A new study verifies what moms and mom authors have been saying for some time: sneaking vegetables into kids’ foods increases their veggie intake and reduces their consumption of calories.  In a new article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Penn State’s Nutritional Sciences report they added pureed vegetables to foods given to pre-schoolers and found they ate twice as many vegetables and 11 percent fewer calories per day.  The entrées enhanced with  broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, tomatoes and squash included  zucchini bread for breakfast, pasta with a tomato-based sauce for lunch and chicken noodle casserole for dinner.  The authors note that in light of rising childhood obesity rates, “vegetables have been shown to help lower calorie intake. The problem is getting kids to eat enough vegetables.” — Joyce