Halloween Teeth

“Mommy! Mommy!” scream my kids as they run from trick-or-treating at a house in our neighborhood. “I got a toothbrush!”

One of our neighbors is a dentist. Every year for Halloween, instead of candy, he hands out a toothbrush to the kids trick-or-treating at his house. The adults standing on the sidewalk chuckle over this choice of Halloween treat. I’ve seen pencils, pennies, stickers, or even small containers of play-dough in lieu of candy. I’m always in full support of any effort to diminish the candy fever but even I recognize that the kids just want candy.

To my surprise, the toothbrush causes just as much of a craze as the candy. When we get home that night, after eating quite a few pieces of candy from their loot pumpkins, I say to my kids, “time to brush your teeth.” Usually I get a moan or an “aw mom,” before they sheepishly mope off to the bathroom for the nightly ritual. But tonight is different

“My new toothbrush!” my 5 and 3 year-old exclaim practically in unison, as they rush of to find it buried in the candy pile. Tonight they both brush their teeth with a new found energy. I suppose it could just be from all the sugar they have consumed over the course of the evening. But to me, it is an excitement over a new toothbrush that is brought up to the level of candy on Halloween.

You may not have a neighbor who is a dentist, but this experience got me thinking. Why not give the kids a brand new toothbrush as part of their Halloween treats? I know I can’t stop the candy, so I might as well get in a good brush before bedtime. Happy Halloween!

CSA Box of Treats: Collard Greens

Each week I open my box of organic vegetables and am surprised by what I find.

Last week I found a large green-leafed head of collard greens in my box. Although I live in the South now, I am from the Northeast, so cooking collard greens is simply not in my repertoire of vegetable side dishes. Faced with the task of preparing these enormous green leaves for the first time, I quickly went on line to find a recipe. After weeding out anything that required me to be in the kitchen for more than 30 minutes, I settled on a simple collard greens and bacon recipe. I rushed out to the grocery store to buy the bacon, came home and cooked up delicious collard greens of which I am sure even a real southerner would approve.

This week when I opened my box, I found another large bouquet of collard greens. I gave the impressive green leaves a wink and made a mental note to swing by the grocery store for more bacon. One thing led to another that afternoon and I ended up skipping my quick trip to the store. Then I got to thinking, why was I in such a rush to buy bacon again? The reason I didn’t have bacon lying around in the fridge is because I don’t usually cook with it. I love bacon but it is not something I buy every week. Why am I rushing out to buy bacon for the second time in 1-1/2 week? Oh yeah, I need bacon for the collard greens recipe.

Hmmm…. That doesn’t sound right. I signed up for my weekly organic veggie box in order to eat more organic vegetables not to add large amounts of bacon to my diet. Vegetables shouldn’t require fat and salt in order to taste good. Sure, bacon with collard greens is a delicious side dish. But if I am going to eat it every week, I need a new strategy.

In general there are 3 rules of thumb that I try to stick to in my kitchen:

1. Cook with what is on hand. I don’t let a missing ingredient keep me from making a home cooked meal. Instead, I put together whatever I have even if that means making new variations of familiar dishes. In other words, I improvise.

2. Cook simple dishes that do not require long prep or cooking durations. I love to cook but I don’t have the time or the energy to stand in my kitchen all day long. I like to chop it and cook it, and maybe give it a stir or a flip and then move on with my day.

3. Make it healthy. I try to cook with all fresh ingredients, salt only enough for flavor and use extra virgin olive oil as much as possible.

If I apply my 3 rules of thumb to me and my collard greens having a stare-down in my kitchen, it would seem that I do not need to rush off to the store for bacon. Instead, I reach into my box of organic vegetables to see what else I have on hand. “Garlic, and green pepper,” I say aloud as I reach into the box, “I can do something with those too.”

So Here is the recipe that I improvised in order to prove my point; collard greens do not NEED bacon in order to taste good. Enjoy!



