Beet Bread

Yes, I said beet bread. Hey stop gagging! Or laughing! Or running away! It's good. Really.

My kids have never been terribly picky eaters. Of course they have their quirks, but it is nothing really serious. For example, my daughter will stuff piece after piece of vegetarian sushi down her little gullet but won't even go near macaroni and cheese. And my son will eat raw carrots until he is blue (or orange) in the face but will never let another type of vegetable pass his sweet lips. All in all I don't worry much. They are thriving and healthy. Yet, I still want them to have that little extra, you know?

Since my girl was very small I have been sneaking stuff into her food to give it an extra nutritional boost. Flax seed meal is tossed into every baked item in this house. Or wheat germ. We bake with whole wheat or white whole wheat when it suits the recipe (FYI pie crust made with whole wheat flour is YUCKY.) I have been adding vegetables or tofu to her food since she first ate solids. Silken tofu blends easily into most pureed baby food. And zucchini added to brownies is down right luscious. I swear. Pureed white beans can thicken a creamed soup nicely.

A few weeks ago I made molasses drop cookies with pureed prunes. No, it wasn't gross. And I've made a heavenly chocolate cake with pureed beets. Of course carrot cake just wouldn't be carrot cake with out, well, carrots.

But my crowing achievement was my beet, applesauce, zucchini bread. Everyone in the house turned their noses up. Everyone was a little scared. But it was heaven and they quickly saw the light. Here is the recipe:

2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup pureed beets
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup sugar (or to your preference)

• mix the above
• then sift together the following in a separate bowl:

3/4 tsp salt
3 cups white whole wheat (or plain white) flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder

• combine wet and dry ingredients and pour into two well greased loaf pans
• bake for one hour at 350 degrees

Now don't get me wrong here...I do believe children should be offered vegetables with every meal and should be encouraged to eat them as they are. But adding a little extra something to the foods they already love never hurt!