Why We LOVE Trader Joe's Broccoli Slaw!

1. It's fun to eat right out of the bag!

2. It's organic.

3. It's broccoli and carrots. Period. 

4. It's great in hot recipes, like sauteed with a little olive oil, garlic, white wine and tossed with whole wheat pasta.

5. It also makes a great slaw! I mix up mayo (1/4 cup), buttermilk (1/4 cup), a splash of white wine vinegar, 2 tsp of honey, salt and pepper.  Toss with broccoli slaw, dried cranberries, diced apples and walnuts. Its awesome!!!

The ABCs of CSAs

Spring is almost here and that means we will once again be able to get organic fresh produce directly from some of our local farms! I'm sure most of you are familiar with farmer's markets, but have you heard of CSAs?


CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a fun way to get a variety of very fresh fruits and vegetables (and sometimes meat and dairy) from your local farmer. Essentially you buy a "share" of the farm and each week you get a box full of the produce that was just picked. It's a great way to support a local farm and also introduce your family to a larger variety of fruits and vegetables. 


At our home, each week is like an adventure when we unpack our box and explore the variety of fruits and vegetables we have for the week. Annie loves to pick the first thing we eat! It's fun to get kids excited by showing them the variety of colors in the box and encouraging them to try the new veggies they have not seen before. Some farms also offer tours... this is an awesome way to teach kids where their food comes from. What kid doesn't like to visit a farm?


If you're thinking about joining a CSA, many of the farms have local drop off locations near large cities. Here in Chicago, farms have drop off locations all over the city and suburbs. For those of you near me, I'm actually participating as a produce drop off site for Grass is Greener Gardens out of Monroe, Wisconsin. I can send you more info if you're interested. The Local Beet also has a full list of local farms offering CSAs. 


Most CSAs start deliveries in June, but now is a great time to sign up and reserve your spot! 


I know in our family, we are looking forward to spring and new adventures in organic local produce!

Red Lentils- Super Easy and Healthy!

Here’s a quick, inexpensive and very healthy vegetarian recipe we made earlier this week. In all honesty, I gave it to the kids “deconstructed” with the lentils on the side and the rice by itself. You can even leave out the spinach from the recipe if you want to keep it even simpler.

Red lentils are a great staple to have available in your pantry. They have a mild flavor, cook fast and are full of fiber, folate and iron. 

1 cup dried red lentils (can use canned too- just skip the lentil cooking part below)

1 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of chopped organic tomatoes

1 cup chopped frozen organic spinach (defrosted)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs turmeric

Splash of red wine vinegar

1. Cook the lentils over medium heat with 2 cups of water for about 10-15 minutes.

2. While lentils are cooking, sauté the garlic in the olive oil on low heat.

3. When lentils are just tender, add them to the oil and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach and spices. Let simmer for a few minutes until heated through. Stir in the splash of vinegar right before serving.

4. Serve over brown rice, whole wheat cous cous or quinoa.

Enjoy!

Google Recipes... Another Awesome Update from Google

Google had done it again. They have launched another update to make all of our lives just that much easier. I'm particularly fond of this one because it has to do with food. 


It's a customized recipe search in Google! When you type a recipe in, you now can see a new section in the left column that gives you filter options for ingredients, cook time and calories. Want to make grilled salmon in 15 minutes or less with no butter, no problem! Just filter and go!

Google, you're awesome! Now if you could only come over and cook for us too.

The Rainbow Game

I think the number one question I get about kid’s nutrition is “How do I get my kids to eat more fruits or vegetables?” Well here’s an idea to get your picky little ones eating more pretty produce… play the rainbow game!

There are many variations, but the basics go like this… make a chart you can hang on the refrigerator. On the left hand side going down label the days of the week. On the top going across, label the colors of rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). The object of the game is to have the kids try one or two new veggies each day. So on Monday when your little one tries something red, put a sticker on the chart where red and Monday meet and make a note of the new item… ie. “Raspberries”.  The object is to get the whole chart filled up and when that’s done, you can offer a little prize (like a little matchbox car etc…). You may want to combine blue and purple to make that category a little easier.

