Deceptively Delicious - Jessica Seinfeld [35]
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
FROSTING
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup cauliflower puree
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the avocado puree, sugar, milk, vanilla, and vinegar until smooth. Beat in the egg whites one at a time, just until incorporated.
3. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the cupcakes are lightly browned and spring back to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool completely before frosting them.
4. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, cauliflower puree, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread over the cooled cupcakes.
5. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
(OTHER) MOTHERS KNOW BEST
(PART 3)
“Marketing is everything when talking to kids about vegetables! Broccoli with marinara sauce to dip it in is billed as ‘Shrek’s trees with swamp mud.’ Asparagus served with a side of melted butter becomes ‘princess wands with magic sauce.’ The fast-food companies and sugar cereals do it so well—we parents have to make veggies sassy, too.”
—Elizabeth, Los Angeles
MOTHER OF ISABEL, 8, AND CAROLINE, 6
“We mix cold-pressed flaxseed oil in oatmeal and all kinds of purees. We sprinkle flaxseed meal on yogurt, on cereal, on anything crunchy. We also make cookies with barley flour and sweetened with maple syrup—anything to get whole grains in there. When the kids were babies, we started pureeing brown rice, so they have always had a taste for it. We make tofu chocolate pie, which they love. We also make veggie chili with a dollop of yogurt on top instead of sour cream and put organic corn chips on the side for dipping.”
—The Martin Family, New York City
CHILDREN AGES 3 AND 1
“When Alex is resistant to vegetables or other healthy foods, I resort to saying, ‘Please just take X more bites!’ (Sometimes X is 7, sometimes it’s 4, for example). Sometimes I sprinkle powdered cheddar cheese on certain vegetables. If I’m really desperate, we do a ‘strawberry dance’ (the name of the dance changes depending on the name of the food), a funny dance before taking each bite of the food. Pathetic, I know.”
—Elzy, Burlington, Vermont
MOTHER OF ALEX, 3, AND DANIEL, 1
Chocolate Fondue
(WITH AVOCADO AND CARROT)
Children love to dip. Try lowfat graham crackers, apple slices, strawberries—so good!
Prep and serve: 5 minutes • Serves 4
1 tablespoon trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
½ cup avocado puree
¼ cup carrot puree
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sliced fruits, whole berries, or cherries, for dipping
Melt the margarine over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the avocado and carrot purees, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla, and whisk well until smooth. Serve warm, with fruit.
Julian: I make a chocolate sandwich with graham crackers.
Sascha: Hey…don’t copy me!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
(WITH CHICKPEAS)
These are so easy and fast to make, but watch out for flying chickpeas! If using a standing mixer, partially cover the bowl with a dish towel to keep the chickpeas from flying out. (Of course my kids think it’s hysterical when this happens.)
Prep: 20 minutes • Total: 31-33 minutes • Makes 2 dozen cookies • Packable
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking