After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

"Eat your vegetables!" Although it's adults who often chirp that refrain to children, many grown-ups haven't been getting the message. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA recommend at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day for good nutrition, most people eat significantly less than that.

A recent study by the National Institutes of Health showed that on average adults eat one serving of fruit a day and less than two servings of vegetables. Other studies have shown that a significant minority doesn't even eat one serving of fruits and vegetables combined.

If you are one of the millions trying to increase your produce consumption, a bushel of cookbooks published in the last few years that are aimed at "sneaking" fruits and vegetables into dishes for kids just might be the key for your more seasoned palate as well. They feature tasty, innovative meals that no one would guess are packed with the antioxidants of multiple fruits and vegetables in each recipe.

Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and mother of three, includes scores of such innovations in "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" (Collins, $24.95). Jerry, though, is the first to admit that his own nutrition has been boosted by, like his kids, not "asking what's in these, either."

Jessica's fun "hiding places" include: lean sirloin burgers also made with chopped mushrooms and zucchini, sloppy Joes whose lean sirloin is joined by sweet potato puree and butternut squash puree or red bell pepper puree, scrambled eggs that get whisked with cauliflower puree, and cheesecake cupcakes that are a mix of blueberry puree, yellow squash puree and spinach puree.

The trick is blending in produce that complements the recipe's other traditional flavors or is so bland — like cauliflower — that its nutrients and fiber get included without having any impact on taste.

Here are a few other clever cookbooks in this sly genre to check out:

— "Sneaky Veggies: How to Get Vegetables Under the Radar & Into Your Family" by Chris Fisk (Sterling, $9.95).

— "Kid Favorites Made Healthy" by Better Homes & Gardens (Wiley, $19.95).

— "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals" by Missy Chase Lapine (Running Press, $17.95).

These authors proudly proclaim they are home cooks, who took matters into their own handy hands to improve their families health, however, plenty of acclaimed chefs have gotten into the act, too.

Vegetable and fruit purees are often peppered throughout professional kitchens as flavor enhancers and thickeners. David Lebovitz, an award-winning restaurant chef and cookbook author who got his start at five-star spot Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., took famed owner Alice Waters' motto of "local fresh produce" to heart, creating many unexpected treats from fruits and vegetables, such as innovative ice cream toppers like candied red beans or these — as he says, "surprising" — candied carrots.

CANDIED CARROTS AND SPICED PECANS

Candied carrots:

2 cups finely diced carrots

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 cups water

Spiced pecans:

1 cup pecan halves

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Yields about 20 toppings servings or 6 to 8 snack servings.

To prepare candied carrots: In a medium saucepan, combine carrots, sugar, corn syrup and water.

Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup is reduced to about 2 tablespoons and the carrots are translucent and candied, 20 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the carrots, especially during the last few minutes, so they do not burn. Carefully drain the carrots and set aside to cool.

To prepare spiced pecans: Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss the pecans with the butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar and salt. Pour the mixture over the pecans and toss to coat completely.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes, gently and carefully stirring halfway during baking to candy the nuts. Remove the tray to a rack and cool the nuts completely. Once cool, if using the nuts for a topping, coarsely chop them.

The candied carrots and spiced pecans are excellent as ice cream or oatmeal toppers or as snacks.

— "The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments" by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed, $24.95).

HIDDEN VEGGIE BURGERS

1 pound lean ground sirloin or lean ground turkey

1/2 pound white button or (stemmed) shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and finely chopped

1 cup whole-wheat or Italian (seasoned) bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped or grated zucchini

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Nonstick cooking spray, for coating skillet

1 tablespoon olive oil

16 whole-grain hamburger buns, for serving (see Note)

Tomato slices, for serving (optional)

Yields 16 small burgers.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, mix the meat, mushrooms, bread crumbs, zucchini, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper until well combined. The mixture will be moist. Form into 16 patties and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

Coat a large nonstick ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, carefully add the oil. Add the burgers and brown on one side for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the burgers, then slide the skillet into the oven. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until the burgers are no longer pink in the center and the meat is thoroughly cooked. Serve each burger on a bun and topped with a tomato slice, if desired.

Note: If you don't have whole-grain hamburger buns, consider "making" your own by using a glass to cut out rounds from whole-wheat bread slices.

— "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" by Jessica Seinfeld (Collins, $24.95).

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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