Packing the Vegan Lunch Box

Thanks to Hurricane Irene, many kids got an extended summer vacation, but now that power is back up in about 90% of the state, that dreaded (umm... I mean "anticipated") first day of school is just around the corner.  Along with pens, pencils, and bookbags, it's time to start thinking about packing healthy lunches to keep the kiddies fueled and satisfied throughout the day.

I recently taped a segment for WTNH's "CT Style" called Packing the Vegan Lunch Box and provided quick cooking tips for this special occasion.  Tune in Tuesday, September 6, at 12:30 to see how to make Tuno Salad, Tempeh "Fish Cakes" and Vegan Remoulade.  Word in the studio is that these will be a big hit, particularly when zooming around in their Scooby lunch box.

The link is now up!  If you missed the show, you can see it here:

 Packing the Vegan Lunch Box on WTNH's CT Style

Curbing Childhood Obesity

Want your kids to eat healthier?  Give them a little nudge.  That's the advice of behavioral researchers of several studies recently reported on in the Washington Post article, "Small changes steer kids toward smarter school lunch choices."

Brian Wansink of Cornell's Food and Brand Lab conducted a little experiment at elementary school cafeterias and found food placement and presentation made all the difference.

"In the school cafeterias Wansink surveyed, whole fruits were displayed in steel bins in dimly lighted areas of the lunch line. Wansink went to discount store T.J. Maxx and bought a cheap wire fruit rack. He found an extra desk lamp, which he used to shine on the fruit. "Sales of fruit in one school went up 54 percent. Not in a semester: by the end of the second week," Wansink said. "It would have gone up faster, but they kept running out of fruit." 

The takeaway here is that these simple changes can also be easily incorporated at home.  Moms and dads, make sure you display fresh fruit in a pretty bowl, center stage on a well-lit countertop, and leave the cookies in a dark corner!  Verbal prompts also have been found to be effective when it comes to influencing children's eating habits.

In 2007, Marlene Schwartz, the deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, created a study in which cafeteria workers at one school asked each student whether they would like to add fruit or fruit juice to their lunch. Ninety percent of students took the fruit or juice, and 70 percent consumed it. In the school with no verbal prompting, 60 percent of students took fruit or juice, and 40 percent consumed it."  

Yes, no matter how may times you have to do it, keep offering fruits as snacks.  Chances are a hungry kid will say "yes" to that apple or orange more often than if you don't make the suggestion.  To find out more creative ways schools, teachers, and parents can help get kids to eat more fruits and veggies, keep reading the article here.

Kids in the Kitchen

I have a hard time turning down offers to cook with kids since they always know how to have fun. And they look so cute I want to squish them!  So when I was asked to participate in the Junior League of Greater New Haven's "Kids in the Kitchen" Health Fair, of course I said yes.

These are kids who participate in the city's YMCA programs, many of whom come from families that don't have access to or can't afford to eat fresh organic produce on a regular basis.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce them to the concept of SMOOOOOOOOTHIES!

There was a little hesitancy at first when the crowd of kids first rushed through the doors and saw a table with Dixie cups filled with a mysterious green liquid.  But it didn't take much encouragement to get them to take a sip.

And once they did, they held out their soggy cups for refill after refill.  I made mixes of Banana, Pear, Melon, Pineapple, Mango, and Kale.  When they asked what "that green stuff" was, I said it's kale, which is even better than spinach, and will make you even stronger than Popeye.  "More, Please!!"  Keep eating those fruits and veggies!!

Special thanks to Stephanie Evans and everyone from the Junior League who worked hard to make this a successful event.  Also, special thank you to VegFund for providing a stipend for the fresh organic produce and Vegan Outreach for their compelling literature.  Many, many parents were curious and picked up a brochure on their way through.  Yay!

Mia's Mexican Fiesta

What a way to spend a birthday!  Mia Flowers and 12 of her very best friends gathered together Saturday afternoon for a cooking lesson to celebrate her 9th birthday.

The afternoon began with all the kids sequestered in the family room decorating their chef hats and aprons.  Nice job everyone!

Then we headed to the kitchen for some cooking.

The theme of the party was a Mexican Fiesta, which was perfect for the rainbow of colorful fruits and veggies we were about to prepare.  And there was one little guy particularly happy about spicy food!

The recipes included Really Good Salsa, Make Your Own Tacos & Burritos, and Fresh Fruit Tart with Nut Crust.  Everyone enjoyed creating their own little fruit tart masterpieces from bananas, kiwis, strawberries, blueberries. 

Then we followed with some home made tacos.  It was a fiesta filled with fun, good food and friends.

Happy Birthday Mia!!