Banana pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tbsp raw turbinado sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp light olive oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
butter

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a different bowl.
3. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Expect a lumpy batter.
   
4. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Lower heat slightly and pour about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides.*

*Alternately, use an ice cream scoop to ladle the batter for mini-pancakes.

One of my daughters loves bananas, while the other gags at the sight of them. This is a great way to sneak this superfood into the whole family.

Baked meatballs

1 lb ground meat*
1 apple, cored and diced
1 small calabaza squash, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried sage
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

1. Spray a baking sheet with Pam.
   
2. Whisk stock cube into egg. (Otherwise, you may end up with salty clumps of stock.)
3. Mix all the ingredients together.
4. Shape into small balls, about a tbsp each, and place on tray
   
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the temperature at the center of the biggest meatball is 160 degrees.
   

*I used boneless skinless chicken thighs, run through the food processor.

Sloppy Joe sauce

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small onion
1 14.5 oz can peas or peas and carrots, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (or meat of your choice)
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 can low sodium V8 vegetable juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Over medium heat, cook the tomatoes, carrots and onions for about 10 minutes, until the carrots begin to yield to pressure.
2. Pour the tomato mixture and the remaining canned vegetables into a blender and purée.
3. Brown the ground meat in the olive oil. You can use the same pan.
4. Add the puréed veggies, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and sugar to the meat mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add vegetable juice during the simmer to achieve a nice "sloppy" consistency.

Serve over whole wheat hamburger buns or pasta.

Mango quinoa

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup mango salsa

1. Rinse quinoa well. Three or four washes should do the trick to get rid of the bitter saponins.
2. Bring quinoa and water to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add salsa and bring to a boil.

I serve this over a bed of spinach, with a topping of some more mango salsa. Yum!

Mango salsa

1 28-oz can of tomatoes, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
2 tsp tamarind paste or lemon juice
(optional) jalapeño peppers, to taste
1 to 2 tart mangoes, peeled and diced

1. Mix the first six ingredients together.
2. Process through a food processor until desired consistency. (You can skip this step for a pico de gallo.)
3. Add diced mangoes.
   
4. Serve with tortilla chips.

I've tried frozen mangos, but they're simply too tasteless to do the recipe justice. Please adjust the salt to your preference.

Hidden veggie pasta sauce

1/3 cauliflower
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 calabaza or zucchini squash, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 6-oz can of tomato paste
1 can V8 juice
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
(optional) 1 bag frozen meatballs

1. Steam cauliflower until tender, about 5 mins.
2. Puree cauliflower in a food processor or blender. (By the way, pureed cauliflower can be hidden in all sorts of foods, including pancakes and mac and cheese. Don't tell my kids!)
3. Cook onions, garlic and squash in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
4. Puree squash mixture in a food processor or blender.
5. Bake meatballs according to package instructions. (I cut 5 minutes off the bake time, since the meatballs will continue to heat in the sauce.)
6. Mix all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

This is the veggie-est sneaky vegetable dish in my repertoire. Paired with the popular pasta shape of the day, my kids have no idea how much good stuff they're eating.

Granola bars

I just use Joyful Abode's fantastic recipe, trying different fruits, seeds and nuts. I use jaggery (panela) instead of brown sugar.