There is a huge controversy, I have just learned, regarding the ethics of sneaking vegetables into foods so your kids will get some nutrition along with their Mac n’ Cheese and breaded fish sticks.
As I understand the situation, numerous books have appeared on the shelves suggesting ways of getting fruits and veggies into your kids’ gullets without initiating World War 111 at the dinner table. Some of these books, such as Missy Chase Lapine’s cleverly titled The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on your Man (In the Kitchen) Hiding Healthy Foods in Hearty Meals , go beyond tricking the kids and move into the uncharted territory of tricking your husband into eating a little fiber along with his T-Bone and deep fried onion rings.
These and other similar books more or less passed under the radar until January of 2007 when Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
It’s not clear to me which came first – the book’s popularity or the controversy — but I suspect one led to the other. I have never written a book, but if I ever do, I PRAY that there will be a controversy and perhaps even a banning. I know of no better way to ensure sales. However, that’s a topic for another time. Let us return to the ethical considerations of tricking your kids at the dinner table.
I admit to feeling a little squeamish at the notion of tricking people into eating anything. It brings back memories of people trying to “trick” me into eating liver, a food I particularly dislike. Even though many years have passed, I still feel distrustful of the cooks who tried to sneak this foul substance into me by mixing it into beef pies and stews, and then taunting, ‘Ha, ha! Got you to eat liver and you didn’t even know it!” To this day, I question how far one can believe these well-meaning people or put trust in what they say. In other words, I consider that this type of trickery has the potential to damage relationships and the damage, although not huge, can last a lifetime.
Advocates of food trickery will argue that the end justifies the means. Good nutrition is vitally important to health and well-being. It is perhaps more important than ever as North America currently faces an epidemic of childhood obesity. If tricking the kids by adding a little pureed cauliflower to the pasta sauce means they’ll enjoy better health and perhaps achieve a lower body weight, then surely that is a good thing. Surely the long term effects of the improved nutrition are worth the small amount of distrust that may develop.
My position here is that nutrition is important – enormously important, and that nutritious foods should be served unabashedly and unashamedly. You might, for example, incorporate some pureed avocado into the quesadillas. You don’t do it because you are trying to trick anyone into eating better. You do it routinely because its good nutrition for everyone.
Yes, of course the oatmeal cookies contain grated carrots. Yes, of course the chocolate cake contains pureed beets. (Don’t laugh. It’s surprisingly good. You can’t taste the beets and the recipe is far from being new. Chocolate beet cake has been around for decades).
I was raised on a farm. We grew much of the food we ate, as did our neighbors. Fruits and veggies found their way into many dishes. After all, why would you cook with store bought ingredients when the root cellar and the canning shelves were filled with food waiting to be consumed?
We didn’t call it nutrition; we didn’t look at it as sneaking healthy food into people. It was just the way we cooked and ate. I carried this approach to cooking into my own household and considered it normal. Sneaking it in? No way.
I have not read Jessica Seinfeld’s book, nor have I read any other book of its ilk. However, according to the reviews at Amazon, Seinfeld herself is not advocating trickery by sneaking fruit and veggies into kids. She appears to be saying much the same thing I said earlier. Make this your natural approach to food preparation, keep no food-related secrets from the kids and when possible, involve your children in the cooking and food preparation process.
Given that Seinfeld doesn’t advocate deception in the first place, I’m confused as to how the controversy generated around her book. Perhaps it stems from the book’s title: Deceptively Delicious. The title itself may be a bit deceptive.
I do want to make one additional point. Incorporating fruit and vegetables into various recipes, or making healthy smoothies for lunch is an excellent way to improve nutrition. However, it is not, in itself, a remedy for obesity at any age. To lose weight or to prevent gaining body fat, age-appropriate portion control and activity levels must be added to a nutritional diet.
Now go eat your veggies
