Mum's the Word

How many times do you hear the phrase "just don't tell the kids there's ________ in it" when it comes to making healthier or "out of the box" recipes that (on the outside at least) seem like perfectly kid-friendly fare? Now, I may be in the minority, but I never really felt comfortable keeping the healthier elements of recipes like my pancakes and brownies locked away like some secret government document. I mean, yes - hiding things like tofu and whole grains in your recipes a la Deceptively Delicious can work... for a while. But kids are smart. They can read - and see. And, speaking from experience with one of the pickiest eaters I know, it is far better to come clean up front and deal with it then than to have the kids distrust anything you cook up for them post-discovery. Who knows - when vegetables wind up in things like these muffins, nobody seems to care one way or the other that they exist at all. It's not that they're hidden, it's that they're not a dominant flavour role... and I'm sure the chocolate factor doesn't hurt either.

Many thanks to fellow Canuck Kevin (a la Closet Cooking) for the recipe I used as my base!

Makes 26

2 cups flour