How to fool your children into eating veggies, Part II
You may have seen my post for 2 ingredient “faux paws” a few weeks back. Well, my kids went banana-town on the cakey, chocolatey goodness that were made with just canned pumpkin and cake mix. Seriously, it made me wonder why I ever bothered with traditional cookie recipes.
I DID NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT FOOLING MY KIDS.
Not one bit. I watched them snarf their way through the cookies, giggling diabolically to myself. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I was scheming of another way to sneak more veggies into their lives.
My daughter is actually fantastic for eating her vegetables. She will eat a full-sized salad and ask for more, I have no issues with her veggie intake. It’s the boy. The boy will not let a vegetable pass between his lips. Occasionally I slip some through if they are covered in gravy, cheese or some other sauce-like substance.
So here I am, making a quick Monday night dinner. This time it’s hamburger helper, which is about a twice/year occurrence in my house, but it’s quick and the kids don’t complain about it. I’m staring at the Three Cheese Manicotti when inspiration strikes. It’s orange!! And Saucy!! THEY WILL NEVER KNOW!!
Post-Pumpkin
The pumpkin makes the sauce incredibly creamy and thick. Very thick. So thick you will want to add about 1/4 – 1/2 extra cup of water after you add the pumpkin, I just eyeballed it and stirred till it was combined. I also added about a 1/4 of mozzarella cheese I had hanging out in my fridge and a tiny bit of extra seasoning. I rarely make something JUST out of the box, I always customize. Also, I added frozen peas. It’s what I usually do and I didn’t want to tip anyone in my family off that something may be different
Final Product
Ok, so I know it’s not fancy and gourmet. But my kids downed it like I had starved them for a week and no one, not even Hubs had ANY idea that I added pumpkin. For a dinner under 30 minutes, I am cool with that. Maybe next time I’ll try one of the DIY Hamburger Helper recipes I’ve seen on Pinterest. But for now I’m wondering how many other things I can hide pumpkin in
