Get ready for "Lactalicious" ice cream!

Can you tell the new school year's schedule is hitting mom pretty hard too? I haven't written for nearly a week! This headline, though, has stopped me in my "frantically-cleaning-up-before-my-mother-in-law-arrives" tracks. PETA wants Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream to use mother's milk in their treats.

I was going to give PETA a courtesy link here, but I went to their homepage and couldn't stop myself from clicking on a video where pigs, allegedly, raised for meat in Hormel products were abused, beaten, etc, etc, etc. The video was on for a total of about 7 seconds before I had to x-out. That site is not for sensitive views, like myself. My immediate next search was for tips on how to become a vegetarian. My great-uncle had a pig farm and while those cute piglets ultimately ended up in sausage they had a good life full of sunshine, soft ground beneath them and room to, oh I don't know, MOVE! Seek out that video on the PETA site if you'd wish, but be forewarned.

Anyway, what humors me about PETA's publicity stunt...er...suggestion to Ben & Jerry's is that it makes no sense. How could they be even the teeniest bit convinced that moms providing breast milk for ice cream wouldn't eventually turn into the new form of dairy cow. Surely moms would be paid. And surely the quantity each mom produced would be monitored. Perhaps she'd feel pressure to lactate more. So she'd fill her body with every "remedy" she could find to support her family. Suddenly we have hormone-laden milk from a sack-of-bones woman whose sole purpose in her life is to produce enough milk for ice cream. Is that not factory farming?

Now I get what the PETA folks are saying. I breastfed one daughter for 15 months and another for 20. I say I'm "pro-breastfeeding" is an understatement. I do think it's the absolute best. I do get frustrated when moms are unsupported in continuing. I roll my eyes when I hear "formula is better for them anyway" or "it was just too hard." Breast milk is the ultimate in nutrition for babies and toddlers. But make no mistake. It's a bodily fluid. And folks, I don't swap those with just anyone. Ice cream filled with breast milk would be doing just that - except it would be from many somebodies. The concept of breast milk being ingested by a human is beautiful. When that milk comes from a stranger, could carry disease or the tastes of what she had for dinner the night before, I'm icked out.

The health screening used in breast milk banks is stringent. Plus, it's intended for infants, babies and toddlers. Beyond that age group, I'd love to see research that suggests there are health benefits to consuming breast milk.

If PETA was truly interested in ethical treatment, why are they not approaching Ben & Jerry's about using soy or other organic product in their ice cream?

[photo courtesy of www.benjerry.com]

Yet another Deceptively Delicious recipe review - Macaroni and Cheese 1!

Try to control your excitement folks! But yes, it's yet another Deceptively Delicious recipe review!!! *and the crowd goes bananas*

Yesterday I tried the Macaroni and Cheese 1 recipe which has cauliflower puree in it. It was easy to prepare and I think it turned out really good! My husband, older daughter and I all enjoyed it. My little one, though...ya know, the one with the very discriminating palate...was not thrilled.

I would definitely say there is a texture difference. I'm, of course, comparing it to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinner, which is completely smooth. This was not. I'm half wondering if my puree wasn't smooth enough. That's something to work on for next time. I also think I'll add about a quarter of a cup of additional cheese.

Unfortunately, I did not low-fat cheese or cream cheese, both of which this recipe calls for. So our result wasn't quite as healthy as it could have been. Next time I try it, I may go with neufchatel cheese as I usually like it more than low-fat version of the original.

...and it continues...

I promise tomorrow's post won't be yet another recipe review, but I can't stop myself today.

Last night for dinner I prepared the chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes from Deceptively Delicious and they fooled everyone! The chicken was coated in a broccoli puree and the potatoes were mixed with cauliflower. Everyone ate everything, including my parents! I'm still amazed! The food was really really good. And please believe me when I say they turn their noses up at a lot.

