Raaaaaaaaaar! Monster Sauce!

What are you feeding yourself? Is it healthy? That's good, but what are you feeding your kids? That's even more important. We all know that kids today are the unhealthiest they have ever been (in the U.S. at least) so I'm not going to bore you with stats. And unfortunately, the busier we get, the harder it is to create fresh, healthy meals. Luckily, these boys are healthy eaters and VERY active.

It's sooooo hard to get kids to eat vegetables. Especially raw vegetables, when the quality of nutrition is the highest and they are the least tastey. I'm trying to get Baby V off to a great start, and continue feeding his brothers well. I haven't read this book, but it has inspired me. Check out Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. Basically, she sneaks veggies into food. Even into brownies!

Here are a few of my tricks. When I make meatballs or meatloaf, I grate a small zucchini into the mix. It makes the meat super tender and flavorful and no one's the wiser. You can also puree spinach or other veggies into the sauce.

Baby V's favorite lunchtime treat is Raaaaaaaaaaar! Monster sauce! I puree fresh spinach with apple sauce. Sometimes I add banana. He loves it.

Spinach is the best. When it's fresh, it really doesn't have a strong taste. Check out the website for Worlds Healthiest Foods. This site can tell you everything you need to know about the food you are eating (or should be eating) as well as recipes for how to enjoy the food. Here are some nutrition facts from the site:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C. It is a very good source of digestion-supportive dietary fiber, muscle-building protein, energy-producing phosphorus, and the antioxidants copper, zinc and vitamin E. In addition, it is a good source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, and heart-healthy niacin and selenium. While this mixture of conventional nutrients gives spinach a unique status in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory department, it is the unusual mixture of phytonutrients in spinach that "seals the deal" in terms of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components.

Happy Eating!