Archive for September, 2009
Sunday Breakfast – Pumpkin Pancakes!
I woke up this morning to the sound of rain and a cool breeze coming in through the open window. A perfect day for a hot, hearty breakfast! I always try to make a special breakfast at least one day of the weekend and it frequently ends up being pancakes. It probably seems like I’m preoccupied with pancakes (yes, I know this is the second posting in 2 weeks on the subject) and I guess I am. They are one of my comfort foods. My mother’s Bisquick pancakes were something I looked forward to as a child and as an adult I am always experimenting with new combinations and flavors. It is so easy to make a big batch of pancakes on the weekends, freeze the extras and then just heat them up in the microwave during the week for a quick, homemade breakfast.
Yesterday I bought a giant can of pumpkin because I made the Pumpkin Roll from the new issue of Cook’s Country. I had a bunch of pumpkin left over, so this morning I decided to see if I could use some of it to whip up some pancakes. Despite my elder daughter’s initial reaction when told we were having pumpkin pancakes (“Mooooomm… I HATE pumpkin pie! They’re gonna taste like pumpkin pie! I won’t eat them!”) she did, in fact, eat them and enjoyed them. The rest of us also thought these were terrific. I prefer the texture of whole grain pancakes (as well as the nutritional benefits) and the cornmeal gives them a bit of a crunch that perfectly sets off the pumpkin and spice flavors. All they need are some maple syrup, but would be super-yummy with homemade applesauce.
Add comment September 27, 2009
Weeknight Wackiness – Quick Cassoulet
Happy autumn! It is officially comfort food season. I love fall food. Give me a hot bowl of homemade soup and some bread and I’m in heaven. Roasted sweet potatoes are a staple side dish in my house in the fall. Some herbs I tend only to use when the weather turns cooler. Rosemary and sage are two that come to mind and both are used in this week’s easy dinner solution. This recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner on a crisp fall evening. For a bonus it also uses beans, something that most of us could stand to eat more of.
Typically, cassoulet is a meat and bean stew that is cooked slowly for hours. In this version canned beans are used but it is still rich and comforting. Serve with a good whole grain bread, salad and apple cider to drink and you have a delicious, nutritious meal the whole family will enjoy that you can get on the table in about 30 minutes. What more can you ask for?
Add comment September 23, 2009
Soda Tax – Yea or Nay?
This past week, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine presented evidence in favor of the benefits of a national soda tax. According to researchers, a tax of 1 cent per ounce of soda could have some dramatic effects on the health of the nation while supplying a much-needed revenue stream for health programs. In the first year alone, $14.9 billion could be raised from this tax, which could be used for such things like childhood nutrition and obesity prevention programs. The tax would not include beverages sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners (diet drinks).
In one study of middle-schoolers, their risk of becoming obese increased 60% for each extra sugary drink they consumed each day. Increased soda intake also correlates with increased body weight and risk for developing diabetes. Soda has zero nutritional value (other than calories) and frequently replaces other beverages, like milk, that growing children and adolescents need. What is even more disturbing is the finding that chronic consumption of sugary beverages can actually change children’s taste preference so that they find water and even food that is non-sweet (veggies, grains, beans, meat) unpalatable.
I believe that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would be a good thing. We are not talking about banning soda or making it available only to people over a certain age, but simply making it more expensive so that people (children) think twice before spending their hard-earned money (allowance) on it. Maybe if we did this people would start thinking about soda as the occasional treat that it should be instead of something to drink every day to quench thirst. For example, alcoholic beverages are heavily taxed and generally not consumed on a regular basis. They are special occasion drinks, which is how we should start thinking of sugar-sweetened beverages.
What do you think? Do you believe that Americans will stop drinking so much sugar-sweetened soda if it is more expensive? Do you think this proposed tax is unfair?
1 comment September 20, 2009
Weeknight Wackiness – Breakfast For Dinner!
This week’s installation of solutions for hectic weeknight dinners features one of my family’s favorites: breakfast for dinner.
Breakfast for dinner works well on hectic weeknights for several reasons. You generally always have some sort of breakfast food on hand or the ingredients to make it. Breakfast food is cheap. Even picky eaters can usually find something they like at breakfast. And breakfast food can be made and on the table in a flash.
It is quite easy to make a well-rounded, nourishing, yummy meal in no time flat. Scrambled eggs with cheese, raisin toast and fruit smoothies. Waffles (frozen are fine) topped with fresh berries, bacon, milk to drink. French toast, sausages, fruit with yogurt dipping sauce.