The one downfall of the book is that you've really got to plan what you're going to make for the week. There is a section in the book about freezing the purees, but I'm hesitant. Some recipes call for 1/2 a cup, others 1/4 a cup and others 2 tablespoons. I'm not sure in what quantity I should doing my freezing. So for now, I'm trying to use up what I have within a few days. I think as I get more experienced, I'll probably freeze in 1/4 cup quantities and just concede to occasionally having to trash a tablespoon or two every now and then.

My plan this weekend is to try a dessert - my favorite food group! Tonight for dinner we'll undo all the nutrition we've built up over the past two days as we're eating out to celebrate my parents' anniversary. Greasy, cheesy and fattening food...yummmmmm! :-)

The deception has begun!

Thank you, Jessica Seinfeld! I had heard about her cookbook Deceptively Delicious when it first came out. There was a huge buzz about it the mom circle. Imagine getting fruits and veggies in your kids in a delicious way that they don't pick up on. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? To be very honest, I thought so too and didn't think twice about passing it up. That was, of course, until I saw Jessica pimping the book to the goddess of all talk show hosts, Oprah.

Jessica talked about being able to enjoy meals more because they were no longer filled with debate about how many more bites of veggies to eat. She knew the food her kiddos were gobbling up had great nutrition hidden inside. She felt really good about what she was serving. And as much as I thumbed my nose at this whole idea of pureeing veggies to sneak into food as being the next pet rock, she was starting to make sense to me.

As much as I try to provide really nutritious meals for my children, they eat like crap! The little one has a processed and cured meat addiction. Salami, bacon, pork roll (yes, we're originally from NJ. The rest of the world knows this as Taylor Ham, though anyone from NJ will quickly chime in that it's quite un-ham-like.). Both of my girls very rarely have vegetables despite offering them ALL the time. And trust me, we've fought the fight. There have been many meals that end up in time-outs and lonely kids ordered to sit there until they eat four bites of whatever green. When I was first married and dreamily let my mind wander into the future of our family, our dinner times were filled with happy and peaceful chatter about our day, our hopes and our dreams. There was a lot less correcting, demanding and yelling involved than in what actually materialized many years later.

So I thought about buying Deceptively Delicious for a few weeks, as is the standard waiting time for any cookbook I consider. I have about twenty, of which I only open a handful of them a handful of times a year. Did I really need another? We go through this same waiting period for new kitchen appliances as well. Finally I decided that yes, I did, indeed, need this book. As luck had it, a 20% off coupon from Barnes & Noble arrived the very next day. :-) The New Cookbook Gods were shining down upon me.

I took the gals to the dollar movie at the theater two doors down from the big B&N. (The Alvin and the Chipmunks movie was delightful, by the way!) After it was over, we walked down and my munchkins made an immediate break for the kids' section. We have like 80 Thomas trains, but there's just something about the train table they have there. I'll never understand, but whatever...

Flash forward through a tantrum over a Barbie ballet book to last night. I made the Hamburger recipe with cauliflower and a mac and cheese recipe with white beans. I was slightly skeptical, yet hopeful.

My kitchen has never been a bigger mess. And this comes from a chic who bakes all the time and hosts Thanksgivings. My sin, though, was making the purees just before I needed them. The devastation of my counter tops would have been less if I hadn't pureed and cooked at the same time. Regardless, the end result rocked! My husband and children ate both items without hesitation. Seriously, my children have never, NEVER had cauliflower in their little bodies. N-E-V-E-R! They ate it this time, happily. Even my darling, veggie-disliking, husband remarked, "These burgers are really good. What's in them?" He was none the wiser. Mwahahaha, my evil plan had worked!

I'll continue to review recipes from the book, but for now, Mrs. Jessica Seinfeld gets a huge momorable mention for this book! I'll shamelessly promote for her as long as my fam continues to enjoy the recipes. Tonight we'll be testing out the chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. Fingers crossed the "veggies in children" result will be the same!

And while I'm at it, Jerry Seinfeld gets an momorable mention of his own. Loved the show, Jerry, and love your stand-up. We saw him perform a few years back and while the ticket price was a bit high, it was worth it! Between your wife's creative chef-ery and your comedic abilities, your children are going to be chock full of talent!

[photo courtesty of www.deceptivelydelicious.com]