Thursday, May 17, 2007

Behold, the Carrot


I am of two minds regarding healthy food -- on the one hand I think it's a fine idea to eat right. Healthy food, healthy brains, healthy body. What could be better than that? On the other hand -- the hand I use to grab cream cheese and curly fries and potato skins and gravy and.... cookies and those wee lemon squares with sugar on top... my dreams are not made of broccoli bunches or aspargus spears. I am not a fan of vegetables.

And yet, I am devoted to being healthy, trying to be healthy, taking the right foods into my body, which makes the effort such an, well, an effort.

And so, like tending an errant child, what I have done over the years is every trick in the book. I know every sauce there is to disguise broccoli, every distraction imaginable to get the peas from the plate to my lips... I know every possible place to hide a carrot. Here are my Top Ten Favorite places to hide a carrot :

10. Pureed and swirled into sweet potatoes (which are scrumptious and therefore not a vegetable.)

9. Chopped into little bitty pieces and blended into meat loaf.

8. Layered with mashed potatoes (and cheese and bacon and sour cream -- ah nuts, now we've missed the Healthy Point), ok, lose the cheese, bacon and sour cream -- top with a smidge of high-flavor low-fat gravy.

7. Shredded and added to a sandwich -- a peanutbutter, honey and carrot on wholewheat is very nearly decadent... very nearly. It's no deep fried Snickers, but so little is.

6. Sliced, blanched and featured on a fruit-veggie-cheese platter, with a low-fat dip.

5. Pureed and blended with chicken broth, plain yogurt and flour to make a delicious Good God Good For You low-fat gravy.

4. Julienne sliced, very thin, and used in place of a cracker for snacks like salsa, chicken salad, even egg salad.

3. Blanched till just tender and added to fruit kabobs, drizzled with honey

2. Sliced into sticks and rolled with flavored cheeses and cold cuts.

1. The number 1 way to hide a carrot -- finely shredded and added to pancake batter. Add some nuts, some spices -- next thing you know you have spiced carrot pancakes. Yum.

And so there we are -- Fooled, Foolish, but Healthy-er. What tricks do you pull to fool yourself?

9 comments:

Angie said...

Jenny, thanks for your comments on my slipcover blog. Your deck project seems similiar to a project of mine last fall. One day I will get around to posting it.

Did you enjoy the Air Force?

Tami Bayer said...

Throw a handful of golden raisins in with some sliced carrots and water, cook until tender and the raisins are plump. Then add some salt, butter, and brown sugar and cook a bit more...mmmm! A delicious side dish we enjoyed in Monterey on the wharf a few years back.

I fool myself by always eating my healthy stuff before the sugary stuff. It's so silly, since I just eat more that way!

Vallen said...

One word - BUTTER

KT said...

You are very, very tricky with carrots. I make chicken enchilades, that have broccoli in them. (the only Mexican thing about them, actually, is the tortilla). My family love those. They are made with cream of chicken soup, Montery Jack cheese, French's onions and chicken, of course. I always go heavy on the broccoli.

Thanks for the nice comment about my cards. They are a mixture of paper of different weights and fabric. I used my industrial tayloring Consew 290. I haven't tried it on my smaller machine.

OldBagNewTricks said...

I am working my way up to broccoli -- it would require heavy camoflage... some of Tami's plumpy raisins, a big dollop of Vallen's butter and lots'o cream of chicken soup and chicken and a tortilla and some honey... and a sedative.

Jenny

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

Okay, I hate to admit it but I really love carrots...and broccoli...and cabbage and...well, the only thing I don't like is/are beets...blech! but I really do admire the way you have incorporated carrots into almost everything imaginable. Thanks for the ideas!

Betty said...

I love salads and fresh veggies...but...can I please come and have some carrot pancakes? sounds yummy!

Kay Richardson said...

Carrots are rude - never forget this.

Anonymous said...

Carrots sauted with butter and shallots, add a bit of water and some maple syrup, simmer and reduce down to a glaze, add just a touch of mustard and garnish with fresh italian parsley..... Oooh, yum!