My New Favorite Cookbook

Since having kids, I'd had to give up a lot of extra things in my life like going to the gym everyday, getting my nails done, being able to shower everyday, and cook. Now that the boys are eating almost all table food, I'm getting a chance to enjoy cooking again. Since Brandon has some severe allergies, I read all the labels on foods and much to my surprise, most foods contain eggs and or nuts. I really want to feed my kids as little processed/boxed foods as possible, and Brandon's allergies only make it that much more important. I wish I could have breastfed longer than 5 months, but I feel that I redeemed myself by making all of their baby food. I bought a box of Gerber cheese crackers, but couldn't understand all of the ingredients on the box. I don't eat that stuff, why should they??? SO...I bought a cookbook called the Sneaky Chef. I saw this on the Today show a long time ago and knew I wanted to try it. She tells you ways to "sneak" in all kinds of veggies, fiber, and fruits into foods that kids eat all the time anyway. Boy am I glad I bought the book! I made her Cheesy Animal Crackers tonight and they were easy and very yummy. Mine aren't technically animal crackers because I didn't have any animal cookie cutters, so I just cut them into squares. Here are the ingredients...plain and simple

Chickpea Puree (just a can of chickpeas pureed)
Low fat cheddar cheese (I used regular cheese...not the low fat kind)
Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Onion Powder
Paprika
Flour Blend (An even mix of white flour, whole wheat flour, and wheat germ)

They smell SO good and are very tasty. No MSG, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. Who needs goldfish crackers??? Not the Dankos!!!

I'm going to try her Mac and Cheese recipe next. There is cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and carrots hidden inside the cheese! I look at it this way, if the boys eat that kind of mac and cheese now, they won't know the difference. Sneaky sneaky.