I am very, very sneaky.

Somewhere between completely devouring every spoonful of awful puree we put in front of his face, and well, this afternoon, Mason became a picky eater. According to my doctor this is normal for his age, they decide they hate vegetables and refuse to eat them. I noticed. Especially when he began only eating solid foods, he decided that he hated vegetables. He loves macaroni and cheese, so I decided that HA! I shall hide peas in the cheese!

Oh stupid mommy. Don't you know that he will find them? He will. AND he will suck the cheese off and spit them out.

He also loves to organize his food on his tray. Yucky vegetables go in this cup holder, macaroni and cheese goes in my mouth and milk goes in this cup holder. What happens when all that is left on his tray are the veggies? TO THE FLOOR THEY GO! Ohhhh and that pisses me off. Do you know how hard it is to clean dried, crusty carrots off the floor?

Enter Jessica Seinfeld and her much talked-about (not always for the best reasons, but hey TEAM JESSICA!) cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. My precious. My sweet, sweet precious. I classify this book in with my Maclaren stroller and now my Blackberry. Lovies. Mommy lovies. The cover should read: For kids who find veggies even when you hide them in mac and cheese.

Her secret, and now mine: back to purees. Only this time you aren't sitting there making airplane noises and shoving spoonfuls into your children's mouths. This time you are hiding purees in what looks like yummy every day foods. I must say, these recipes are yummy. So yummy in fact that now mom and dad are getting their day's worth of veggies as well.

Behold, one of Mason's faves: Spinach Pita Pizza (or as I call it, PIZZA!)

Here is the shortened version, the full version is of course available in the book:

Whole Wheat Pitas

Part-skim Mozzarella cheese

Sauce (I use whatever is left over in the fridge, preferably Muir Glen Organic)

Spinach Puree (all you have to do is cook some baby spinach leaves in a pan with a little water until they wilt. Put into a food processor and blend until smooth, adding more water if needed - I keep a frozen batch of all my purees on hand at all times.)

Pre-heat oven to 350

Spread some spinach puree onto the pita, spoon on some sauce, sprinkle cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. TA-DA!

I cut a pizza up into small pieces and Mason gobbles the entire thing down. What he doesn't know is that there is spinach pieces all over his face and in his belly. Lovely.