Beef With "camouflaged" Vegetables - Kids Will Love It!
At a recent parents summit at a local high school, the discussion centered around the practical approach to children's nutrition. Parents don't want to talk about theory. They want advice from pediatricians that they can go home and put into practice immediately.
Many parents know that kids reach an age where they try very hard to avoid vegetables, even the ones they used to love when they were younger. It is a texture issue, for the most part, but it also involves a challenging attitude kids adopt while learning.
To overcome those moments, parents must be creative and continue offering the same vegetables in new ways. Check out this recipe; it has everything from tomatoes to leeks, to anything you can imagine. This recipe is a great option when you have fresh vegetables that start to look “sad”. Cook them with meat, and the end result is a delicious and nutritious main dish for the whole family.
Recipe: Beef with Camouflaged Vegetables
• 2 lb Beef Roast
• 1 Medium Onion
• ½ Green or Red Bell Pepper
• 2 Carrots
• 1 Leek
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• Olive Oil and Water
• 1 Large Tomato
Preparation:
First, brown the meat with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, turning it around often. Now you are going to cut up all the vegetables and add them to the pan. When you have them all in, add a cup of water, cover and allow to cook slowly for about 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes, turning the meat around to allow it to cook evenly. By allowing the vegetables to cook with the meat, we are going to create a mixture of flavors when the juices from the meat cook in with the vegetables, and the water from the vegetables creates moist for the meat to cook in.
After about 45 minutes to 1 hour, take the meat out and slice it when cool. Using a hand blender, mix in all the vegetables in the pan until they have the consistency of a pure. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the meat to the mixture of blended vegetables and allow it to cook together for an additional 15 minutes. You now have a delicious beef roast, covered by a sauce made out of vegetables.
Since you are going to end up with a lot of sauce, it is a good idea to separate part of it and use it with pasta. You can cook some mixed colored pasta bows or spirals and mix in the vegetable mixture, instead of using prepared spaghetti sauce. It has all the flavors from the meat juices and it is just delicious.
Pediatrician Dr. Marta Katalenas is leading the fight against childhood obesity, which she believes is the number one health threat to children today. Dr. Katalenas practices sees patients at the Pediatric Center of Round Rock in Round Rock, Texas and is also available to speak on issues of childhood obesity and children's health.
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