What's Cooking With Kids

Feb 16Waste Free Lunches - School Lunch Ideas for Pare...

Waste Free Lunches – School Lunch Ideas for Parents

I'm pretty excited - I just got invited to a lunchtime workshop with students at our school about Waste Free Lunches. We'll play with our food, pack some sample lunches, and come up with some menu ideas for parents. Many thanks to Amy Allen, our amazing Green Team Leader, for coordinating the work that our students have been doing at lunchtime to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here's a little primer to get you started... What's a "Waste Free Lunch" and why should we care? A single student...

Feb 14Simple Homemade Treats-Chocolate Cranberry Crisp...

Simple Homemade Treats-Chocolate Cranberry Crisps

Sometimes we get the hankering for a homemade treat, and there is nothing better than discovering that we already have the ingredients we have to throw something together. We are feeling off-kilter with a virus, but I wanted to make my son a special treat because he is starting a new school tomorrow. Luckily, I had the idea for this simple treat, which didn't require too much concentration... First, I melted a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave. I zapped them for 30 second increments,...

Feb 11Training Toddlers to Become Better Eaters

If babies are lucky enough to be born with their instincts intact, they can suckle and ingest enough nutrition to grow. At around the age of 6 months, eating becomes a learned behavior. It's easier for some babies (and parents!) than it is for others. Imagine yourself as a new eater for a second - you don't like the feel or flavor of something in your mouth, so you spit it out. Your parent smiles at you, scrapes it off your face with the edge of a spoon and then shoves it right back...

Feb 9Beyond Bananas – Seasonal Fruits in Winter

Every day, I pack a boxed lunch for my children to bring to school. And as I try to navigate the waters of my eco-friendly conscience, I realize that I need to branch out and move away from serving so many bananas. Don't get me wrong, I love bananas. My kids love bananas. But bananas have to travel all the way from another country to get here - and that can't be that great for Mother Earth. The good news is that there are many options for winter fruits that don't require a passport. I...

Feb 74 Tips for Successful Family Mealtimes (+ Pan Fr...

4 Tips for Successful Family Mealtimes (+ Pan Fried Chicken)

It's been a long day and you have even managed to make dinner for your family. Good work. But why do you still dread sitting down to the table for mealtime? Is it because of the complaining or food fussiness? Or the zoning out in front of the television? Is it the texting teenagers? There is overwhelming research that shows that families who eat meals together are healthier - not just physically, but mentally too. There are lower rates for drug use, eating disorders, depression and sexual...

Feb 4Feeding Challenges: Children with Developmental ...

Feeding Challenges: Children with Developmental Delays

If feeding your child is a struggle, you're not alone. If you can get past the frustration that you feel and think about it a little bit, eating is a complicated business. And eating can be particularly challenging for children with developmental delays. Let's take a step back and put on your scientist hat for a minute or two. I'll try to break down some of the challenges that struggling eaters might be facing. At the very least, it might offer a little perspective. Low muscle tone...

Feb 2Skewered: Food On a Stick (At Home and In Nature...

Today, we went on a birding adventure. It was glorious, and I saw 4 "life birds," which is bird-nerd-speak for "birds I have never seen before." We saw a Merlin chasing after a Northern Harrier, got a show from a beautiful Ferruginous Hawk, saw a dancing display from the Sandhill Crane, and had a fly-by from a Tundra Swan. But the most exciting part for the kids was finding evidence of the Butcher Bird. No, it's not really called that. But the Loggerhead Shrike has deserved its nickname. ...

Jan 31School Salad Bars - Smoke Screens or The Real De...

School Salad Bars – Smoke Screens or The Real Deal?

A dad emailed me recently to tell me that his daughter has been asking if she can participate in the lunch program so that she can eat salad from our new salad bar. Since the salad bar is included with the cost of the whole lunch, he wanted to know which meals were ones that I would want my own kids to eat. Um. Okay - this is awkward. I am working with the food service department to help implement the salad bar and ultimately bring in more money that can be put right back into better ingredients. But...

Jan 28Black Olive Pesto Dip – Deliciously Organic

I hope this admission doesn't make you think poorly of me. But I am not a big football fan. The only time that I really enjoy watching the game is when there are lots of people around and the event is stocked with good snacks. As a child, I looked forward to the weekends when my dad had his friends over to watch the game...but only because of the bowls filled with chips, salsa and guacamole. Not much has changed since then, except that I like a wider variety of snacks! And since the Superbowl...

Jan 27Adapting Recipes for Fussy Families (Cabbage + C...

Adapting Recipes for Fussy Families (Cabbage + Carrot Slaw Recipe)

First, I should say that I'm not the biggest fan of the term "picky eater." And neither is my friend Christina, who explains the objection more eloquently than I can...But some families are plagued with a plethora of food preferences. And while I don't always cater to a finicky child, I do make accommodations sometimes. Dinnertime has been challenging at our house lately. Our daughter has always had a very sensitive palate, and lately, our son is copying her resistance to the foods on the...