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.

As a mother, there is nothing quite like the victory of a clean plate (especially from your children!) When you make a meal that your kids actually WANT to eat, you come away feeling like an Iron Chef (only without the crazy ingredients.) When you can serve your kids veggies and still have them WANTING to eat them, you KNOW you have truly arrived in the kitchen hall of fame. Want to feel that way? If you’ve ever dreamed of your three year old happily gobbling up parsnips or your second grader asking for seconds on beets, you need to meet Country Crock! Country Crock is a delicious and healthier alternative to butter, with 70% less saturated fat and 30% fewer calores! PLUS, 8 out of 10 kids think that Country Crock makes veggies taste great…mine sure did! Country Crock is a great way to bring out the tasty flavor of veggies (with no need to cover them up or attempt to “hide” them!)

Now, Country Crock has teamed up with author Clare Crespo to bring you 25 delicious recipes in the cookbook, A Very Veggie World. Each recipe serves up the perfect blend of veggies, Country Crock, and just enough “gimmick” to entice your kids. (But trust me, once they take a bite and taste the delicious buttery taste of Country Crock mixed with their veggies, they’ll WANT to keep eating!) Clare Crespo has created 25 absolutely adorable vegetable recipes, and has put together a stunningly beautiful (can you say that about veggies?!) cookbook. I made “Hashbrains” for my kids. They were the perfect breakfast for a lazy Sunday morning, and were super cute! (Mine didn’t look as perfect as the ones in the cookbook, but my kids gobbled them up nonetheless!) (Score one for mom and Country Crock!) My six year old daughter asked if she could eat all of them!

Here is what you’ll need to make Hashbrains!
2 large baking potatoes, peeled
1 tsp. grated onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup Country Crock® Spread,
melted

To Prepare:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
Grate potatoes using food processor fi tted with a
shredding disk or with a box grater. In large bowl,
combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover
and let soak for 10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and then layer them between kitchen
towels and squeeze to remove any excess water. In a
large mixing bowl, mix the potatoes, onion, egg, salt
and pepper. Gather a handful of potatoes and place on
baking sheet in a mound. With your hands form an oval
half-dome. With a spatula press a 1-inch crevice down
the center of the oval lengthwise to defi ne the two lobes
of the “brain.” Make three more brains. Brush tops and
sides of brains with Country Crock® Spread.
Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from
oven and serve.

I KNOW that your family will enjoy the recipes found in A Very Veggie World! We are definitely planning to make several of her other recipes including “Peas and Thank You” and “Beautiful Butterflies.” (And, I might just have to try Monogrammed Parsnips, just to prove that I can get my family (including my husband!) to eat parsnips!) Each recipe is just kitschy enough to draw your kids in, and then the flavor of Country Crock and the fresh and healthy taste of the veggies (and she uses a WIDE variety of them!) takes over, and brings them back for more bites! I hope you will pick up a tub of Country Crock on your next trip to the grocery store, and see if it can change the way your kids look at veggies.

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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!