Monthly Archives: May 2011

May 30Does Your Child Need a Feeding Therapist (Part 2...

I asked our awesome What's Cooking Facebook community if anyone had questions for my friend Dawn, a feeding therapist. Of course, many of us struggle with family mealtimes, and we got some excellent questions. Let's get to it... Is it detrimental to a child's eating health/habits to "force" new foods on them? This is an area that is so dear to my heart. I see way too many families force-feeding their children. Unfortunately, a lot of therapists teach parents to force-feed, trick them by...

May 27Forget Hard Boiling Eggs - Steamed Eggs are Easy...

Forget Hard Boiling Eggs – Steamed Eggs are Easy to Peel

I opened the refrigerator door over the weekend, closed it again, and went to the phone. I called our neighbor and told her that it was time for her to start saving her empty egg cartons. Ever since we adopted 3 new hens recently, we have been getting fresh eggs faster than we can use them. I love hard boiled eggs, but I hate to peel them. In fact, I might actually have an egg-peeling disfunction. I end up creating craters and losing up to 1/3 of my egg when all is said and done. ...

May 25Improving School Lunches with Sprouted Wheat Bre...

Improving School Lunches with Sprouted Wheat Bread

Unless you live in a cave, you know that school food has a bad reputation. I am excited to report that in our district, at least, it's getting better. Our food service director surprised me with an invitation to visit Alvarado Street Bakery in Petaluma, where she plans to source the bread for our school district next year. My food service advisory committee colleague, Susannah, and I went to learn more about their sprouted wheat breads and got to see the inside workings of the bakery. Unfortunately,...

May 23Le Creuset Farm Fresh Steamer Set Giveaway

The International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference in Austin is fast approaching, and I have been helping to put together our signature Kids in the Kitchen event. It has been a major team effort, and I was thrilled when Le Creuset signed on to sponsor our garden to table workshop with children. They will be giving generous gift packages to each of the families we cook with, along with some tools for us to use in the Austin Whole Foods Market culinary center. I love...

May 20Are All Processed Foods Bad?

When you think of "processed foods" the center aisles of the grocery store probably come to mind. I imagine rows and rows of brightly colored packages filled with chemical concoctions disguised as foods. But I have news for you. Some "real" foods have to be processed before they can be sold in the stores. Does that make them "processed foods?" I don't think so. On my recent trip to Sacramento to learn more about the walnut industry, we visited a walnut orchard and then saw how...

May 18Does Your Child Need a Feeding Therapist? (Part ...

Does Your Child Need a Feeding Therapist? (Part 1)

Whenever I do speaking engagements about family meals or cooking with kids to groups of parents, someone inevitibly shares a story about their challenges in getting their kids to eat. I mean REAL challenges. Like their child only eats 5 different foods. Ever. It got me thinking...there must be LOTS of families in this same situation. I talked with my friend Dawn, feeding therapists and she agreed to answer some questions. Hopefully they can offer some support if you are experiencing...

May 16Is There Spinach In Your Brownies?

There are two sides to every story, especially when parenting strategies enter the picture. And most of the time, each side is fueled by passion and the sense that they are right. And the other is wrong. Several years ago, there was a huge buzz about two books that were published almost simultaneously: Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef. Both talked about how parents can amplify the nutrition in the foods they feed to their children by including purees of veggies or beans. Let's...

May 13My Favorite Knives for Kids

One of my most popular posts of all time is the one where I help parents teach their children to use a variety of cutting tools. You don't have to hand over your cleaver - there are lots of other cutting strategies! My true favorite cutting tool for kids? These Curious Chefs knives... No, they are not paying me to say this (although I wouldn't complain if they did! Goodness knows I talk about them enough...) But they did send me some free knives to use, since I use them in almost...

May 11Making Sense of Egg Labels

I have been getting a really nice response from my recent articles about the beef industry and how to read (and understand) meat labels. Several people have asked if I could talk about Eggs next. So, here we are... Let's get some vocabulary out of the way first. As usual, many of the labeling terms don't mean what you think they mean. “Free Range” chickens have access to a door leading outside. But that doesn't mean that they can reach it or that they are brave enough...

May 9How Food Cravings Might Be Harming Your Child's ...

How Food Cravings Might Be Harming Your Child’s Health

My son recently left our neighborhood public school for a special school for children with learning disabilities. In the few short months that we have been there, I have noticed some quirky eating habits of the students. Many families don't realize that the diet that our children consumes can be connected to their learning challenges and their behavior. It got me thinking about food allergies and how difficult it can be for families to notice that certain foods aren't good for our children. Why...