hidden healthys

This is my method.... For some reason, I feel like a recipe is so much healthier if you add healthy elements. I mean, it isn't true that if you eat 20 carrots with your pizza, it makes the pizza any healthier, but... it just makes it seem healthier! But, of course, along with adding healthy things to cookies, I try to cut back on the sugar, add whole wheat, etc etc etc.... :)

So if you ever come over for dinner, if you look closely at any baked goods (breads, cookies, muffins, biscuits, bars, etc.), you may see some.... flaxseed.

And, when frying hamburger, it's always great to throw some..... spinach in with the onions.

Spinach hides super well in lasagna, chili, and my favorite, spinach smoothies! Ok, so the color of spinach doesn't hide well in smoothies. But, the taste is pretty well disguised. I even tested it by serving all of Pine House spinach smoothies... and after some complaint about the bright green color, the smoothies disappeared.

My favorite is spinach, orange juice, banana, peaches, pineapple and yogurt. But, you can pretty much add any variety - I've just found the sweetness of tropical fruits cancels out the bitterness of the spinach. If you don't have a great blender, I've found its easiest to blend the spinach and orange juice first and then add the rest. Its better to have chunks of fruit than chunks of spinach! :) Oh! and the great news?... you can add flaxseed to the spinach smoothie to make it uber healthy!!

So, these are some of my methods. If you'd rather eat a spinach salad, go for it! I do like salad.. but its so simple to just drink a nutritious smoothie. And, here are reasons why spinach is good for you.