Veggie Ice Cubes

This is a healthy tip post.

Because I'm not a big veggie fan but know that I need them, I've taken to pureeing veggies and using them as I cook or make smoothies. I have a vita mix that can puree raw veggies pretty easy. If your blender can't handle this, you may be able to do the same thing in a food processor with some liquid added. One of the recipes I have for a bunch of soups uses veggies as the base and you just change certain ingredients to make different soups. I've just taken to pureeing the base veggies and freezing them into ice cube trays and then using them in sauces (we eat spaghetti sauce a lot), meatloaf etc. I also make a sweet version with veggies that I use in smoothies.

I blend the following until they are smooth and creamy. I usually double or triple the following recipes and it makes about 2-3 ice cube trays. I then use 4-5 cubes each time I make sauces. The more sauce I have, the more cubes I use. I just try to keep the flavor of the sauce without having the veggie taste be noticeable.

Savory Veggies:
1 large carrot
1-2 mushrooms
1-2 inches of yellow squash
1 celery stalk (with leaves)
1 green onion (with entire stalk)
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)
2-4 roma tomatoes

Sweet Veggies:
1 sweet potatoe (with skin...it's more nutritious)
A few roma tomatoes
Spinach (optional)
Yellow Squash

When you puree the sweet veggies and freeze them in ice cube trays, just add a couple to your fruit smoothies and you'll be getting filling veggies without even tasting it. You just have to make sure the fruits you use are sweet enough so you don't taste the veggies. I based this mixture on ingredients I found on the V-8 fruit/veggie smoothie drinks that are really yummy but expensive. It's easier and cheaper to make my own.