really wants to eat are pepperoni slices, Tofutti soy cheese slices and slices of gluten-free bread slathered in margarine. For her fruit servings I can occasionally get her to eat banana slices (although she prefers to turn them into finger puppets) and she will eat a variety of Fruitabu Organic Fruit Flats or Twirls (the lowest prices we have seen is at Wal*Mart for a six pack box of the twirls) and she also drinks juice well. However, vegetables have been a real problem. That is, unless I want to allow her to grow up thinking it is reasonable to rely on dill pickle spears, french fries and ketchup to round out this area of her diet.
My solution to this problem will involve a plug for a book, but bear with me here because I also have a little bit of a rant. I promise I’ll get to the recipe in a minute. I’m giving this cookbook the thumbs up even though there has been some controversial press about it lately - I’ll explain why in a second. The book is a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious, by Jerry Seinfeld’s Wife, Jessica Seinfeld (or whoever really does her cooking), and contains a wide selection of really nice recipes that incorporate vegetable (and some fruit) purees into the ingredients to boost nutritional content.
It should be noted for my readers that this is NOT a gluten-free cookbook, but most of the recipes are easily adaptable and very healthy ones. Best of all, every single one of them that I have tried out in this book has had a nice flavor and texture - even after GFCF adaptations. The thing I really like about this cookbook is that it is a great reference for learning about what flavors and quantities of ingredients you can add to recipes without compromising the flavor and texture of a recipe to the point were it is no longer edible. I use it more like a reference/starting point for my recipes than an actual cookbook it works perfectly for this purpose.
The controversy over the book is two-fold. The first controversy I honestly have very little interest in because I think it’s silly. Author of The Sneaky Chef, Missy Chase Lapine, claims Mrs. Seinfeld stole her Idea. Whatever. Like either of them were the first mother on the planet to try and slip vegetables into toddler diets. Bottom line is that the Seinfeld book has recipes that just work better for my family - and that is really the end of it for me. Variety and choices are a good thing and what works for one family may not work as well for another. There is plenty of room on the bookshelf for both books, in my opinion.
The second part of the controversy comes from a group of parents as well as some medical and nutritional experts who are stating that it is deceitful to sneak vegetables into your kids food and that it doesn’t teach them the skills necessary for making wise dietary choices as adults. I kind of see where they are coming from on this issue, but I don’t agree with completely shooting the book down or with some of the blanket statements that have been made. This is a good cookbook containing quality recipes, and useful tips. With a little creative parenting it suddenly transforms into a truly phenomenal book.
Here’s how I use it: Every recipe I have Jacqui help me prepare. I measure the ingredients, she adds and mixes them and I cook them. I make sure I have both the puree and the plain vegetable option prepared and ready to go (stored in the freezer) of whatever vegetable I am working with. Every recipe I give her the option: Do you want to mix your sweet potatoes in your pancakes this morning or do you want to eat them as baked sweet potato fries? Do you want your butternut squash mixed into your (GFCF) macaroni, or do you want to eat it fluffy like mashed potatoes? Do you want to mix your carrots into meatball soup today or would you like to have baby carrots with (GFCF) ranch dip instead? This works really well for us. Jacqui is learning that she needs to make choices for her nutrition that include vegetables at every meal and she is having fun doing it. I also have a rewards system that I use in developing her eating skills that I will go into on a future post, but she gets rewarded and praised for the times that she chooses to try the vegetables plain. It takes the pressure off, allowing her the freedom to learn to make good choices on her own.
The other problem I have with the whole “morality argument” over sneaking vegetables into children’s food is that it completely ignores the parents who are dealing with an entirely different set of issues. Take autism for instance. It’s really inappropriate to be out there saying that every parent who sneaks vegetables into their children’s food is either a moral degenerate, irresponsible or both - it’s just not true. It’s an insensitive and uneducated statement to make. So stop it. I’m not the parent of an autistic child, but I know how it stings to be on the wrong end of one of these sweeping statements. With an autistic child, adding nutrients and vegetables into preferred foods can really come down to a matter of medical necessity. These parents are being thoughtful, responsible, resourceful and compassionate. Dial it down a few notches people - and spend a few minutes thinking about the fact that those itty bitty boxes you are always so busy trying to cram every member of society into aren’t really a comfortable fit for anyone and extremely boring to boot. OK. I feel better and will now step away from the soap box… On to the recipe… enjoy!
GFCF Sweet Potato Pancakes
1/8 Cup Almond Meal
1/3 Cup Tapioca Flour
1/3 Cup Cornstarch
3 TBSP Bean Flour
2 TBSP Sorghum Flour
1/2 Tsp Xanthan Gum
(Note: You may substitute 1 Cup
Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix for the previous six ingredients if you don’t need the recipe to be Casein-Free. Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix contains Buttermilk.)
1/2 Cup Sweet Potato Puree
1 TBSP Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil*1 Large Egg
3 TSP Baking Powder*
3/4 Cup Rice Milk*
1 TBSP Brown Rice Protein Powder (Optional -Click on link and type ‘MLO’ into the search box to find the protien powder)*
1 TBSP Canola or Vegetable Oil for Griddle Nonstick Butter Flavor Cooking Spray
The night before, prepare sweet potato puree. Pierce skin of one medium sweet potato with fork, wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for one hour. Peel off skin, break into chunks and place in food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, thin as needed with rice milk or water adding one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is met. Measure out 1/2 cup of the puree and store in refrigerator for use in the morning. Store the rest of the puree in 1/2 cup increments inside labeled quart freezer bags in the freezer for future use. One medium sweet potato makes about two 1/2 cup servings of puree.
To prepare pancakes: In a large bowl, mix together puree, egg, and flax seed oil. Add baking powder, baking mix, and brown rice powder if desired. Slowly add rice milk in 1/4 cup increments to start, adding just enough rice milk for the batter to pour without being too thin. It should be about the consistency of cake batter.
Coat griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place on the middle of the medium-high setting on your largest burner so the pan will heat evenly. Add the Canola oil when the griddle is hot. Spoon the batter onto the griddle using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
Cook until bubbles form on the top of the pancake and the batter is set (2-3 minutes) then flip with a spatula and cook them until golden brown on the other side (2-3 minutes). Serve hot with favorite pancake syrup or topping.
This recipie makes 6 four inch pancakes. Extras may be stored in individual quart freezer bags for future use. To reheat, pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, place pancake on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until heated through. You can also microwave them, but the texture is much nicer when reheated in the oven.
*Canola oil or vegetable oil may be substitued for flaxseed oil. I prefer to use flaxseed oil wherever I can because it is an exellent source of omega-3 fats and has a pleasant nutty flavor
*I add the extra baking powder even though there is baking powder already in the mix because it makes a fluffier pancake
*Water may be substituted for rice milk if desired.
*The brown rice protien powder is completely optional. I add a TBSP of this to most of my baked goods because my child is not yet eating many protein rich foods very well. One TBSP adds 15 grams of protien to a recipe. Unless it is a very small volume recipe, 1 TBSP usually doesn’t compromise the flavor.
Note: This recipe makes a rather soft and somewhat fragile pancake, which is the perfect texture for my child who has some sensory challenges with eating. If you want a firmer pancake, try adding 1/3 cup of the puree instead of 1/2 cup and keeping the rice milk to a minimum.
Tip* If you start using a lot of pureees in your cooking, set aside a time to do larger batches all at once to improve time efficiency and consider purchasing a food processor if you do not already have one.
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