Vegetarian Bolognese & Kids ate it up!

So the other night I was at a loss for what to make. We got lots of zucchini from our share in the buying club and we had tons of other veggies from past shares that I needed to use up. I had to come up with some dish that the kids would eat. I decided on a Vegetarian Bolognese (no meat since I didn't have any) and it was a hit so I'm sharing it here (so that I remember how to make it again) and so that it might inspire you to try something like it on your family.

• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 1 leek, cleaned and sliced (I happen to have it and love the flavor but you can certainly do w/o)
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• olive oil, a couple tablespoons
  
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 big zucchini or 2 smaller ones
  
• sea salt & black pepper
  
• 1/4 cup of grass-fed cream OR about 1/2 cup grass-fed milk and a roux
• handful of grated Parmesan
  
• 1 pkg pasta - we like brown rice pasta by Tinkyada

Cook pasta according to directions.

Saute onion, leek, and garlic in olive oil until the onions and leek begin to brown and caramelize. Add chopped carrots and celery and saute several more minutes until the carrots are just about tender. Add zucchini and saute until caramelized and season with sea salt and some black pepper.

Here is where I would have just added cream and let it bubble a little (if I had some white wine I probably would have added that first and let it evaporate down and deglaze the pan and then added the dairy but I didn't have either so had to make a thicker sauce with milk and a roux) so I added about 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan coating the veggies to make a roux and sauted a minute. Then I added the milk and brought it to a simmer to thicken.

Blend the whole thing to a thick creamy sauce. I used a hand-held but you could move to a blender to make a smooth sauce. Add more milk to thin it out if necessary.

Toss with pasta, top with grated parmesan and serve. They even thought meat was in it, it was so hearty.

Even Better the Next Day:
The next day for lunch I added 1 egg mixed with 1/4 cup of grass-fed milk and mixed it all together with the pasta tossed in the sauce. I put it in a casserole dish and baked it 375F until the top was crunchy, then topped it with some cheese that melted over it as it was still warm. They loved this version even more and the flavors of the sauce were even better the next day. They asked me to make it again!

Please note:
My kids, three out of four, do eat vegetables. They are bombarded by fruits and vegetables all the time seeing me and my husband eat them, and they always have a selection for snacks (washed fruits and sometimes some veggies are on the table around snack time) and during meals. But, for some reason, even the vegetable-eaters don't seem to be too fond of zucchini. It's one of my favorites so I'm not sure why, so yes, as I was making it, I got a lot of "eww, zucchini, I don't like zucchini" and "that has a lot of vegetables, what are WE going to eat?" and "I'm not eating all those vegetables and I hate zucchini" but once it was blended they didn't know (until I told them) and they ate it up and LOVED it!

Hope your family does too! My kids ate it too fast for me to snap a pic so I'll make this again soon and post it. My non-vegetable eater (well, he eats some if I insist and wait for an hour, which I do) declared it was the best he's ever tasted!

This is part of Kitchen Stewardship Make it from Scratch blog carnival

Alphabet Soup: PLU

How to tell what you're eating - what do those numbers mean?

Tags (PLU "Price Look Up" code sticker) on fruits and vegetables can help you identify organic, conventional and even genetically modified produce.

• ORGANIC produce stickers start with a 9 and have 5 numbers
• Conventional ones have 4 numbers
  
• GM (Genetically Modified) produce have 5 numbers like organic produce but start with the number 8 so be particularly cautious of those fruits and vegetables

Choose 9 for peace of mind -

This is part of Food Renegade's FIGHT BACK FRIDAYS where people who are fighting back against the dominate food culture blog about our adventures in real food including:

• updates & stories about our Real Food journey,
• tips,
• recipes,
• anything we think others might find useful, helpful, encouraging, or inspiring.

Mama was Right! (weight loss, processed health foods, real foods)

Like many of us, my weight has fluctuated a bit during my adult life. I was both thinnest and biggest all during my twenties. I feel healthiest now.

My husband and I started rethinking our eating when we were pregnant 12 years ago with our first. The changes came slowly with lots of research. Then I got mad that I could not find the foods I wanted locally so we started an organic grocery delivery business. I had a mission to have a real food store, a real "whole foods." but I acquiesced under customer requests and started to offer more packaged things and the latest and greatest super foods.

