I met Michelle Stern at BlogHer Food last October and we hit it off. I especially enjoyed chatting school lunch reform. She was on the White House lawn to be part of the launch of Chefs Move to Schools. Michelle worked to get salad bars in her districts’ schools, she volunteers in the cafeteria, and has blogged about her experiences on her blog What’s Cooking With Kids. She’s a mom, a chef, and owns her own certified green cooking school for kids. And I thought I was busy!
Michelle asked me to review her new cookbook: The Whole Family Cookbook and I happily volunteered. My son is little, but he is majorly enthusiastic about kitchen activities. It started when he wanted to just watch what I was doing on the stove and now he wants to stir, pour, and taste.
When I was trying to decide which recipe to make for my family. The cookbook is designed by used with your kids and each recipe includes step-by-step instructions on where to include kids of various ages. I have to be honest and say that this time I really didn’t include my son in preparing this recipe. He has helped me make cupcakes before, but this time he briefly investigated what I was doing and then ran off to play with my husband on the couch. What can you do?
It starts with our favorite foods
I used daiya in place of cheese
Crumbled up the cooked bacon
Added the apple
After I baked it — looks cool, doesn’t it?
Ready to serve
A piece for my son
It went fast!
A-B-C Frittata from The Whole Family Cookbook by Michelle Stern
10 eggs 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated (I used shredded daiya, a dairy-free “cheese”) Salt and pepper, to taste 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 2 apples, Fuji or Gala (I used only one apple, but use two) 1 tablespoon butter (I used olive oil)
Prehead over to 450 degrees. Crack 8 eggs into a bowl. Separate two remaining eggs and add whites to the bowl. Beat eggs. Add half of the cheese and the salt and pepper to the egg mixture. Cook bacon then let it cool. Peel and core an apple. Slice thin. Melt butter in skillet. Add egg mixture, crumble bacon over egg mixture. Add apple slices in a circular pattern. Add the rest of the cheese on top. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from pan.
(I modified the recipe. First, daiya is great, but not when it’s over-used. I used less and only baked it in. I didn’t want any on top. Second, I used only one apple because I was feeling lazy. Use two apples. Third, I don’t have an oven-proof skillet so I used a casserole dish. Lastly, I skipped the butter and went with olive oil due to our dairy issues.)
It was a huge hit with my husband and my son. But we did have enough left over to send some in our lunches!
***Giveaway***
I have an extra copy of The Whole Family Cookbook. If you would like to win the copy, comment below about your escapades in the kitchen with little ones!
When I was making the transition from school lunch to packed lunch, I decided to sample the wide range of options for lunch packing gear. I never had anything fancy before the project, but after a year of school lunch, I wanted to treat myself. Easylunchboxes.com looked like a great option.
If you are keeping up with my lunch posts, you have seen that I’m using EasyLunchBoxes pretty regularly. They are quick and convenient for packing my lunch. Their slogan is “pack lunches fast” and it’s true.
I like that there are just two parts to the system: the container and the lid. Dish washing is simple. I don’t have time to eat very much food at work so it’s the perfect size.
There’s a main compartment for a sandwich or another main dish and then two smaller compartments. The smaller areas are great for veggies like carrot sticks or kale chips or cut up fruit. The packaging states that the product is not leak proof and I inadvertently tested it by putting yogurt in one of the smaller sections. It leaked out a little.
The easylunchbox comes with a lunchbag. It’s quite big and can fit a lot of other snacks and even a small drink.
Another great thing about EasyLunchBoxes is the price: For the set of four containers it’s 13.95 and the lunchbag is $7.95. So if you are looking to add some new containers to your rotation, you can hardly go wrong!
ChopChop magazine reached out to me and asked me if I had heard about their cooking magazine for kids. I hadn’t, but I was anxious to learn more. They sent me an issue and copies to hand out to my students.
I liked reading magazines as a kid. Highlights was my favorite, but my parents couldn’t afford a subscription. I only got to read it at the doctor’s office. ChopChop is fun like Highlights, but practical because it teaches kids about cooking in an approachable, creative way.
I like that they show kids preparing food —
it’s not something you see very often in the media
I think ChopChop for kids that like to do things in the kitchen — it will inspire new kitchen endeavors. Also, I think the magazine will engage with kids who avoid the kitchen and only like certain foods. I hear that kids who are “picky” will try foods that they prepare themselves — what if each week a kid can choose one recipe from the magazine to try with adult help?
The instructions specify “with the help of your adult” in red
for the times when adults are needed
Chili is a perfect recipe for any budding chef. When I was in college I had a great recipe for veggie chili that I cut out of the paper. I have looked for it since and can’t find it. Maybe the one featured in the magazine can replace it.
Learn about squash — and coupons
Coupons are helpful and it’s a nice way to offset the cost of the magazine ($14.95 for four times per year), which I don’t think is bad at all.
RRrroar!
My students opened the magazine and paged through it. Of the many things they enjoyed, they loved the dinosaur! There are plenty of recipes to choose from in the magazine, but there was other fun things too like a maze, cool photos and graphics.
