Food for thought
April 26, 2011 | Food for thought
As our kids get older, we appreciate more and more the eating patterns we set up when they were young. Serving fruit after dinner as dessert was perhaps our best idea. The kids are excited about their dessert and we avoid the sugar.
We prepare a fun fruit–berries, mangoes, kiwi–or a regular fruit in a new way–oranges cut and arranged, sliced bananas floating in milk with agave dripped on top. Thawed organic frozen fruit is also a big hit, like eating peaches before summer. We put the fruit in small dishes or bowls, or special dessert dishes if we have them, and leave them on the kitchen counter. After the kids finish dinner and clear their plates, they find their dessert and bring it to the table. Part of the excitement is not knowing what will be served and that the fruit is separated from their meal as dessert.
For toddlers and preschoolers, we might add a wheat-free flower cookie (Healthy Times Maple Arrowroot Cookies) or biscuit (Maple Teething Biscuits) some nights.
September 15, 2010 | Food for thought
Smiling Planet creates these beautiful earth friendly, non-toxic bowls and plates for kids. The husband and wife founders design the tableware with his whimsical artwork. They use recycled polypropylene and non-toxic inks. The bowls may inspire breakfast eating when kids know a lion, smiling whale or dancing fairies are hiding underneath their oatmeal.
We found Smiling Planet through a Healthy Child Healthy World email offering discounts from some of their Trusted Partners, which also include gDiapers, Seventh Generation, and Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner–all great products we use regularly. To sign up for Healthy Child newsletters and email, click on their Join the Movement.
June 1, 2010 | Food for thought
Kelly served the kids green eggs and ham last week. India Tree natural food coloring and organic bacon, that’s what we’re turning to for easy dinner pizazz. It’s been a slippery slope since the beginning of spring, and until summer inspiration hits we’re expanding the evening meal plan into the breakfast and lunch categories. It turns out the kids love having waffles and eggs with broccoli for dinner.
We begin with vegetables and a protein and fill in around them to build a creative meal. Leftovers in the fridge with rice wrapped in a spelt tortilla or sheet of Nori seaweed, carrots with hummus and guacamole dips, fried egg on brown rice spaghetti–most anything goes. We started with one night a week and now may be up to two spontaneous dinners. The kids like the change, and it’s also made dinner more fun. Four year old Oliver envisions a new way of eating–turkey burgers for breakfast, pancakes for lunch and oatmeal at 6 pm. Though in the end, we realized that breakfast goes better as dinner than the other way around.
And, when we do have energy to do more than heat and roll, Weelicious is great for new food ideas.
March 2, 2010 | Food for thought
Our friend Kass Lazerow turned us on to Jamie Oliver’s award speech at the recent TED Conference. Oliver has started a movement in Britain and the United States to educate families about nutrition and cooking in an effort to fight the obesity epidemic. He’s visiting schools, grocery stores and family living rooms–literally and via his new TV show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution”–to discuss the problem and teach simple steps to a healthier diet.
Oliver’s TED speech is worth watching because he identifies the slide of American eating habits from home cooked meals to fast food and outlines an approach for change. Schools are central to his plan–he advocates teaching cooking in class in addition to improving the meals served, especially important since many kids eat breakfast and lunch at school. Oliver shares powerful footage of his visits to classrooms where the lack of food knowledge is striking, and how simple programs like his work in West Virginia can make a big change in children’s health.
The TED Prize grants recipients a chance to pursue their wish to change the world. Oliver’s wish is to further his work with American families, schools and corporations to educate and change the way we eat. Oliver is an inspiring reminder for us to pay more attention and not succumb to the food industry–as he encourages, “America needs to stand up for better food!”
December 15, 2009 | Food for thought
Fun to make and great for gifts, the sugar cookie is a holiday classic. Years ago, our friend Trish Hecker found this recipe for gluten-free Sugar Cut-Out Cookies. She uses Pamela’s Vanilla Frosting Mix for the icing and natural cookie decorations like India Tree Natures Colors or Sprinkelz. Simple and delicious!
1/2 cup butter or margarine (room temperature, not melted)
2 tablespoons honey More