Sometimes things didn't sell in time at the store. Sometimes we received short-dated product but didn't catch it in time. Whenever something was short-dated, it found it's way to the local food banks (we donated twice a week imperfect produce and products) and of course some made it into our home since I had lots of guilt from buying it but it not selling in time. It was organic, and I had taken it a step further and researched the products and ingredients, so it was the best packaged stuff we could get; I figured it was ok once in a while. But once in a while became pretty regularly without me even noticing. I continued to prepare most meals from scratch.

Then we lost it all. Our business collapsed. No more access to foods. We lost our house, our savings built up over our entire working careers, we lost everything. The most depressing part for me was opening my empty refrigerator wondering how I would feed my children. Literally, I'd cry. I was beside myself. I figured I could never afford organic foods again and was almost resigned to buying the cheap packaged stuff. I had even pictured in my mind my children's quizzical reactions at their first cheap non-food meal that I'd prepare with love. While I was losing some weight from the stress of it all, I wasn't feeling well.

Then one day I really watched my youngest play and realized all he really needed in life was me. We had lost our money, our home, and our business, the economy was bleak and jobs were tight, but, we had one another. And we still had our health. I have always been so thankful that I was able to have children in the first place when so many of my friends had trouble. To top that off, I have such wonderful and healthy children; we had a lot! None of us are on any medications, no aches and pains, no problems pooping and all those other things we see commercials for on television. No over the counter meds or prescriptions. We were healthy because overall, we had been eating well and nourishing our bodies.

I realized we needed fresh organic fruits and vegetables!

Around this time we were reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff, and Real Food: What to Eat and Why. We were convinced to eat it real. And so we have.

Since our store closed we have all lost weight and feel healthier. The kids have not been able to open a box when I was too busy to get up to make them something. Now when I don't have something ready to eat, they open the refrigerator and grab a fruit or piece of cheese. We have no packaged processed "health" foods in the house. We eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, grass-fed meats, grass-fed butter and whole milk, wild fish, cheese, organic eggs from free-range hens.

We eat a lot of eggs; they are an inexpensive source of protein and very versatile. Pastured eggs (eggs from hens allowed to pasture naturally) are best. I remember when we were first getting into organics I looked at the price of organic versus conventional eggs and told Jack "we eat so many eggs, look at the price difference, we can't afford to eat organic eggs." And he said a very wise thing that I will never forget, "since we eat so many eggs, we cannot afford to get conventional ones."

Our egg consumption has gone up considerably since that time, up to a dozen a day (and no, we do not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, we are quite healthy) to feed our family of four kids and two adults. I know the difference (conventional hen houses are disgusting to say the least) and my body does too.

There is also new research to indicate that organic foods and foods with less pesticides and chemicals allow our body to more easily maintain a healthful weight and actually help our body lose weight. It has to do with our liver having time to use the excess fat instead of working overtime cleansing our body of the unnatural additives we ingest.

Sure it can take more time and requires some planning, but to me, that is what life is all about. Planning a meal, preparing the food with care, nourishing your loved ones with delicious healthful real foods that they enjoy, and sneaking vegetables into every dish as well as offering plenty on the side for color, flavor and variety. Being a healthy weight, avoiding the doctor, saving money, enjoying one of life's pure pleasures: food - to me that is all part of a real life and thankfully, a big part of ours.

This is part of two carnivals
and the carnival on Weight Loss/Gain, Share strategies for losing weight (naturally, of course) or gaining weight, if that is what your goal is sponsored by:


and Works for Me Wednesdays

Papaya Salsa & more - Dinner a la Buying Club

Since getting all these goodies in our boxes least week, I have been making salsas, fruit platters and lovely salads all week long.

The other night I made a Papaya Mango Salsa to enjoy with the Mexican-Spiced ground Beef, Collard Chips, and fresh organic non-GMO Corn on the cob.

The papaya mango salsa was a big hit - we had a papaya that wasn't quite ripe but had a little mold spot so I cut that away and peeled the fruit, took out the seeds, and chopped it in strips. Then I added some other things. It was really delicious.

