Sneaky Chef or Total Sucker?

As of last week, my freezer is now stocked with about a month's supply of orange, white, and purple purees. Nope, it's not baby food--it's sneaky chef food!  I got this book back in September and finally got around to reading it. The basic premise is to sneak vegetable purees into foods that kids like in an effort to get them to eat more fruits and vegetables, thus giving them more nutrients and increasing the nutritional value of their food. It sounds like a good plan to me. I certainly try to make healthy meals with fresh ingredients, but I still can't get Brody to eat many veggies except green beans, broccoli, peas, and corn (and sometimes he goes on a complete veggie strike and won't eat any of those either!) So I thought that I would try a few recipes out and see what to make of it all. 

First up--adding pureed cauliflower and zucchini to Brody's boxed mac 'n cheese. Result?  Very good--didn't change the texture or the taste.  The next day, I decided to make the cocoa chocolate chip pancakes, adding purple puree (blueberries and spinach) to the mix.  Result? Fantastic!  The whole family loved them, and we ate them all up right away.  I will definitely make them again.  On Wednesday, I tried out the peanut butter and jelly muffins with orange puree (sweet potatoes and carrots.)  Result?  Not so good.  They weren't sweet enough or peanutty enough.  Brody took one bite and spit it out.  Then I tried the Chocolate Banana Breakfast Ice Cream.  He loved it, and I am already thinking of freezing a bunch of it in little popsicle molds for easy treats.  So far, I have been happy with the recipes and think that if I can squeeze in a little more nutrition with not a whole lot of work, why wouldn't I?

Well, that's the thing.  Am I really adding any significant nutrition to the food?  That is the question I keep asking myself.  Do vegetables that have been cooked, pureed, frozen, and then recooked really add more vitamins?  Especially in such small increments?  I have read numerous reviews of the book, and the reactions seem to be very mixed.  Those who love it LOVE IT, and those who don't cite the reasons described above.  I guess if I could be sure that I was actually doing something beneficial for my family by preparing all these purees and storing them in the freezer, I would feel better about this book.  But, there is no nutritional information listed for any of the recipes, which really leaves me wondering.  Anybody have any insight or opinions on this?  This mom wants to know!