Thursday, January 31, 2008

They're Full of Spinach!-Part 2

When I made the blueberry bars a couple weeks ago I froze the extra half cup of spinach puree for another use. These brownies are the other use. Once again, this recipe comes from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. They are low fat brownies with spinach and carrots (but I used butternut squash in place of the carrots because it's what I had on hand). It's funny because she says in her recipe introduction, "these brownies fool everyone." I say these brownies would not fool anyone! When I bit into the first one I immediately noticed that the texture seems "off." The texture is kind of rubbery in a "low fat" kind of way. And the taste? I felt like I could taste vegetables, but maybe that is just because I know they are in there.
However, I will say that I have been taking these in my lunch (out of the freezer) and they are not bad at all if you think of them as a nutritious "bar" rather than a dessert. As a "bar" they are chocolaty, fiber rich, and full of vitamins from the vegetables and I actually like them like that. But would children like them? Dieter did take a little taste of one that I was eating and he did like it, but the little guy hardly knows better--he's never had a "real" brownie and doesn't get a lot of desserts. If you are interested in trying these the recipe can be found here.

Happy lowfat baking!

7 comments:

Our Adventures As A Family of 4.... said...

Mary Beth,

I am of course looking for some good cookbooks for when the kids come home. Was wondering if this cookbook was any good. I also was interested in purchasing "The Sneaky Chef" and had heard it was a bit better than Jessica Seinfeld's book. Thanks for the post with the recipe. Also are there any cookbooks you have bought to cook with your kids that you really like or good family meal type cook books?

Molly

tess said...

last year I tried to make a chocolate zucchini cake, and somehow it was the chocolate and the vegetable combo that didn't work, maybe that's the same here. no-one at all ate the choc/zuc cake, especially not the children, and not even me....

Amy said...

hmmm...could it have been the change in the recipe or did it tell you what good substitutions for the carrots were????

Felicia said...

They look pretty tasty :)

Florence Knapp (Flossie Teacakes) said...

Oh how disappointing - they look delicious!

I think it's really hard to enjoy something when you know that there's a contradiction between what's in it, what it looks like and what it tastes like (a bit like eating pineapple on pizza...it's just wrong...to me anyway, I know it shouldn't be on there, so I can't get past that and enjoy it as a taste).

Lina said...

I was just saw Molly's comment. This is exactly what I wanted to ask - apparently according to the reviewers on amazon, the sneaky chef is almost identical. Would you recommend yours? After promising her kids a smoothie recently my friend realised she had no more frozen berries to hand but instead popped some frozen spinach in with a banana and milk into the blender. She fooled them by naming it "Shrek smoothie" and they've since asked for it again!

Mary Beth said...

For Molly and Lina,
I really haven't looked at the Sneaky Chef cookbook at all so I can't compare the two. I like the Jessica Seinfeld book because it's so beautifully photographed and visually appealing and because the recipes mostly do seem kid friendly (even though the brownies were a disappointment).

Molly--I will have to ponder what other cookbooks I have found to be family friendly. One of my favorites is the Jane Brody Good Food book. I don't know if that is even in print anymore . . .

Lina--that is amazing about the Shrek smoothie! I wonder if it would work for us . . .