Monthly Archives: May 2009

May 29Healthier Desserts for Your Family

After working for over a month to organize our 2009 Great American Bake Sale events, it seems pretty ironic that I am writing a post about healthier desserts options for your family. Maybe it is my guilty conscience - I filled up our community with sugar (it was for a good cause), and now I am compensating by giving you healthier options that you can add to your repertoire. We have already talked about how challenging it can be to negotiate desserts with your kids. Instead of offering dessert...

May 27Animal Themed Recipes

I'm usually not one to make cutesy recipes. I'm just not that creative. Plus I am optimistic (dumb?) enough to expect that kids might eat food that simply tastes good. Yes, I have heard that people eat with their eyes first. That doesn't mean that I make ugly food (at least not on purpose). I just don't usually put in an extra effort to make it adorable. That said, kids do appreciate a little extra effort in the food department. Whether I give it a cool name or tell a story about where...

May 22Feeding Kids Can Be a Balancing Act: Guest Post

So far, in my brief blogging career, I have only had one guest post. But when I met my new friend Kathleen, on Twitter, I knew we would be a match made in heaven. She and I both care deeply about family mealtimes and helping families avoid the power struggles that frequently plague the dinner table. Please enjoy this post - I know I did :-) Finding the Balance When You Care About What Your Kids Are Eating by Kathleen Cuneo, PhD As parents we are often faced with the challenges of setting limits....

May 20Loki Fish Co. A Sustainable Fishing Family

I love drawing connections between food and family. Our family enjoys eating together, especially when the seasonal bounty comes from our farmer's market (and now, even from our own back yard!) Loki Fish Co. has taken it one step further - they have even mastered the art of working together with their families to share their Alaska and Washington Wild Salmon with others. Loki Fish Co. has been Certified Sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. I know - labels don't necessarily mean anything,...

May 15Our 2nd Annual Great American Bake Sale is Appro...

After nearly a month of planning, it is hard to believe that our 2nd annual Great American Bake Sale is coming this weekend! Sunday will be a whirlwind of events - our 4-H group will be selling home-made animal treats at Olompali Heritage Day in the morning and our school community will gather at Victor Jones park for our Music for the Hungry event in the afternoon. Entire families will sprawl on the grass to listen to music performances from parents and children and eat BBQ + delectables from...

May 14Table Talk - When "how was your day?" ...

Mealtime can be a challenge. Not only are some parents anxious about the volume that their kids are eating (or not!), but conversation can get downright negative. Parents sometimes complain about an irresponsible co-worker or bad management, and kids tell vivid stories of classmates who cheated at recess or teachers who play favorites. How about making a concerted effort to change the direction of the table talk at mealtime in your house. First, it helps when families don't pressure their...

May 11Our Kids are Growing Herbs for the County Fair

For years, we have heard about kids who enter items into the county fair. They enter all sorts of things, like decorated cakes, home made pickles, drawings, hand sewn puppets and poems. And every year, when my kids ask why they didn't get to enter anything into the fair, I feel just a little guilty that it had completely slipped my mind. Thanks goodness for 4-H this year. Being a member has exposed us to opportunities that we had never considered - we are raising chickens for the first time,...

May 8BYO Bags:Reusable Produce Bags

Every once in awhile, I come across a product that I think everyone needs to know about. I have to give credit to my good friend Jenn, who discovered these little gems in her local grocery co-op and was generous enough to mail them to me as a birthday gift. As soon as I laid my eyes upon the set of BYO Bags, I knew that they would be a big hit with my friends. In fact, I loved them so much that I ordered the bags to sell on my website! BYO Bags are an earth-friendly alternative to plastic produce...

May 6Recipe Types for Cooking With Kids

What's with the junk food on Kid's Menus at restaurants? It reminds me of the assumption that most people make when they learn that I teach cooking classes for kids. "You must bake a lot of cookies," they say... Is it that difficult to believe that kids can enjoy good food? I don't mean "good" like "indulgent". I mean good as in fresh, just-picked, seasonal and sustainable. We all know that kids who help in the kitchen are more likely to eat what they have created. Kids don't need...