Papaya Mango Salsa:

• 1 unripe Papaya sliced
• 1 ripe sweet Mango cut into chunks
• 1 ripe Avocado cut into chunks
• 1 handful fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 of a Jalapeno chopped fine (seeds, ribs and all if you want it spicy!)
• 1 juice of a fresh Lime
• Sea Salt
  

We had that with some simple Mexican-inspired sauteed ground beef.

• 2 Cubanelle Peppers sliced
• 1/4 of a Jalapeno, with ribs and seeds if you want it spicy
  
• 1 onion sliced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon each: oregano, chili powder
• 1lb Grass-fed Bison or Ground Beef
  

Saute up the peppers, onion and garlic, add the tomato paste and spices cook a half minute more. Add the meat and saute until done.

These were locally grown Florida Cubanelle Peppers. They are normally long and pale green. I let mine go a couple days and one started turning red, as you can see.

They are crispy, juicy and mild tasting. Great chopped fresh for salad or in a sandwich, but their shape begs them to be stuffed! Today I just sliced them up and sauteed them into the dish.

Collard Chips were a nice crunchy side dish. We have made them before from Kale but never thought of Collards until someone at the school mentioned it to me so we gave it a go and they are wonderful and surprisingly not bitter at all.

• 1 bunch Collards washed, tough stem removed
• olive oil
• salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut Collards (or any other green) into chip pieces. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in batches, each in a single uncrowded layer for 10 minutes. Turn once and cook another minute or so until crisp.

For dessert we enjoyed a sweet VERY juicy yellow watermelon, one of our favorite kinds of watermelon.

A fun meal thanks to the Buying Club goodies! Last week's box included:

• Strawberries
• Pineapple or Blood Oranges
• Fuji Apples
• Bananas
• Lemons
• Limes
• Florida Cantaloupe
• Florida Roma Tomatoes (most groups)
  
• Florida Collard Greens
• Florida Yellow Corn
• Florida Cubanelle Peppers
• Florida Jalapeno Peppers
• Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Scallions
• Hass Avocados
• Broccoli
• Baby Peeled Carrots
• Garnett Sweet Potato Yams

The Papaya and Yellow Watermelon were part of the extra fruit add-on to the regular buying club share in our group.

The club has certainly been a fun way for me to try new things and give old favorites a new recipe. It keeps our refrigerator colorful and fresh and we always have lovely healthy things to snack on during the day. I have appreciated the food, freshness, quality, and variety very much and hope those of you who are in our buying club or another one in your area, are also venturing outside your normal menu and enjoying yummy fresh seasonal organics too!

Roast! (and I ain't talkin' Beef)

Sometimes the ugliest* fruit is the sweetest. Sometimes the simplest preparation of meals are the most delicious. And many times, the ugliest and simplest help make eating real food affordable and convenient.

Roasting is the easiest, simplest, quickest, and quite a tasty way to prepare vegetables. The method can be used on almost anything and it's pretty much the same:

1. Cut up veggie into equal sizes.
2. Drizzle on oil and toss to coat.
3. Sprinkle on grey salt or sea salt.
   
4. Lay it flat on a cookie sheet so they are not crowded.
5. Roast at 375F for 10 - 30 minutes until done, usually until they begin to brown.
   

Variations have to do with what vegetable, oil, and temperature.

• You can roast at a higher heat, 425F, for less time. I usually choose that method.
• You can toss in olive, coconut , walnut, macadamia nut, or sunflower oils. Don't use corn or soybean oil or another GMO oil.
• The big secret is not to overcrowd the pan, otherwise they will steam instead of roast.
• Choice of vegetable or mix of vegetables is the biggest change.

Roasting enriches the flavor and deepens the color. It offers variety into our weekly menu and can be done for any seasonal vegetable. It is quick and easy, nutritious and delicious, and comprises of 3 ingredients and some heat.

Here is a combination of Purple and Yellow Cauliflower florets pre- and post-roasting:

NOTE: Roasting does shrink them some AND they are so delicious everyone, including the kids, will eat more so roast more!

Try Roasting:

• Root Vegetables together - try a combination of Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips, Rutabaga, even some pieces of Fennel mixed in
• Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes - cut in similar shapes but try different ones like squares, frie cut, big beefsteak fries, rounds
  
• Cauliflower - see Cauli-power
• Broccoli
• Greens - take out the ribs and cut into equal sized "chips" and roast Kale or Collards. Check out this great blog with pictures and clear easy instructions and yes, even your kids will eat it!
• Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Green Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, just about any vegetable can be roasted.
  