Collard Greens (hold the bacon)

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
Several dashes of hot sauce(to taste)
2lbs collard greens (or 1 large head), rinsed, center stem removed, cut into strips and then cut in half again
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Optional: 1 small green pepper, chopped, or several stalks of celery, chopped

Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil over a medium flame for 3 minutes. Add any optional vegetables (other than the grens) and cook for another 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Stir and bring to a slow boil. Add collard greens and stir. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until the greens have fully wilted and lost their bright green color. Serve warm in their juice as a side dish.

Picky Eater Enabler or Responsible Parent?

A good friend mentioned to me in an email the other day that she may be guilty of enabling her kids to be picky eaters. After taking in the context of her comment, I decided that I disagreed. In fact, I thought she was acting as a responsible parent. This got me thinking…am I a picky eater enabler? Should I make my kids eat what I eat or not eat at all? I don’t want to fall into the trap of becoming my family’s short order chef. But I also don’t think food should be put on an “eat this or else” plate. Where is the line?

Let me give you a specific example. Let’s say one evening for dinner I cook fish, mashed potatoes and zucchini. I know my kids don’t like any of the food I am preparing, but I serve it anyway. Maybe they taste it, maybe they don’t. Maybe they can’t stand the smell of the fish or the consistency of the mashed potatoes. Whatever their reasons, they won’t eat. I tell them that’s what’s for dinner, like it or leave it. They choose to leave it claiming that they are not hungry. They leave the table in a bad mood with their plates untouched. Fifteen minutes later it is dessert time. The kids come bounding in for dessert and want seconds. Soon it is bedtime and the kids want snacks. I give then some cheerios. They are still hungry so I give them apple slices.

Have I won the battle? I cooked one meal, yes. But my kids ate dessert, cheerios and apples for dinner. Meal time was about unhappily looking at food they didn’t want to eat, disobeying my commands to take a bite, and leaving the table feeling hungry and dissatisfied. Then moments later, they return to the kitchen whining for more food.

Here is an alternative scenario to the above example. Let’s say I cook fish, rice (instead of mashed potatoes) and zucchini as well as broccoli. I know my kids do not like to eat fish or zucchini but I also know they love rice and broccoli. I offer them a taste of the fish and zucchini. Maybe they taste it, or maybe they give it a big “yuck.” Then I fill their plates with rice and broccoli and make a mental note to have a protein they like at dinner tomorrow. The kids happily eat the food that they like while watching my husband and I eat the additional food items that they refused. Everyone leaves the table with clean plates, feeling full and satisfied. When it is time for dessert, the kids eat one portion and do not ask for more food before bedtime.

Am I enabling my kids to be picky eaters because I am catering the dinner menu to their likes and dislikes? Some might say yes. But I say no. Catch phrases always sound great when I hear them by themselves but when put into play in real life, they don’t always hold up. My goal for dinner is to have some food on the table that I know everyone will eat. Everyone doesn’t need to eat EVERYTHING on the table. But everyone does need to eat SOMETHING. My job is to make sure there is something for everyone.

Kids get hungry. Kids need to eat. Kids need to consume food with nutritional value. Eating should be a positive experience which should leave kids feeling satisfied with what they have consumed. My job as a parent is to build-up my child’s confidence in eating good food while slowly expanding her tastes into new territory. Some kids naturally try new food while others tend to want to eat the same thing over and over again.

I don’t think I am enabling my kids to be picky eaters. Instead, I am making sure that everyone has something nutritious to eat while instilling a little bit of meal time confidence. Helping kids develop a positive relationship with healthy food, even if their repertoire is limited, is more important than getting them to taste new food. So go ahead and make your kids’ favorite healthy dish. Just keep trying the unfamiliar food without forcing the issue.

Growing Food

 Today I had a lunch date.  A 10:35am lunch date with my daughter and her kindergarten class in the school lunch room.  A cafeteria full of 5 – 7  year olds eating their lunch is certainly a sight to behold.  The organization and strategy needed to simply complete the task at hand is impressive.  I mostly sat there with my mouth open, taking in the scene, wondering if herding cats would be an easier operation.  The teachers who walk around the cafeteria making sure the little kids eat their lunches and behave nicely told the kids to eat their “growing food” first, and then dessert.  My daughter held up her sandwich and pointed to her cantaloupe and whispered to me, “this is my growing food, mommy.” 

