Most Definitely Deceptively Delicious!

Growing up, everyone in my family ate everything! We had no picky eaters except for the occasional non-milk drinkers and fish eaters. I never imagined that people actually exist who despise eating vegetables, fruits, and adding sauces to their foods. I love the imagery in Ratatouille where the rat describes eating a strawberry and it tastes so good by itself, but when you add another flavor with it, such as cheese or chocolate, your senses start to explode! This is how eating is for me...I love mixing vegetables and fruits together and adding ketchup and mustard and so on to my cheeseburgers. My husband, on the other hand, is extremely picky!!! He is strictly a meat and potatoes guy. He orders his hamburgers plain with cheese and will NOT eat any fruits or vegetables (I tell him potatoes and corn don't count). He has given his condition a name and says he has "Super Tastebuds," whatever! Since our children share his DNA, it has been quite the challenge getting them to put good things in their body. However, I have discovered two wonderful things that have changed my life! First, the VitaMIX! It is a commercial blender like the ones they use at Jamba Juice. I can add vegetables to smoothies and the kids and the husband eat them...hooray! I make one every morning. Second, for Christmas, my mom gave me a new recipe book called, Deceptively Delicious. These recipes include pureed foods that you add to regular meals and are delicious! The most recent was a huge hit and the kids devoured them! It's a miracle...I love watching my kids enjoy eating fruits and vegetables without even knowing it! Below is the recipe...my kids (and hubby!) loved it, so will yours!

Applesauce Muffins (with butternut squash or carrot)

TOPPING

• 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2TBSP trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, melted

BATTER

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk
• 1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

2. To make the topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine.

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix- the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, 18 to 20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and serve warm or cool.

Enjoy!!!