The timing depends upon how big or small you cut them and how dense the vegetable is, so check it after 10 minutes, you are looking for the beginning of caramelization and browning on the vegetables. You may need to give them a turn with the spatula mid-way through. Enjoy your veggies - this method is quick and easy and very delicious.

This is part of the Simple & Nourishing Carnival on Keeping it Simple with meals.

* Sometimes the fruit that looks over the top is the sweetest and can be gotten for nothing since no one else wants it. Don't always judge a piece of produce by it's looks, like many things in life, it's what inside that counts.

See more:

• Eat Your Veggies
• Time Saving Kitchen Tips: The Healthy Pantry
  

Carrots, Chlorine, & Kids, Oh My!

The internet is great for sharing information. Unfortunately, it's equally great at sharing misinformation. And as we all know, a little information can be a dangerous thing.

Once again, the email about baby carrots is circulating. This says that it's from a farmer and gives some fancy labels explaining that baby carrots are "dipped in a solution of water and chlorine to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in pools)." Some of the emails claim the carrots are not real and call them "practically plastic" and others say they are deformed carrot mutations and that is why they are cut up into baby carrots. Even better it goes on to say "You will notice that once you keep the carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables?" After reading that, how can we feed this to our precious kids?

I checked on snopes and there are some valid points and some clear non-truths. That is in addition to the spelling error for aesthetically. I also took this a step further contacted Bunny-Luv the maker of the organic baby carrots directly and learned:

1. The white residue is evidence of dehydration not chlorine.
   
   
2. Chlorine is not a preservative and cannot be used as a preservative, it has not preservative qualities.
   
   
3. Grimmway/Bunny-Luv uses the same amount of chlorine found in your regular drinking/tap water NOT the levels from a pool. So if you wash your food under your tap water, you are doing the same thing.
   
   
4. Baby carrots are NOT plastic or practically plastic or deformed carrots, they are big carrots cut to size.
   
   
5. Baby Carrots are not cut from mutant carrots, they are just created from regular larger carrots or the tops after processing carrots for other things like frozen or shredded carrots.

This was the response from Grimmway/Bunny-Luv:

"We do use chlorinated water in the processing of our carrots; HOWEVER, the amount of chlorine used is only 4ppm (parts per million) which is the same standard for household tap water. If you wash your vegetable under running water from your faucet, you are getting the same amount of chlorine we use.

Chlorine is not a preservative as it has no preservative qualities. It is used to kill any bacteria that may be present on the surface of the carrot. The dry white that can appear on carrots is not chlorine residue; it is simply evidence of dehydration. Cut and peel any carrot and allow it to sit for awhile and it will turn white. I hope this answers your question."

So baby carrots, at least organic ones, are safe to eat and are a good food to feed our children.

HOWEVER, it is true that Chlorine is a carcinogen. Chlorine is probably the most widely used toxic chemical. It is used in clothing, paper products, laundry bleach, cleaners and scouring pads. We use it to clean, we add it to our pools, we add it to our laundry to get our whitest whites.

Chlorine is readily absorbed through the skin and is toxic when inhaled. Chlorine Bleach, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Hypochlorite, and Sodium Hydroxide can irritate lungs, burn eyes, skin and internal organs (if swallowed). Chlorine can react with other chemicals, like ammonia, to damage lungs. In fact, it was used full strength as a weapon to destroy the lungs of soldiers in WWI.

Once Chlorine gets into our environment, it forms cancer-causing compounds. It is a "hazardous pollutant" according to the Clean Air Act and is on EPA's Right To Know List. It is the chemical most involved (tops the list for children) in poisonings, injuries and even death. Studies show a link between dioxins and cancer as well as reproductive problems, endocrine disruption, and a weakened immune system.

We should make the effort to eliminate it from our laundry, cleaning, and washing. We should also take steps to eliminate it from our showers (which are a toxic mix of chlorine heated next to vinyl shower curtains – a horrible combination - that's another post!)

We buy baby carrots because they are convenient. We can add them to soups and stews. They are an easy kid-friendly snack. They are great for dips and the crudites platter. They save us time from peeling and washing and therefore allow us to add a vegetable to our day easily, even on the go.

