Stealthy Healthy Cooking

Stealthy healthy cooking is a must for those with kids or picky significant others! I am usually not a cheater, but this is a healthy diet habit that is a sweet cheat!

Here are some of the ways to sneak in extra fruits and veggies, in your quest for making Lifestyle Solutions:

• Blend zucchini, any squash, spinach, or carrots with your favorite pasta sauce for spaghetti or lasagna.


• Add grated zucchini or any yellow squash to your taco meat and fry them together.


• Add any grated veggies to your meat loaf before cooking.


• Make tuna, 1/2 tuna and 1/2 chopped celery, cucumber, or other veggies. Be creative.


• Stuff whole wheat pitas with your sandwich filling and half veggies.


• Blend tomatoes with an assortment of veggies for all chilies.


• Blend tomatoes with an assortment of veggies for all soups.


• Finely chop fruits and add them to bagged cabbage for a great salad.


• Peel and slice oranges into pinwheels and sprinkle them with a bit of sugar and cinnamon for a great dessert or treat. Kid friendly like cinnamon toast!


• Dip a variety of fruits in a small amount of melted chocolate in your electric fondue pot like fresh pineapple, strawberries, sliced kiwi, apple, whatever you want your kids to love.


• Serve a big bowl of fruit with knives sticking out for each person to choose their favorite and peel it, if they choose. Prolongs dinner so you can chat, chat, chat and bond with the family!


• Add an entire 1 pound bag of chopped cabbage or chopped spinach to any soup, or stir fry.


• You can blend any bag of store bought frozen veggies with a can of tomatoes, and add it to pretty much anything!


• Add any chopped dried fruit/nut mix to any type of fresh greens, and 1 can of mandarin oranges, and use Trader Joe’s light poppy seed dressing.


• Chop any fresh veggies together without greens and add to any healthy cooked and cooled whole grain and top with balsamic dressing. Limitless variety.


• Try all different types of mixed lettuce to see how boring romaine is.


• Chop apples, celery, and grapes and add to tuna, chopped chicken or turkey.


• Make veggie skewers on the barbeque and grill them. They are great!

• Make fruit skewers with fresh fruit for healthy snacks.


• Include veggies in all meals with sauces, but blend them in to be stealthy. I have not had a failed attempt yet!!

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These are just a few of the ways that I incorporate veggies into our meals. I started with stealthy healthy cooking until my kids were used to the taste of veggies, then gradually added larger chunks of them to our meals. Now, they recommend new vegetables to me! Payback in a good way!