This week, the menu request came from my husband. He doesn’t cook (except for his annual turkey nachos, which are delicious) but loves to watch the Food Network and read books and magazines about food and cooking. I always found this odd, but I have since learned that my husband is not alone in his love of food as a spectator sport. Right now he is reading Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin and asked if we could have the macaroni and cheese pancakes from the recipe in the book.
These were insanely delicious and super-easy. And a good breakfast/dinner transitional food (half pancake, half mac ‘n cheese). I served them with cinnamon apples and Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Links. We are not vegetarians, but we actually like the fake sausage, it is a great source of lean protein and quite convenient on rushed school mornings. And while I usually prefer to make whole-grain pancakes, the white-flour version seemed to be called for here.
Add comment September 17, 2009
Go Out To Eat This Thursday!
This Thursday, September 17th, is Dining Out For Life to benefit Moveable Feast. Moveable Feast is an amazing non-profit organization that delivers meals to homebound people with AIDS and cancer in the Baltimore area. All you do is go out to eat at one of the restaurants on the list this Thursday. At least 20% of the proceeds that day will be given to Moveable Feast. Some of my favorite restaurants on are the list – hello, Woodberry Kitchen!
You get a great meal and help feed thousands of people in the Baltimore area living with AIDS and cancer – what a win/win situation!
Add comment September 15, 2009
School Lunch – Funnel Cake, Anyone?
When my eldest daughter started elementary school and the first cafeteria menu came home I remember being more than a little surprised that the menu was pretty much the same things they were serving a generation ago when I was in elementary school. Pizza, chicken nuggets, hot turkey sandwiches. Canned fruit and chocolate milk. Popsicles and ice cream for extra. I guess I just assumed that since their school is one of the best in our county and the parents tend to be well-educated and involved, the menu would have evolved a bit. Actually, it has. The kids in elementary school now have the option to buy chips and gummy snacks as well.
This year, my 4th grader has been “annexed” at the middle school due to overcrowding. The 4th graders have the same lunch menu as they do at the elementary school but they can also buy the a la carte items that the middle schoolers have access to. Here’s some highlights, per my daughter: funnel cake, french fries, slushies and soft pretzels (my husband wondered if the State Fair is now catering the cafeteria), as well as the gummy snacks, fruit rollups and chips that are also available at the elementary school.
According to the Baltimore County Office of Food and Nutrition Services website, here are the requirements for school lunches:
5 Food items –
- ½ pint milk
- 2 servings vegetable/fruit from two different sources
- 1 serving of grain/bread
- 1 2-ounce serving of meat or meat alternate
At least three food items must be selected from the meal patterns.
I know I would love to see more healthy options and less junk offered. More fresh cooked food (just about everything they offer now is frozen convenience food) and updated food options would be ideal. But who decides what is served? How can the average parent go about changing things?
The USDA sets the nutritional standards for school lunches and provides cash subsidies and commodities (food) to the schools. Read The National School Lunch Program Fact Sheet.
Recently, there was a discussion on a dietitian listserv I subscribe to about how to work to change the cafeteria menus. Of course, as with anything involving a bureaucracy, it is not a simple task. Here’s some advice from other dietitians about where to get started:
- There is a federal mandate requiring each school district to have a wellness policy that guides nutritional standards in the cafeteria for that school district. I searched the Baltimore County Public Schools website for the wellness policy and this is what I camp up with. From what I understand, this wellness policy (Policy 5470 in Baltimore County) should be available from the principal, nurse or food service director at your child’s school.
- Get involved in the committee that develops this wellness policy. I was unable to find anything about this committee on the BCPS website, but information about it should be available from your child’s school.
- Action For Healthy Kids is “…a public-private partnership of more than 60 national organizations and government agencies representing education, health, fitness and nutrition, Action for Healthy Kids addresses the epidemic of overweight, sedentary, and undernourished youth by focusing on changes in schools to improve nutrition and increase physical activity.” The Maryland team is re-organizing and looking for volunteers to get involved.
This advice is not only for our particular school district, but any school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (which is most schools in America; private schools can also participate in it).
Here are some more links about healthy school lunches:
What approach do you take to school lunches? Do your kids bring or buy? Do you give them extra money for a la carte items? What does the cafeteria menu look like at your child’s school?
