My friend Allyson had a very nice take on my recent obsession with baking - it's a "creative phase," brought on by various occurrences. My grandmother's passing was one - she was my last living grandparent, and Jacob's only great-grandparent. There have also been a few births among my mom friends, and so there is the desire to celebrate their arrivals.
I'm using the term "baking" loosely since pancakes are obviously not baked, although they do come from a batter. We have a glut of cocoa powder in the house, and the desire to rid my cupboards of the excess supply has fueled many of my recent projects. Once again, the Sneaky Chef enabled me to feed my son a (ridiculously) decadent, very well-received breakfast while also getting him to eat blueberries ... and SPINACH! A "purple puree" of steamed spinach and blueberries is added to the batter, blending in perfectly and hiding all evidence. And I got to use up some of the cocoa powder that's monopolizing my valuable shelf space.
I have started experimenting with Sneaky Chef recipes to make them even more sickeningly healthy than they already are - by substituting Stevia for sugar! So far I am having great success. I made blueberry juice (blueberries boiled, then strained with added sugar) and substituted all of the sugar with Stevia. The Kid never batted an eye! I haven't tried it with any baked goods yet, but I might break out the mixer this weekend and see what happens. As soon as I peel myself off this couch...
