Taste Test #2: Meatloaf

Brownies didn't happen today. Instead, I went the savory route. I used a Deceptively Delicious recipe idea, but with my own twist. Basically, I used my own BBQ meatloaf recipe in place of the Italian meatloaf recipe in the book. Charlie does like my meatloaf, and it's a flavor he is familiar with, so I thought I had a good chance of him eating it. The book calls for pureed carrots in the meatloaf, so that was the big change to my recipe. Basically, it's ground beef, bread crumbs, evaporated milk, salt and pepper, and I added a half cup of pureed carrots. I make individual little meatloaf loaves, top with BBQ sauce that I make (ketchup, vinegar, beef bouillon, brown sugar over low heat) and cook for about 45 minutes or an hour at 350.

The carrots were the first thing I actually pureed with my newly bought ninja. I took fresh carrots, peeled them and sliced into manageable chunks, and popped in the steamer basket of my big pasta pot for a few minutes, until fork tender. Then I popped them into the individual portion cup of the ninja, and pulsed. Looking back, I probably should have used the larger reservoir for the ninja instead of the individual portion cup, and I should have pulsed....differently. I thought the carrots were smooth, but when I actually went to put them in the meatloaf, they seemed chunkier than I expected, and ended up a little more visible. No worries, I thought, they will blend in once cooked.

A side note here - when I saw half cup pureed veggies I thought...well that is not very much. He's getting what, an eighth of that at best in the recipe. I'm going to have to get him to eat six hidden veggie items a day to get in anything worth having! But in practice, like seven large carrots ended up being like a cup of puree - it really condensed. I felt better about how much he was getting as a result.

Anyway, I popped in the oven before picking Charlie up this afternoon (I had today off) and when I pulled them out an hour later....I could still see the carrots. Oh no.

Dinner started like this:
Charlie: Are those onions? You know I don't like onions in meatloaf.
Mommy: No, I didn't use any onions.
C: Are you sure?
M: I absolutely, 100%, promise, cross my heart I did not put any onions in that meatloaf. (he, he, he)

He ate it and said it was good! He did question the orange "onions" once more and I had to play it off, but he ate the entire portion I wanted him to eat. He earned a cookie (a REAL cookie, not a chickpea cookie, alas), and is currently refusing that because I won't also give him m&m's.

I consider this a win, even though he is whining on the floor boycotting what he wants because I won't give him what else he wants. Kids!

Taste Test #1: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Charlie's favorite food. Chocolate chip cookies. He loves them. No matter what time of day, if I ask his opinion on what we should eat, he answers - "Cookies". For dinner? Yes, he says. So in my first attempt to trick Charlie into eating vegetables, it was totally fitting that I go for something he could not resist. I have the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. I've had it forever and never once made anything out of it. It's basically about ways to hide healthy fruits and veggies in kid friendly food by pureeing them. I am a single mom with a full time job, and a five year old. Who the hell has time to puree things?

But now, I've been beaten into submission by that five year old. I need him to eat veggies and he won't. And I am going to puree.

Back to cookies. These are from scratch chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas in them. Yes, chickpeas. I don't like chickpeas at all, personally, and Charlie would never (ever, ever) eat a chickpea if asked to do so, ever. Here is the review:

These cookies were super easy to make. For this first recipe I didn't even have to puree! Chickpeas go in whole. WHOLE! They took no more time, really, than box cookies but, yes, a few minutes more than break and bake. I didn't expect much on flavor, and when I saw the final, baked product I was no more confident than before, although the chickpeas didn't appear obvious - they didn't look like toll house. However, after they cooled, I ate one and was immediately surprised. Delicious. DELICIOUS. Oh yeah...Charlie is mine. They are chocolatey and smooth, substantial yet not heavy. Really quite good. And filling!

I was nervous to give Charlie the cookie, because he is super big on the visual. If he doesn't like the looks of something, it is not going in his mouth. It's just not. I introduced them when Charlie was at his weakest. He gets in the car after his day at school/summer day camp (since it's summer time)  and he always wants a snack. I was prepared for him today.

His first words struck fear in my heart - "This doesn't look like a chocolate chip cookies." He's not going to eat it, I thought. I have two dozen chickpea cookies and he isn't even going to taste it.

Amazingly, I convinced him it was just big, and he should try it and he did. First impression, "YUM!" He wanted more, he wanted them for dessert, he wanted them now and later and tomorrow. These are delicious, Mommy, he said.

I was on top of the world. Elated. I let my guard down. Ha.

Fast forward two minutes. "Mommy? I need something." What darling, what do you need, a drink? "No. A paper towel." By now I'm at a stop light and look back. He is chipmunk cheeked and making sort of a grimace. "I can't swallow, I need to spit it out."

And he did. A big chocolate mouth full of chickpea cookie right into a napkin for me to then take in my hand and hold until we got home. Joy. Sigh. I asked if he took to big of a bite, and he said yes. (I'll explain this another time) I asked if he still liked them and he said no. I asked if he wanted to try again later and he said no.

But try again we did, after dinner. He spit it out again. "I don't like these cookies he said. I just like the real chocolate chip cookies." Foiled.

I don't really know why. The texture seemed really good and I'm surprised he didn't eat it. I plan (Ha! Plan!!) to write a few posts about why I'm pureeing, and Charlie's food issues and such to explain some of maybe why and maybe not why Charlie does what he does with food, but bottom line is - Once I got past the visual of this cookie and it went in his mouth, I thought I was home free.

And so now I do have two dozen minus a few chickpea chocolate chip cookies, and a failed first experiment of sneaking veggies into Charlie's diet.

My spirit is already dampened but...Up, maybe tomorrow - Spinach Brownies.