Friday, April 13, 2012

Country Crock & Veggies (Sponsored Post)


 
This post is sponsored by Country Crock. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Let me tell you a little about vegetables: 
1. I LOVE them. I could make meals of just veggies and be totally satisfied.
2. Jeremy HATES them. Except peas, which I think don't really count since they have no nutritional value at all. He asked me to add in that he also likes corn, but, as I have told him time and again, CORN IS A GRAIN!
3. Josie has been a stellar eater from day one. I could not be more happy with her little appetite and the wide variety of foods she happily eats.

HowEVER (Get ready for another list), there are two major issues looming in my future:

1. I remember reading an article when Josephine was three months old that said kids pay more attention to their FATHER'S eating habits and model them more than their mother's.

Holy hell. I try to remind Jeremy about this as often as possible (no, I would not consider it nagging), and we've gotten to the point where Jeremy will take the ONE vegetable off his dinner plate and holler at Josie, "HEY! Look at me eating this DELICIOUS vegetable!" eat it with a grimace on his face, and be like, okay, done and done. 

Sigh.

2. Josephine is a KID. Therefore, I'm not too stupid to realize that any good habit she possess could go up in smoke at a moment's notice. In fact, this week alone, she has refused servings of both sweet potatoes and zucchini, two old favorites. 

Double sigh.

So, when I got an opportunity to try out a delightful veggie recipe from the Clare Crespo Cookbook for Country Crock and share the results with you? No-brainer. I'm not peddling something I don't care deeply about. I love the vegetable and my family needs more of them!

From the recipes available in the online cookbook from Country Crock (available for download), I chose the Zucchini Boats. Not only do I love zucchini and am determined to get Josephine to eat it again, but it has couscous in the recipe. YUM.

The recipe was super-easy, and ...drumroll .....

Everyone loved them!



Unfortunately, I had to skip the feta cheese in mine (a no-no for pregnant folks), because I LOVE me some feta, and it smelled divine in Josie and Jeremy's, but I will be sure to eat a double helping once the baby is born! I put Parmesan in mine and it was delish.

I really love finding recipes like these that showcase the flavor of the actual vegetable -- I don't think there is a need to "hide" vegetables in recipes, but at the same time, sometimes you need a little more than just a plain steamed vegetable (which I love, but Jeremy would gladly pass on). According to Country Crock, 8 out of 10 kids enjoy veggies in Country Crock, and Country Crock is a healthy alternative to butter, so there you go! This online cookbook is full of recipes that are creative and delicious but don't hide the delicious veggies flavors -- winners in my book!

Are you looking for quick and simple tips and recipes to make serving veggies more fun? Download the free Clare Crespo Cookbook here for fun and whimsical recipes your family is sure to love!