I like ChopChop and so I just got a subscription. And…
I’m giving one away! To enter leave a comment below describing a dish you have cooked with your child or one that you would like to try.
If you want to keep up with ChopChop magazine, check the magazine out on Facebook and on Twitter.
Liz Weiss from Meal Makeover Moms contacted me a long time about her book No Whine with Dinner, which she co-wrote with Janice Newell Bissex. They are moms and registered dieticians who get it. The book came about after they surveyed “600 moms who identified ‘picky eaters who whine and complain’ as the number one obstacle to getting their children to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.” She sent me a copy of her book and I wanted to share it with you.
I must have smited the parenting gods by talking openly about my son as a “good eater.” This week has been hard as he is fighting his second cold/flu thingy. He has been refusing everything and we’re hoping it will pass, but I really need this book right now!
What makes this a great cookbook:
The Healthy Basics section focuses on nutrition categories and nutritional guidelines as well as a “Pantry Picks” guide on food categories and brands to have in stock at home — I need guidance on both nutritional guidelines and what I should have on hand at home.
There’s a lot of all different recipes — recipes for the morning, for packing lunch, for the slow cooker, and even “veggies you don’t have to hide” as well as drinks and smoothies! Included is a section of “bloggers’ best” with recipes contributed by bloggers.
Lastly, the authors share 50 “secrets” for getting picky eaters to try new foods. I like it because none of the suggestions involve “hiding” veggies in other foods, which isn’t always bad, but it does have the potential to break trust. Although the authors do add various creative ingredients to recipes, the objective of the cookbook is to get kids to try new foods so that includes showing them what they are eating!
Many of the recipes are have few ingredients, which makes it easy to throw together in a pinch as well as assisting those managing food allergies (quick scans for ingredients and easy substitutes).
I want to reclaim the phrase “kid-friendly” back from the dark side. Whenever I hear it, I immediately think “chicken nuggets.” Instead I want to think of some of the healthy food from this cookbook: Cherry-O Granola, Banana Brownie Waffles, Fruity Chicken Kebabs, Bacon and Egg Salad Rolls, Orzo Zucchini Bake, Shepherd’s Pie, Salmon Noodle Bake…and on and on…
No Whine with Dinner shares recipes for foods that I would eat, but made fun for kids to eat and even to help create. Real food can be made fun enough for kids to eat. Hold the chicken nuggets please!
FCC full disclosure: I received one free No Whine with Dinner book to review. I was not given any cash compensation for sharing my opinion on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
I stumbled upon KOKO Lunch bags and I almost fell out of my chair. Such a simple concept: a stylish, eco-friendly lunch purse. This style is called “Megan.”
At first glance, maybe it’s simply a cute handbag…but with red silverware?
That’s what’s inside — it’s insulated!
It can fit a lot of stuff — I tried out my easylunchboxes.com gear. It’s very deep so it could fit multiple containers stacked up and even a water bottle, although it may be tough to close with a water bottle standing up straight.
My son was fascinated by the interlocking silverware
PVC free
I love this bag — it’s perfect for someone working in an office who needs to have professional-looking lunch gear (not a plastic bag). Owning this purse is a luxury for me! This is a Canadian product, but you can use their store locator to find out where you can find it in the US and online.
FCC full disclosure: I received one free KOKO Lunch bag to review. I was not given any cash compensation for sharing my opinion on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
I’m working on a couple product review posts for February. I solicited products to review in December when I started worrying about having enough content in 2011. I have figured out that there is still plenty to blog about even though I’m not eating school lunch.
In general, I’m keeping reviews to a minimum on the blog because it doesn’t jive with my mission. I didn’t do this blog so I could get free stuff. However, when there is a truly exceptional lunch-related product that I’d love to share with you, I’m going to do just that.
As an aside, there will be no school tomorrow because of the snow, it’s extremely cold here, and my son is sick. We’ll be hunkering down inside the house on Wednesday. I may be tweeting a little. Brrr…
I’ve been on the prowl for creative lunch accessories to help me re-learn how to pack. When I saw snackTAXI, I thought they looked really interesting so I emailed them and asked if I could do a product review. They said sure!
Ahhh!
snackTAXI sent the cutest package of both a snack-size snackTAXI (Dimensions: 6″ W x 4.5″) and a sandwich-size snackTAXI (Dimensions: 7.5″ W x 6″ H). I love their choice of the mushroom print. Too cute!
It’s sturdy and well-made
They arrived in the mail in December and it felt like a gift. I kept them in a safe spot for a little while because I loved them too much to use them. (You know how you save things you treasure, when you really should use them? I did that a lot as a kid. That’s how I felt.)
And sealed with velcro!
The outside is a print, but the inside is a stiffer, more durable fabric that is meant to hold up to a lot. They are machine washable.
I opened one to find an info card
I’ve been using them all week (photos to come tomorrow for my weekly lunch wrap-up) in combination with our usual stuff. I love that every time I use one, I am saving a single-use plastic bag from going into a landfill.
