Many of you know that Philip has about 20 distinct foods he will eat. He simply will not eat something unless he decides to. I've tried all types of ways of getting him to eat things with nutritional value, and he simply will not. Many people judge and will say things about parenting when you have a child like this. Let me tell you... I have two children and have raised them the same way. Faith is an excellent eater and choses fruits and veggies first. Unless you have had a child like Philip, you simply do NOT understand. Anyway, back to the point. We are at a place where Philip must have better nutrition. We really want him to get as many nutrients as possible from food rather than supplements or meal replacements. So, after research I decided to try the sneaky chef. One of the foods Philip will eat is tostadas (or at least my version).
When in make tostadas, I cook some chopped onion until it is beginning to caramelize. Then I brown about 1 pound of hamburger meat with a little salt and pepper. Then I add two cans of refried beans and 2/3 cups of water with taco seasoning mixed in. Once this is warmed thru I put some of the mixture on tostada shells adding cheese for everyone except Philip and bake until the cheese is bubbly.
While looking thru "The Sneaky Chef" cookbook, I saw that she had a bean burrito that she added a white puree too. I thought that this might work with the tostadas. The white puree consists of zucchini and cauliflower. I prepared the veggies and pureed them. I added approximately 3/4 of a cup of the puree to my bean and meat mixture. This is about half of what the original bean recipe called for, but I decided to start small. The taste was great. The texture was ever so slightly different, but Philip didn't seem to notice and he notices everything when his food doesn't taste right.
Overall, I would consider this a success. Philip ate three tostadas!!!! Next time I make this, I will add a little more of the puree. This week I am making sneaky chef hamburgers, pizza, meatballs and sloppy Joes. I'm excited about the nutrients this will add to not only Philip's diet but all of our diets. I have to be honest and say that I am slightly stressed out about the extra work to create the purees and the addition to the food bill, but it is definitely worth it. I'm also so grateful that my mom has offered to help make some of the purees to freeze. I think with major menu planning and budgeting, this will be a great addition to our everyday lives, and will greatly help Philip's nutrition. I will not be able to make sneaky chef meals for every meal, but several times a week will certainly help.
I have been trying to post pictures, and it is not working out for me. I will add them later if I can.
THAT's GREAT!
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