In my never ending quest to convince Eli that veggies are not evil, a couple of friends, Mike and Margot from Boston, sent me a cook book dedicated to hiding healthy ingredients in everyday foods. I immediately fell in love! The book is The Sneaky Chef, How to Cheat on Your Man (in the Kitchen) by Missy Chase Lapine. Within the first few pages I found at least 5 recipes that I was dying to try. Like I said, I’m in love.

The first one that I decided to try of course included mass amounts of chocolate. And some spinach, blueberries, wheat germ and whole wheat flour. I know, it’s an odd combination. The recipe was supposed to make 12 donuts (minus the frying of course) but since we din’t have a mini bundt pan, I just decided to go with muffins instead. Just as yummy, but without the hole.

As yummy as these are, they didn’t get Eli’s seal of approval. I can’t figure out why, they are chocolatey, sweet and generally cupcake-like. They do have a slightly grainy texture due to the wheat germ, but they don’t taste grainy. Maybe he’s not feeling great due to the broken leg, he hasn’t been eating much the last few days. Maybe he didn’t get his momma’s sweet tooth? Nah, that can’t be it.

Even though they didn’t pass the Eli test, both Momma and Dad-oo loved these. I’m wishing that I made a second batch. Mmmmmm…I might have to go do that right now.The only draw back is that it is a more complicated recipe and will you more than likely have to purchase some ingredients that you don’t have lying around the house (wheat germ? who has wheat germ in their cupboards?) But I really do think that the extra effort is worth it.

Legal Donuts (a.k.a. Delicious, Healthy, Choco-holic Muffins)

1/3 c + 1 tablespoon White Flour
1/3 c + 1 tablespoon Wheat Flour
1/3 c + 1 tablespoon Wheat Germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used less than this)
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I used 1 tablespoon brewed coffee, instead, I’ll use more next time)
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Canola oil
3/4 cup Purple Puree (see below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon almond instead)
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray donut or mini Bundt pan (makes 12 donuts) or line a muffin tin (makes 6-9 muffins. In a large bowl, whisk together the white flour, wheat flour and wheat germ, baking powder, salt coffee granules (if using brewed coffee add to the wet ingredients), cinnamon and cocoa powder.

Wet Ingredients

In another bowl whisk together the egg and sugar until well combined, then whisk in the oil, Purple Puree and vanilla/almond. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the flour is just moistened. Don’t over mix. Divide the batter evenly among 12 donut or Bundt molds or fill 6-9 muffin cups to the top.

Batter

For donuts: bake 12-14 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the donuts out over a plate to coo. Dust wth powdered sugar before serving.

Muffin Tins

For muffins: bake 23-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the muffins out of the tins to cool. Dust tops with powdered sugar before serving.

Purple Puree
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, no syrup or sugar added
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons water

Purple Puree

Wash spinach, even if the package says prewashed (remember the ecoli outbreak a couple of years ago?). If using frozen blueberries, rinse under cold water to thaw a little. Drain. In a food processor, combine spinach, blueberries, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water. Add more water if needed for a smoother consistency.

Last weekend, I decided to treat Dad-oo to some homemade pop tarts, a recipe that I found on Little Acorn and modified. Of course, I couldn’t just make the yummy chocolate ones in the recipe, I had to change it up so it could be part of the Veggie Challenge. But don’t worry, I did make a special one for Dad-oo and I to share, white and dark chocoalte chip peanut butter pop tart. Yes, it was as good as it sounds.

These were a hit with me and Dad-oo. Eli wasn’t a big fan of them, which was surprising, since they didn’t taste anything like a veggie. They were creamy, sweet, and a little bit crunchy, all of the things that Eli likes. But, we found out the next day, that he was coming down with a nasty bug that kept him out of day care all week, I think that was the reason he didn’t eat much of it. I guess I’ll just have to try it again. Maybe I’ll make a double batch, one for veggies, one for the Dad-oo Special.

Sweet Potato Pop Tarts

1 container of refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup pureed sweet potato (bake and blend to get the smoothest consistency)
1 large banana mashed
5-6 mandarin oranges
1 egg mixed with a tablespoon of water

The Dad-oo Special Filling: Peanut butter, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, as many as you want!

Sweet Potato Filling

Filling
Puree or blend the sweet potato, banana and mandarin oranges until smooth You don’t have to do this step, but I found the mixture to be too stringy before I blended it.

Sweet Potato Filled Pop Tart

Dad-oo's Special

Assemble
Unroll all 8 triangle crescent rolls, stretching them as much as possible without tearing the dough. Fill 4 of the with the filling (or in our case, 3 with the veggie filling and 1 with Dad-oo’s special).

Use a pastry brush to paint the egg wash around the filling of each pop tart. Place one crescent roll triangles on top of the 4 filled triangles. Using a fork, crimp the edges and dock the top. Brush each pop tart with the egg wash. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and freeze overnight or until they are frozen solid. Tightly wrap until you are ready to bake.

Assembled Pop Tart

Bake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place completely frozen pastries on a parchment-lined (I used tin foil) cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until darkly golden. Best served warm and crispy, with a little bit of powdered sugar sprinkled on top.