My family doesn't like pumpkin (except a few like pie)I cooked a huge pumpkin and am interested in any recipes (I've already thought of muffins) where I can hide the pumpkin and use a free nutritiou ingredient without anyone knowing?

I knew someone who was weaning her husband off whole milk. She kept the whole milk container in the frig for him but gradually changed him from whole to skim without his noticing (he had REALLY complained about skim milk in the past).

I have to chop onions very small in my cooking so no one knows. Add cheese very sparing but it adds so much flavor and nutrition.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001

Answers

I know some people don't do this (slip things in, or try to "trick" their family) but I say GO FOR IT!!! I will sometimes tell them later, but I figure if I am cooking it is up to me what I want to put in the food. I have heard of using the pumpkin in pancake batter, but I don't know how much. Maybe you can try the Libby company. They probably have a web-site with lots of recipes. If you find any good ones let us know.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 29, 2001.

Pumpkin can be mixed with water in the blender and added to spaggeti sauce, cakes, anywhere that there is a strong flavor that blots it out.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 29, 2001.

Veggie soup, I canned diced pumpking a couple of times. I add it to my veggie soup, it sorta disappears into the soup-no one knows it's there. Pulpy pumpkin will work just fine.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), November 29, 2001.

I sneak that kind of stuff in all the time. I will add pumpkin or applesauce to cakes and breads instead of oil. I have added either to anykind of batter to give substance.My family swears they hate deer meat. Well for the last year that we have all lived together, they have eaten nothing but deer meet. I do the shopping and the cooking so no one knows. Someday I might tell them, but for now I just wonder what they think I do with all the deer meat my dad and neighbors bring to the house!!If you can slip it in , go for it. I also have to do the same with dairy products and veggies. They don't eat them as well as I would like so I puray them and add them to what ever,usually deer-loaf I will add puraid celery,carrots and onions.I have been known to add sour cream to mashed potatoes, cream corn or in cakes in stead of oil.!!

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), November 29, 2001.

Yes, I 'll confess I have "snuck" things into soups, cassoroles etc. Onions are well chopped and then saute'd and into the meal! Now if I don't they think I left "something out"!! Deer has been cooked and eaten before they knew what it was. The kids always tell me they don't like rabbit as they are eating the second helping! Oh well things Mothers must do! Denise

-- Denise K. (Rabbitmom2@webbworks.com), November 29, 2001.

That is cute about the deer and rabbit. When I was a teen, I saw my dad hang a deer up to bleed. I was soooooo upset, I wouldn't eat deer EVER. Even if it was all we had. Well... you guessed it. We had burgers, etc. all winter. Come spring I learned I ate deer all winter. :o) He kept us fed, just not totally informed.

-- notnow (notnow@blabla.com), November 29, 2001.

I don't sneak things into food.

Being a vegetarian, people are always trying to "get me" with boullion cubes or things like that. Just recently, a family member did and claimed later it was not intentional. But, at the meal, he grinned and stated it had a secret ingrediant in it. When he finally told me days later, it was the boullion cubes.

To me, that was a violation of my personal right to chose my own lifestyle. Whatever that may be. I respect others' rights as much or more than my own. I know one thing, I will not trust that person with my food again. This may seem trivial to most folks here, but I have spiritual reasons for not eating meat products of any kind. And as far as I know, that has something to do with free-will.

Sooooo, I don't sneak anything into food ever. :)

Iris

-- Iris (WatchingWideEyed@peaceful.com), November 29, 2001.

Iris, I can completely understand in your case why you would be upset. As an adult you have made a conscious decision to eat a certain way, and others should respect that decision.

But with kids... if they specifically ask if some certain ingredient is in a recipe, I will not lie to them. but most of the time they wouldn't have a clue about what is in certain foods!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 29, 2001.

I add a little oatmeal to my bread for extra nutrition and fiber. (Hubby hates oatmeal!)

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

I agree with Melissa. I would never even consider trying to sneak an ingredient into food when someone has a religious or similar reason for not eating something. Probably wouldn't do it to an adult, regardless. But kids can be just plain nit-picky, half the time they won't even taste something and are insisting they don't like it. Although I must confess that a few years ago I tried to get my dh to cut back on his very liberal use of salt, w/o success. I then suggested using a lite salt to cut down a bit. He insisted (w/o ever having tried it) that he'd hate it. So I put it into the salt shakers and he never noticed the difference. Weeks later I did tell him.

Here's another way you might try using the pumpkin, although I won't vouch for the nutrition!

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES

2 c. brown sugar 1 t. baking powder 1 1/2 c. pumpkin 1 t. baking soda 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 1 c. veg. oil 1 1/2 t. cinnamon 3 c. flour 1/2 t. cloves 1 t. salt 1/2 t. ginger

Mix ingredients in order given: brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, then spices. Drop by heaping teaspoonsful on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 min. at 350 deg. Fill (put 2 together) with:

WHOOPIE PIE FILLING

1 egg white, beaten 2 T. milk 1 t. vanilla 1 c. powdered sugar

Mix, then add 1 more cup powdered sugar and 3/4 c. shortening. Beat until smooth.

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), November 29, 2001.

Sorry about how that came out! I tried to space it out correctly but it came out a mess!

-- Lenette (kigervixen@webtv.net), November 29, 2001.

I may sneak things in on my kids...but will not do it to others. I took some Rabbit sausage to work last week, most of my co workers loved it, one gal just couldn't try it and another is a vegetarian. I always tell them up front what I have brought. Most of the time I get requests for more of the sausage!! But I centainly respect their beliefs and never sneak it in on them. (That would be cruel) Denise

-- Denise K. (Rabbitmom2@webbworks.com), November 29, 2001.

Hi, I'm Lori, from central Oklahoma, and I'm new around here. Your topic made me laugh to myself. One of our favorite family tales is to recount the number of ways my mother desperately tried to get us kids to eat liver . Our favorite is the "Swiss liver" story. She told us it was Swiss Steak. It was a long time before we would eat Swiss Steak again after that !

-- Lori Jackson (wondrmom@swbell.net), November 30, 2001.

Hey Lori,

I'm from central Oklahoma too. Near Tecumseh. I'm glad to see you on the forum.

Iris

-- Iris (WatchingWideEyed@peaceful.com), November 30, 2001.

Ther's a bok from the '70's: "Confessions of a Sneaky Organic Cook" Don't know if you can still find it. It's packed, When I get it unpacked, I'll sen dyou the author.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), December 02, 2001.