The kids will have fun filling in the chart and will enjoy it even more if you let them help pick the fruits and veggies in the store. The whole game becomes an adventure!

Here are some starter ideas for the colors:

Red: Apples, raspberries, cherries, red peppers, beets, cranberries, pomegranates, red potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, rhubarb, red cabbage

Orange: Apricots, peaches, pumpkin, other winter squash, mangos, carrots, sweet potato, papaya

Yellow: pineapple, yellow peppers, banana, yellow apples, lemons, pears, corn, yellow watermelon

Green: artichokes, broccoli, honeydew, zucchini, green onions, peas, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, asparagus

Blue: blueberries, blackberries, black currants

Purple: grapes, eggplant, purple heirloom potatoes

Plus there are so many more in the store and farmer’s markets. Be adventurous and have fun!

To M&M or Not to M&M... That is the Question

This week I was in Las Vegas for a convention and happened to stumble across the giant monstrosity of an M&M store on The Strip. Who knew that Mars could fill four generous floors with adorable, colorful M&M merchandise and candy? As I was about to walk past I saw a small sign that read "customize your M&Ms on the 3rd floor". Hmmmm, here lies a dilemma. Annie absolutely loves M&Ms. I know so since our part time nanny, Lana, brought her some for Valentines day. I thought about how awesome it would be to get her some special M&Ms customized for her and Max's birthday party on Saturday. But then the uptight, go green, registered dietitian in me thinks "ugh, do I really want to bring her something full of processed ingredients and food coloring?"

So what did I do?

I marched straight up to the 3rd floor, picked out a colorful selection of M&Ms and had "Happy Birthday Annie & Max" printed on each one of those tasty little morsels. I couldn't wait to see how excited she was when I gave them to her. See how freakin' cute they turned out?

For me, it's got to be about give and take. We are never going to completely prevent our kids from eating the over processed "food" that dominates our culture. But I am OK with them indulging just a little since most of the stuff we eat is pretty healthy. My biggest concern with the M&Ms is the food coloring. Several studies have shown a link to cancer and food dyes (click here for more info). But, we do eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that are full of powerful antioxidants that work in the body to help prevent certain cancers. I figure balances out. Plus, giving Annie a small handful of M&Ms every now and then will hopefully prevent her from shoveling down fistfuls of them later when she has more freedom to make her own food choices. 

All in all, I think a little flexibly in a kid's diet can go a long way. I just think it's important to do the best you can most of the time. 

What We Ate For Valentine's Day

Yes, the thought did occur to me that not everyone really cares what we had for our family Valentine's Day dinner, but it was really good. Seriously. So here it is... I included the recipes for this kid and adult friendly meal!

Pretzel Crusted Chicken

Butternut Squash Soup

Mixed Greens Salad

Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits

Pretzel Crusted Chicken


2 cups whole wheat pretzels
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
4 organic skinless boneless chicken breasts


Put the pretzels into a large plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin or other blunt object. Get the kids involved in this part- its a ton of fun for them! Add the cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the bag and mix. In a separate bowl beat the eggs lightly. Dip each chicken breast in the eggs then in the pretzel mixture and place in a baking pan. Pour any remaining crumbs on top.


Bake for about 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Slice and serve!


I used Giada De Laurentiis' Butternut Squash Soup recipe...  I still had some leftover squash from our mac and cheese last week. Instead of the fontina cheese crostini, I just toasted some wheat bread and melted a bit of brie on top (yes... still trying to use up the brie too!) I put the brie side down in the soup for presentation purposes. 


The mixed green salad was just some organic red leaf lettuce tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt. 

For the parfaits, I used this chocolate pudding recipe and this vanilla pudding recipe and layered the two in a little cup placing a raspberry on top. As you can see, they aren't "picture perfect" but they were tasty!


This meal isn't too hard to do... the pudding and soup can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge.


Enjoy!