3 comments September 11, 2009
Weeknight Wackiness
Yup, summer is definitely over – my youngest daughter is already home sick with a cough and a fever and it is only the second week back at school! Amazing how quickly those germs get passed around. Luckily, over the long weekend I planned ahead for our weeknight dinners and got everything I needed from the store. Here’s the plan:
Tuesday (free day): Made chicken pot pie for dinner. While that was cooking I also made meatballs in red sauce to have with spaghetti later in the week. Originally I planned on making the meatballs over the weekend and freezing them, but that didn’t happen.
Wednesday: We will get home at 7 from my non-sick daughter’s skating lesson. I will cook some spaghetti noodles, heat up some meatballs, heat up some good bread that I put in the freezer when I bought it, throw together a salad while those cook/heat and we will have dinner together by 7:30.
Thursday: We get home around 6:15 from Girl Scout meeting (assuming everyone is feeling better by tomorrow!). I have about 3 servings of the chicken pot pie left over and we will have lots of meatballs and bread left. I can either cook some more spaghetti noodles or people can have meatball “subs” on the bread. It will be a pick-your-own leftovers dinner.
The key to making it work is planning. Going to the store over the weekend, making sure I have everything on hand for the week and getting the 2 meals made on the day we have no activities ensures that everything goes smoothly. Remember to use up any leftovers in the fridge within 4 days. If you plan on keeping them for longer than that just put them in the freezer immediately.
Here’s the recipe for the Meatballs in Red Sauce.
Add comment September 9, 2009
Cookout Time!
It’s Labor Day weekend and for lots of us, that means grilling out with friends and family. Our family grills out a lot over the summer. The same menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad starts to get old after a while (not to mention full of fat and calories), but it can be tricky finding recipes for grilled food that an assortment of people and their families will eat and that are healthy.
Here’s a menu that is different from your average cookout, a definite crowd-pleaser and easy to put together. And the whole thing comes in at less than 600 calories, not bad for a holiday cookout! The chicken and watermelon salad recipes each make 4 servings but you can double or triple them without any problems. You can make the chicken marinade and the rice and bean salad the night before. You can cut up the watermelon in advance, but wait until an hour before serving to mix with the feta, otherwise the salad will be too juicy. You can serve plain watermelon slices to the kids instead of the watermelon salad.
One note about the sodium content: the actual sodium you are eating is going to be less than the 1320mg listed (remember, try to stay around 2000mg per day). This is because the majority of the sodium comes from the soy sauce in the chicken marinade. The nutritional analysis takes into account the entire quantity of the marinade, but you are not eating all of the marinade and are discarding it after the chicken soaks.
Here’s the menu:
And here’s the stats:
Add comment September 6, 2009
Weeknight Wackiness
Happy back to school week! I know in my house our schedules are really getting hectic. As well as school, my kids’ sports and after school activities are already in full swing. Each one of my daughters does a different sport, Girl Scouts, choir, youth group and we haven’t even started piano lessons yet so our afternoons and evenings are pretty booked up. I know most parents of kids are in the same boat. So how are family meals supposed to happen when you are at practice or driving to and from right at dinner time? And who has time to cook after a day at work when you’re spending all your “free” time shuttling kids all over the place?
I’ve decided to do a regular series about weeknight dinner on the run to come up with some solutions to this problem: how to feed your kids satisfying, healthy meals within the confines of their extracurricular schedules. Since this may mean sometimes eating in the car or at the practice field, how do you maintain those important interactions that happen naturally around the dinner table? How do you not resort to fast food? Easier said than done, right?!
The key is planning. In order to serve healthy, homemade food you have to have something on hand that you can heat up (i.e. food made ahead and frozen), something that doesn’t take much prep or cooking time (sloppy joes, frozen fish sticks, etc.) or something from the slow cooker. You may need to get creative with having your usual dinnertime conversation in the car.
Here is one of my favorite, easiest slow cooker recipes that everyone loves. This was given to me by a friend and also makes a great party dish:
Tequila Chicken
5 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 large onions, chopped
2 large bell peppers, chopped
For juice:
Lime zest
4 limes
2 oz Tequila
1/2 cup water
1TBSP sea salt
1/2 TBSP coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch of ground cayenne to taste
Put chicken breasts into crock pot frozen. Cover with onions and peppers.
To make juice:
Zest two of the limes into bowl. Set limes aside for juicing. Juice all four limes – keeping even the pulp. Mix lime zest and juice with other ingredients and whisk together.
Pour over ingredients in crock pot.
Set crock pot to low for 8 hours.
Stir to shred the chicken
Serve with tortillas or over brown rice.
What tricks do you use to handle weeknight wackiness?
Add comment September 2, 2009
