Monthly Archives: September 2010

Sep 27What's Cooking with YOUR Kids: A Family Trip to ...

I was excited to hear about my friend Laurie's family trip to China over the summer. Her daughter, Quincy, offered to share her thoughts about her experience...Take it away, Q. China, food, people, and farms. But the food, the food I loved! It was all so cool. I admit, I didn’t eat all of it, but I did try some food that I would have never eaten in the United States. We were also told that some Chinese eat fried grasshoppers in the night markets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also loved...

Sep 24Comfort Food for a Child with New Braces (Apples...

The other day, our almost 10 year old got braces. She was very brave and even gave me permission to take this scary photo. But watching her in the chair gave me flashbacks to my own days of having a mouth full of metal - and the soreness and discomfort that went with it. It was time to plan some menus filled with soft foods that she would enjoy but that wouldn't add to her pain. It wasn't the best timing, considering our apple tree is bursting with fruit. Gone are the days that she can...

Sep 21What is Gleaning and how does it improve School ...

Gotta love buzz words. "School lunch reform" is all the rage these days. And you may have even heard about something called "gleaning." But really, what the heck is it...and most importantly, how does it help your kids? Check out the efforts of Marin Organic and how gleaning not only benefits our students but our local organic farms, as well. Is there anything like this in your community? If so, we'd love to hear your local success stories.

Sep 17New Salad Bars: We Have a Lot to Learn

I suppose the best way to learn how to have a salad bar at your school is simply to jump in with two feet. We prepared as much as we could, of course, by reading about other schools and programs that have been successful and by talking to kids and parents about ingredients that they would like to see included. The food service department for our school district purchased salad bars for 7 of our elementary schools, the kids, their parents, and even the teachers are excited - so it was time to...

Sep 153 Food Storage Jars go Head to Head

With all of the talk on Twitter about cool and crisp weather, it seemed like a good time for me to put our food storage containers to the test. When I talked to representatives of Kids Konserve and Klean Kanteen at the Natural Products Expo last year, both told me that their insulated jars would keep food hot. I have heard that song and dance before, so I decided that I'd put them head to head with the Thermos jar that I already had at home. Here is where you will see my checkered history as...

Sep 13What's Cooking with YOUR Kids - Maia's...

Since so many of you seem to enjoy hearing stories from parents and kids about their experience in the kitchen, I thought I'd open up the discussion a bit further. Several of our friends were lucky enough to travel abroad this summer and they volunteered to share their food experiences with us. I remember the days when we would only be able to eat in Asian restaurants because we knew the kids would eat rice, at the very least! And now, they are growing up and are getting more excited about...

Sep 10New Salad Bars for Elementary Schools - Feedback...

I am sorry! I had to take down the video for this post until we get permission from the parents of the children involved and the school district. I was too excited and published too early. Coming soon: What we learned from our first day with the salad bar, complete with tips to make it run smoothly for your school. Are there salad bars offered at your school? Do you have any advice, tips or tricks that you can share?

Sep 8I’m Just a Mom, Not the School Food Police

Houston, we have a problem. Parents approach me all the time, thanking me up and down for working so hard to improve our school food. They are tickled pink about our new salad bar (launching this week) and they love that we are bringing in more freshly prepared foods and less processed junk. But then there are other parents who see me approach, and say "Michelle - turn away. You won't want to see what so-in-so is eating." Or, "Don't look - the kids are eating cupcakes in the...

Sep 6What's Cooking with YOUR Kids: Oakland Girl Eats...

An old friend of mine just told me that her 10 year old daughter started a blog about a Kid's Life in Oakland. After reading her first post, I knew that I wanted to share her writing with you. Not only is she an excellent writer, but she is very enthusiastic about sharing her experiences with other people. When I told her that I am sharing stories from families about their food adventures, she immediately agreed to write a guest post for What's Cooking. Without further ado, here is her story... An...

Sep 3Potato Gnocchi – A Fun Cooking Activity with K...

Full Belly Farm. Those three little words make my stomach rumble. When I saw some of their beautiful golden potatoes the other day, I brought some home, even though I wasn't sure how I would use them. The new issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine was in the kitchen, and my daughter pointed out a recipe for Simple Potato Gnocchi and suggested that we could make them together over the weekend. Ah-ha - problem solved! My daughter doesn't like lumpy potatoes and I wondered how I would...