Growing Food.  What a fantastic phrase.  It’s not good food or bad food, healthy food or unhealthy food, food that mommy wants you to eat or food that you really want to eat.  Instead, it’s about growing up.  I’m pretty sure that all kids think about growing up in some way, every day.  So to talk about nutritious food as food that will help you grow is just brilliant.  No one is saying that cookies are bad; instead they are saying that a sandwich will make you grow. 

This phrase allows the child the independence to think through the scenario himself.  “I want to grow up and be a big kid…I will eat my sandwich first….then I will eat my dessert.”  The phrase Growing Food teaches little kids WHY we want to eat nutritious food rather than just forcing nutritious food without an explanation. Thank you to the lunch teachers, for inspiring our little ones to eat their growing food.    

Box of Treats: Butternut Squash

The other day in the grocery store, I found myself looking at some organic grapes. They were expensive, but looked very good so I decided to splurge and buy them. A day later at home, I opened up the package and found the grapes to be covered with mold.

Ideally, I would like to buy locally produced organic fruits and vegetables for my family to eat, but in my hectic, non-stop busy world, I simply don’t always have the time to make an extra stop at a farmer’s market or specialty store. Sometimes I force myself to make the time but most weeks it simply gets in the way of soccer practice or ballet class schedules. I end up looking for organic produce at my regular grocery store which is often over priced and simply not that fresh. Fortunately, many organic farms are embracing the concept of selling a box of organic fruit and vegetables that are locally grown, once a week. I just signed up for a 15 week CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription through our local preschool for a weekly box of treats.

The concept is fantastic. I don’t have to go to a special market for organic produce and I don’t even have to decide what fruit and vegetables to purchase (the mix has been decided for me based on what is ripe). As I pick up my box for the week I am delighted by the surprise mix of organic fruits and vegetables. If I find myself with a vegetable that I don’t typically cook, I am forced to try new recipes and figure out new ways to incorporate the unfamiliar vegetable in to our meals and snacks. Some might find this stressful, but I see it is a fun challenge that will keep my whole family eating healthy and trying new things.

This week there were three large butternut squash in my box of treats. I love butternut squash when I can purchase it peeled and sliced into chunks ready for steaming or baking. But when I am shopping for vegetables and come across whole butternut squash, my lazy side kicks in and I typically keep walking. Sad, I know. But, here I was with three beautiful squash in my kitchen, already paid for. “How many ways can I cook this,” I thought.

The first one I peeled, sliced and steamed and then offered it to my kids for an afternoon snack. My kids are accustomed to eating sweet potato in this way so when my daughter asked what it was, I responded with “it is just like sweet potato.” Only after they had tasted the squash and determined that they liked it and asked for more did I tell them it was called butternut squash.

The second one I peeled, sliced and steamed but this time I pureed it into soup. My kids wouldn’t taste it (they are not big on soups), but my husband and I enjoyed it.

The third squash I decided to bake. I am more found of savory squash rather than sweet or with nutmeg so I baked it with butter and salt. I scraped out the baked squash, mashed it with butter and salt and served it as a side dish for dinner. My kids have a hard time with the mashed consistency so I didn’t get many takers.

Stay tuned for more recipes and ideas that come to mind as I open my weekly box of treats.

The Independent Kindergartener

When I think about getting my kids to eat nutritious food, in the back of my mind I know that one day my kids will grow up and be faced with making decisions about what to eat on their own. Right now I decide what’s for dinner, I let them know what the options are for breakfast each morning and I am the one who packs their lunch. I know that teaching my kids about what it means to eat nutritious food is just as important as getting them to consume it. One day I won’t be there, looking over my daughter’s shoulder, to guide her in her food choices. All of this I know will happen one day. I just didn’t realize that day was today.