Baby carrots are a REAL FOOD made more convenient and much better than opening a bag of chips or pretzels. Please don't stop eating carrots. But do take steps to take chlorine out of your life where possible.

This is part of

Eat Your Veggies

Kids will eat their veggies when prepared properly, offered regularly, and abundantly set in a great colorful variety.

Children will go through a fussy phase. Sometimes it starts when they see another child (older sibling, friend, cousin, classmate) give the puke face to a certain food. But other times it seems to just come out of nowhere. This is to be expected. We have to remember that children have a a much finer palate than we do as adults. They have twice as many taste buds (or taste bugs, as we call them in our family) so sour tastes sourer and sweet that much sweeter. When you think about it, this evolution in our bodies makes sense. As children, a new plant that might cause severe stomach cramps in an adult could kill a child.

We're told to introduce them as infants to veggies first so they don't get a taste for sweet first, but that is not really true. After all, their first food, breastmilk, is very sweet. It is supposed to be like that. So don't despair if you offered your child fruits before vegetables as an infant. It's never too late. You can (and I feel must) teach your child good eating habits as early as possible but it is never too late.

Children are instinctively curious. If they see you enjoying something, they will enjoy it too. So the first and best way to get veggies into your child is to enjoy and eat them regularly in front of your child. They learn by example.

Kids will often be more apt to try something that they chose. Have them shop for something in your refrigerator or with you online or in the grocery store or farmer's market. Have them help prepare it with you. "I did it!" can help instill a sense of pride in their food; with rave reviews on their cooking, they may willingly give it go.

Some kids grow out of their finicky phase gracefully, but some may never grow out of it so don't wait for it to just happen. We need to insist that they try new foods and we have to try new foods too. Be patient, extremely patient for your must stubborn child, and absolutely lovingly yet firmly insist they must try it. Be prepared. They will make gagging noises, cry, scream, threaten, even all out puke, oh gosh, I've been through it myself too. Just be calm, and be ready to sit there for a half an hour if need be, until they take a bite. It starts small but eventually they will start eating their vegetables and actually enjoy them! Your patience and persistence will impact their future so take a deep breath and do it now, no matter their age.

The day they ASK for a certain vegetable will be a gracious reward for all those painful hours that you will finally be able to look back upon and laugh.

How to get your kids to eat their veggies:

1. set a good example
2. offer a colorful variety
3. offer vegetables at (virtually) every meal and for snacks
   
4. let your child choose what to try
   
5. cook with your kids
   
6. prepare them deliciously - do not overcook
   
7. put it on their plate, at least one tiny piece to start
8. be patient, insist that they take a bite, you have all night
9. next step is to insist they take at least three bites
10. offer it again at another meal maybe prepared differently. Insist that they try a new food at least ten times before they express their displeasure (this is ten times over weeks or months, not all in one day.)

It may not be easy. It may be close to impossible. I promise, they will not starve. Eventually they will see that you mean business and they will take a bite without any fuss. But they are clever and know how to push your buttons and they will try and avoid it. Stand your ground. You are doing the right thing. Have them try the new vegetable first or after two bites of another food that they like on the plate but don't wait until the end of the meal. Be patient. Be persistent. It is worth this aggravation.

Roasting vegetables is such a simple and delicious way to prepare vegetables.

Here I have some yellow cauliflower and asparagus.

Just put in a pan, don't crowd it, drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle on some sea salt, and roast in a preheated 425F oven until it begins to caramelize and brown and until tender, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes depending upon what you're roasting and how thick it is.

Roasting with oil and salt intensifies the sweet flavors and, as you can see, the colors, of the vegetable.

Any vegetable can be prepared this way: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, leafy greens, really any vegetable, give it a try!

I sometimes sprinkle on some dry spices, like the curry powder I added to the green beans, before tossing it with the olive oil. I think it's important that children try a variety of flavors from spicy to sweet, all within reason of course, and I ask them to try it and give their review (while certain words like gross, disgusting, foul, are off-limits) of that food empowering them in their decision. Yet, they know they will have to try it again one day too. We've talked about how their taste bugs change as they grow up.

