I’m the queen of sliding greens into my kids’ diet.
I’ve got them eating kale smoothies and spinach ice cream pops, spirulina and a “greens” protein powder, but when it comes to actually *eating* certain vegetables… fo’get about it. They’re not having it and if they have to gag, fake-vomit sounds, produce tears to get out of eating it… that’s exactly what they’ll resort to. Perfect antics for an acting audition… exhausting for a mom who just wants to wrap up dinner and watch the Real Housewives in bed. *Sighs
Little do they know that veggies and leafy greens are so important to their health. They’re packed with vital nutrients that are essential for their nourishment and growth. Greens have fiber, vitamins and anti-oxidants and are such a complete source of nutrition, often in just one small dose.
SO, I’ve decided… until they realize just how amazing ALL the vegetables of the garden are for them… I’m going to slip that shiz into their food and (like all good parents do, i.e. Santa, The Easter Bunny) lie to their face, so they’ll eat what mama’s prepared. Unethical? Immoral? Okay! A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do and this “do” is pretty genius (if I say so myself).
I took a cue from our favorite pizza spot, Fresh Brothers. We get pizza delivery pretty frequently from there because Fresh Bro’s offers “gluten free crust” AND a special “kids pizza sauce” that has zucchini and other vegetables blended in.
I decided to try my hand at a “kids sauce” by sneaking in some vegetables with the marinara sauce I was using for spaghetti. I perused the fridge for green-prospects and zeroed in on a bag of frozen, organic broccoli and went to experimenting.
**A quick tip, if you can’t buy fresh, frozen is your next best option. It’s picked when it’s fully ripen and then frozen right away, which seals in all of its nutrients. Just make sure you buy organic and there’s no added salt, sugar or chemicals.
I steamed a little over two cups of broccoli then pureed just 1 & 3/4 cups in my small ninja blender.
I added the green purée to some jarred, organic marinara sauce that I had warming up in a pan on the stove.
I drizzled a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and watched the broccoli dissolve into the great abyss.
I then took my cooked quinoa spaghetti noodles, topped it with my broccoli/marinara surprise sauce and surprised myself! It was SO good.
Not only was the broccoli undetectable, it was actually better! The sauce had an added creaminess to it that meshed so well with the already lightly seasoned tomato sauce, yet tomato was still the dominant flavor.
The kids had no idea it was in there and neither did my husband, (he’s my trusty lab-rat when it comes to testing out many of my food experiments) who loved the flavor. Everyone got a nice dose of protein thanks to the gluten-free quinoa pasta and lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that’s found naturally in tomatoes. Most importantly though, are the nutrients found in broccoli: fiber, vitamin-C, vitamin-K, iron, calcium and protein. It’s also a natural germ fighter. Perfect for our little germ-magnets!
I’ll be experimenting with a lot more secret-greens and vegetable recipes so stay tuned!
In the meantime, here’s what you’ll need for my Secret Greens Spaghetti Sauce.
Ingredients:
One pkg of quinoa pasta
24 oz. organic marinara sauce (jarred, all natural)
1 & 3/4 c. broccoli
1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8th tsp pink Himalayan salt (season to taste)
*Steam an additional 3/4 cup of broccoli if you want some for garnish, that’s 2 & 1/2 cups of broccoli total to steam.
Directions:
- Cook quinoa noodles according to directions. While that’s cooking, start on you broccoli and marinara sauce.
- Steam 2 & 1/2 cups of broccoli (this is if you want garnish, if not just 1 & 3/4 cups). You can use frozen or fresh. I used frozen and placed water in a medium sized sauce pan, then placed broccoli in a colander inside the pan and steamed broccoli until tender.
- Once broccoli is tender, drain off excess liquid using a colander, lightly season broccoli with sea-salt and drizzle with olive oil. (Season salt to taste.)
- Take 1 & 3/4 cup of seasoned broccoli, and puree it in a blender. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of PASTA water to blender to get broccoli moving and for added flavor.
- Take pureed broccoli and combine it with your favorite 24oz. marinara sauce in a saucepan on the stove.
- Warm sauce and broccoli together, drizzle a little olive oil on top and stir until broccoli is dissolved.
- Add cooked sauce to cooked pasta noodles, toss lightly and serve, or garnish with leftover broccoli and serve.
Notes~
**You can sub kale or spinach for broccoli. I’ve tried it with both. Kale tends to alter the color slightly, making it a touch darker, but still red. You could also do a combo of greens: 3/4 cup of broccoli, 3/4 cup of kale or spinach.
**Quinoa pasta can be found at health food stores. I’ve found the best price on Vitacost.com. It’s a gluten free, organic quinoa and corn blend. It tastes just like white pasta, but much easier to digest than white or wheat pasta and doesn’t spike insulin levels like white pasta does.
**This sauce is also great on pizza. I have a gluten free crust I make and it’s perfect on there, or on tortilla pizzas. Click here for more: Veggie Tortilla Pizza