Food for thought…
My son thinks the snackTAXIs are cool and if he glimpses one, he will insist that he eats a snack out of it. In my son’s lunches I’ve been sending apple and orange slices in the smaller one and then rolling it up to fit in his case. The bigger, sandwich-sized snackTAXI is really quite large. Today I put a bunch of apple chunks in it and a small-to-medium-sized bagel sandwich (photos tomorrow in my lunch wrap-up post) in it. It worked great. If you repeat snacks over a few days, I don’t think there’s a pressing need to wash them.
I liked the snackTAXIs so much that I went to their website and ordered a couple more. They have a massive catalog of prints. It’s really hard to choose because they are all so cute. For my son, I ordered two of the small snackTAXIs with the soccer ball print. Then, I decided to order the exact same set you see above for my sister. I thought about giving her the gnome print (hilarious!), but because I liked the mushroom one so much, I thought she would too. I think the price is affordable (the snack-sack is $6.95 and the sandwich-sack is $8.95) and it makes a nice, unique gift that is under $20 to send to someone far away.
FCC full disclosure: I received two free snackTAXIs to review. I was not given any cash compensation for sharing my opinion on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
Back in November, when I was knee-deep in school lunches, I heard about the Nourish curriculum. I thought it looked interesting. Nourish contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing the Nourish curriculum and watching the film, which aired on PBS in November. I happily agreed.
Things got really busy for me in December and so I just now had the opportunity to view the 30 minute film. I think it’s really good. What I like most about it is that it’s not depressing. I find that many books and movies that deal with food politics to be downright dismal. I saw Food, Inc in September and I was profoundly changed and I’m happy I have seen that movie – it’s made me a better mom. However, I couldn’t even finish the book Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Nourish: food + community — The curriculum
Nourish was developed by the Center for Ecoliteracy. I love that the 84 page curriculum is available for free download on the Nourish website; however, I think it is at least partially meant to be a companion for the film. I think teachers could definitely use parts of the curriculum separately from the DVD. The curriculum opens with a viewing guide with discussion questions and even simple, creative worksheets called “Nourish Notes.” Each section devoted to an activity contains a follow-up worksheet at the end. Here’s a breakdown of the curriculum:
Activity 1 examines the “path from farm to fork.”
Activity 2 takes a closer look at seasonal foods.
Activity 3 is all about food traditions (I love that food culture is incorporated)
Activity 4 connects food to our ecosystem (Who else is doing that? It’s normally overlooked, but so important)
Activity 5 analyzes food ads (Ooh, I like doing that too!)
Activity 6 directs the students to develop a school lunch survey to give to their peers (how cool)
Nourish Action Projects — how to start up projects related to the ideas in the curriculum and an action plan worksheet.
Ideas from Nourish
Resources
Glossary
National standards — When teachers write out lesson plans for principals to review, we have to reference state learning standards that the instruction proposes to address. The Nourish curriculum does the work in advance by supplying the exact middle school learning standards the curriculum meets.
The curriculum is a great jumping off point for teachers to start bringing these issues into the classroom, with principal approval or whatever is needed in your school.
Nourish: food + community — The DVD
The Nourish DVD ($24.95) included both the half-hour PBS special on the “story of our food,” but under special features, there was an additional half-hour with more information from some of the “food celebrities” featured in the special. The film was light, but honest. Being only 30 minutes in length, I think it’s easier to find the time to watch it than a longer movie. I liked how the filmmakers incorporated some of the big names Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, Anna Lappe, Bryant Terry, but that they highlighted the voices and faces of a diverse group of high school students. I loved hearing what the kids had to say about food.
The best way to describe the 30 minute program is to call it Food, Inc Lite (now with fewer calories!). They touch on CAFOs without the gory examples, and they talk about mono-cultures, but then cut to examples of farms with polycultures (animals and vegetables together, no need for fertilizer, pesticides, etc). Mind you, the terrible examples worked in Food, Inc, no doubt about it! But while I was horrified and choked up in Food, Inc, I was smiling and nodding watching Nourish.
Additionally, it was kid-friendly. I would feel comfortable showing this to middle school and high school age students, although truthfully I don’t have a ton of experience with those age groups. I could see this short film being shown in the classroom, in parts or as a whole. It’s at an introductory level so if you have students that are aware of these issues already (say like Birke Baehr), they might be bored. For the students at my school, I believe this would be all new information.
Did I learn anything new watching the video? The information about how we are overfishing our oceans was new to me. I didn’t know anything about Blue Fin Tuna and how it’s overfished. Not that I’m eating a lot of that type of fish, but it’s good to become aware of these issues, that are rarely covered by the mainstream press.
I loved in the special features where Alice Waters discussed how we need to think beyond food as something we use to simply “fuel up,” but the larger environmental, even political context, in which food should be considered.
What’s Nourish doing now?
Nourish will be launching a new website and releasing all-new video shorts in February. You can sign up for their newsletter at http://www.nourishlife.org/ or connect with them on facebook (www.facebook.com/nourishlife) to receive updates about new Nourish educational resources, as well as teacher seminars and youth summits. I’m looking forward to keeping up with them.
Here’s the trailer for the film I watched:
FCC full disclosure: I received the Nourish DVD to review. I was not given any cash compensation for sharing my opinion on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely mine. If I claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