“Sweetie how come you are not drinking any water from your thermos during lunch?” I ask my 5 year old after her first two weeks of kindergarten as I unpack her lunchbox at the end of the day.

“Oh I don’t need my thermos, Mom,” she replies with the attitude of a teenager. “I like to get chocolate milk instead.”

“You BUY chocolate milk every day?” I ask in amazement.

“Yes, its sooooo fun, mom,” she responds with a smile.

“But I don’t give you any money,” I wonder aloud, “so how are you buying milk without any money?”

“My teacher asks us if we want to get milk,” my daughter explains, “so I get in line and pick my milk.”

“And then what,” I coax her to tell me more.

“Then I stand in line and I give the lady my number, 40655, and then I go sit down and eat my lunch and drink my chocolate milk.”

There you have it. Just like that the chord of nutrition control had been severed the minute I enrolled my daughter into kindergarten and the teacher handed out student ID numbers for making purchases at lunch time to be billed to the parents at the end of the month. Now, it’s my daughter’s choice. Sure, I can still guide and advise her. But at the end of the day, or in the middle of the day, I should say, it is my 5-year-old, standing in the school lunch line, choosing what she wants to drink. All of a sudden it is no longer about only giving her healthy choices. She has met the school lunch line and now it is up to her to make healthy choices on her own. Of course, I can lobby to improve school lunches and do away with flavored milk. I plan to participate in the PTA committee for school wellness and bring about healthy changes in the years to come. But I also have to deal with the reality of today – my daughter purchasing high fructose corn syrup chocolate milk for lunch.

Just before bedtime that night I call my daughter over to me for a serious talk. We talk about drinking regular milk and how it is good for your body. We talk about chocolate milk that she has at home (in small portions and without the high fructose corn syrup) when she can brush her teeth right after so the chocolate doesn’t sit on her teeth all day and give her cavities. I tell her about how she eats many treats but ones that are approved by me and not necessarily consumed during school. We talk about how she needs healthy food to give her energy and keep her awake so she can learn and play at school. Most importantly, we talk about making healthy choices that are right for her, rather than just doing what everyone else does.

I have no idea how much of our talk got through to my daughter. And of course, drinking chocolate milk at lunch is not the end of the world. But it is the tip of an iceberg that is lurking beneath my feet. The tip of unhealthy habits may seem innocent and inconsequential, but I know better. My gut tells me that giving in to high fructose corn syrup drinks at lunch for a 5-year-old will only pave the way for more unhealthy habits to come. I know that if I stand my ground for nutrition over empty calories, she will feel better, have more energy and develop a taste for more healthy food down the road.

Easy Yogurt Muffins

I don’t bake. Or at least I don’t enjoy baking. It’s true. Just ask my friends. When we have people over for dinner and they ask what to bring, I tell them dessert. At a friend’s house one day my 4-year-old discovered that baking cookies didn’t mean slicing up batter from a shrink-wrapped package. It’s not that I am so bad at baking. It’s only that I don’t enjoy the process. I love to cook. I love to put together a little of this and a little of that and come up with something new and tasty. I find chopping vegetables at the end of the day to be calming and therapeutic. Getting out the flour and sugar and mixing bowls is just more of a chore than I am usually up for.

My daughter, however, loves sweets. If I don’t bake then she will eat sweets baked someplace else with most likely more high fructose corn syrup, sugar or trans fat than I would like. So...I moved the flour and mixing bowls to a more convenient location in my kitchen and decided to make the effort to bake more often.

Here’s a recipe that I found online and then changed a little here and a little there to make it my own. I encourage you to do the same. Feel free to add blueberries or chocolate chips. My son likes them plain so we eat them as a breakfast treat. Enjoy!
Easy Yogurt Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup (8oz.) vanilla flavored yogurt (if you use plain yogurt, you might want to add a little more sugar)
1 egg
(optional: chocolate chips or blueberries)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Beat egg, yogurt and oil in a small mixing bowl. Add wet mixture to dry and mix together. Spoon batter into muffin cups with paper lines. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a drying rack. Makes 12 muffins.