Other ways to get veggies into the kids:

• have them available in the fridge: have cleaned carrot and celery sticks in the fridge ready for dipping in a nut butter or ranch dip
• add veggies (even pureed) to breakfast frittatas (we love spinach basil pesto and even my fussiest pickiest worst vegetable eater now loves it! Believe me, I have one and I DO understand. See most post on greens for the recipe.)
• You can add a kale leaf to the breakfast smoothie and they won't even notice. If you add 2 (remove the tough stalk) then it will take on an enticing pale green color.
• Juice with your kids! Kale and Apple are a great combo - have them do a blind taste test at first or use a shot glass to have them gobble it quickly until they realize, hey, this is delicious (because it tastes like sweet apple juice - only it's green! I've even said how they can freak out their friends with their green food the next time they're over.)
• Use veggies to decorate the plate - better yet, have your child do that. Use carrots as legs of animals, make a face with different vegetables.
• Add pureed greens to soups, stews, even baked goods if you want. Add pureed cauliflower to mashed potatoes. Add pureed butternut squash to macaroni and cheese. Make a sauce from pureed veggies. Add pureed veggies to your egg base before making chicken fingers or fish sticks. Add pureed leafy greens to pasta sauce. Casseroles and stews can hide a multitude of healthy veggies. Add tomato paste to ground beef for tacos or meatloaf. Offer a selection of veggies for homemade pizza.
  
• Get some dried veggies and have fun sampling those.
• Kids may actually eat FROZEN peas cold as a fun treat. (btw, frozen grapes are fun too!)
• Top with melted cheese - melted cheese makes everything delicious.
• Add crunchy bits of bacon - everything is better with bacon.
• Cook in a tablespoon of butter, olive oil, or coconut oil.
  
• Teach good nutrition lessons so they know why vegetables are so important. Explain how many we should eat and why. They will eventually hear you and understand it better.
  
• Play like an animal and have fun eating leaves like a giraffe or a baboon and act them out.
• Include fruits and vegetables in their lunch box.
• Eat dinner as a family, have a good selection of fresh vegetables available, set a good example by eating and enjoying your vegetables yourself.

Instilling healthy eating habits that last a lifetime, teaching and setting a good example, the rewards for this patient lesson (even when you're ready to pull your hair out and give up) is the best thing we can do for their good health and future.

This is part of Food Renegade's FIGHT BACK FRIDAYS where people who are fighting back against the dominate food culture blog about our adventures in real food including:

• updates & stories about our Real Food journey,
• tips,
• recipes,
• anything we think others might find useful, helpful, encouraging, or inspiring.

Cauli-Power

My kids love cauliflower! Bet you can't say that. Maybe you can, maybe you understand the smile that starts in your toes and draws to both sides of your face when your child asks for a fruit or a vegetable or something as unhip as cauliflower.

I admit it; I was a cauli-hater. I saw no real redeeming value in that white (so I figured tasted bad AND not high in antioxidants) cabbage-like vegetable. That was until I roasted it one day and the bowl hardly made it to the table as we all tasted and tasted and tasted. That's still our favorite and easiest way to prepare cauliflower. The kids LOVE it. I love it. Even the Husband loves it. I bet the dog would too if he ever got any but we clean the bowl. Now I buy and make two at a time to keep up with our ravenous cauli-tite.

Like Broccoli, Cauliflower is a cruciferous super-vegetable that helps ward off and fight certain cancers. Only cruciferous vegetables are rich in the nutrients isothiocyanates, sulforaphane, and indole-3-carbinol, all linked with reducing the risk of breast, prostate, cervical, lung, and other cancers. Cruciferous vegetables boost the immune system, support cardiovascular health, build bones, fight cardiovascular disease, fight age-related macular degeneration, and help fight against birth defects. We should all make them a part of our healthful delicious diet.

Be on the lookout when YELLOW or ORANGE and PURPLE Cauliflower is available. Broccoflower and Romanesco Cauliflower, that's the one that looks like a lime-colored crown, are also fun and different. We love to try new vegetables and in new ways but hey, when you find something you love, like roasted cauliflower, well we make that all the time.

Roasted Cauliflower Power

Preheat oven to 425F
Chop up the cauliflower into sort of even size pieces so they cook the same
Drizzle on some olive oil and toss it around to coat it. Sprinkle on some sea or grey salt.
Lay on a cookie sheet. Do not crowd it. This is important, if you crowd it, it will steam, not the delicious goodness you are looking for so don't crowd it.
Roast 15-20 minutes, maybe more depending upon the size of your pieces, until it browns and caramelizes at the tips and tops and is tender. (Fork it to be sure, you don't want it tough or chewy, should be tender and soft and delicious!) Enjoy hot out of the oven - I dare you to get it to the table without a massive dent in the bowl.

Will make a cauli-lover out of any cauli-hater, takes one to have known one.












Roasting vegetables this way can actually make any vegetable more delicious as it caramelizes it. You can chop KALE and do the same thing (again, be careful not to crowd it and WATCH IT - don't overcook it - then crunch away like potato chips.) Broccoli is great roasted too. So is sliced cabbage. Remember the secret is not to crowd the pan.

So good. So easy. Roasted veggies are a healthy food my kids love!

Some other things I do to add nutritious foods to our kids bellies:

• Breakfast Smoothies of course - I add flaxseed meal, flax oil, or chia seeds for added omega 3s as well as a healthy amount of fresh and colorful fruits, splash of vanilla, some honey or maple syrup and maybe a dash of cinnamon to milk, yogurt or kefir.
• I add leafy greens to stews, dinners, lunches and our favorite is adding a healthy dose of Spinach to Basil Pesto which I add to everything from brunch Frittatas to Stews to Pizza. Getting more veggies is much easier when you start the day with foods like frittata. See my post on Greens here with that recipe and more ideas.
  
• We have a hot breakfast in the morning, no cold cereal, rarely hot cereal, it's usually eggs. The lutein, antioxidants, protein, are all good to start their day. Some of them like scrambled, others like the yellows good and runny. Of course only organic and preferably pastured and free roaming and not soy-fed.
  
• The kids love grassfed meat and rice and of course I add shredded zucchini and other vegetables, like a stir-fry.
• The kids enjoy (healthful) yogurt as a snack or a meal. They like dipping spelt pretzels into it or fruits. Make sure it is real yogurt, not the ones loaded with sugars, emulsifiers, fillers and rBGH. We like Seven Stars organic biodynamic brand best - the vanilla rocks but we usually get plain and add the maple syrup and vanilla ourselves.
  
• We eat together. We eat our meal not several different meals. We eat together. I had to say that twice because I have seen several friends feed their kids "kid-food" first and then clean up the kids, send them away, and sit down for the adult meal. Kids need to be part of that adult meal. They need to see us taste new foods, even if we don't like it. They need to see us eat our vegetables. They need to be with us and we need to be with them.

I'm not a believer in hiding vegetables in the brownie. If that's your thing, that's cool, it's just not mine. I think that the brownie should be experienced unadulterated and pure, with very little flour and only whole wheat, and succanat, but you will not find spinach puree in my baked goods.

I will, however, hide vegetables in ground beef, meatballs, meatloaf, pesto.

I think kids should see and enjoy the color of vegetables and experience each one at least three times, yes, even under duress and threat of taking away every electronic device that they cannot bear to live without. They won't starve, I promise, well, they may for a couple days if they are as stubborn as one of mine, but hey, it's part of the adventure and eventually they will indeed eat the food you prepare for your family.

For more tips on how my children make good food decisions on their own see: How Has Real Food Changed Our Lives?

This post is part of two Carnivals:

Getting Human is the topic for today at

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is about Kid-Friendly Real Food - Healthy Food Kids Love! Join the Real Food Wednesday Carnival by heading over to CheeseSlave and Join the Works For Me Wednesday Carnival by going to We Are That Family.

"That Sure is Colorful Lettuce, Mommy!"

We are greeted at the grocery store by fresh colorful produce piled high. Apples in pyramids, bananas stacked like a puzzle, and then there are those lovely crisp greens nestled one on the other. If you are like I used to be, you approach slowly, touch them, maybe even pick one up only to shrug not knowing what to do with it. Not anymore! Turns out it's easy to prepare that wide variety of fresh greens. They are versatile and delicious, nutritious and an essential part of good health.

Greens offer a nutritional wallop of high levels of vitamins and minerals including Vitamins A, B, C, E, K, beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, folate, lutein, phytochemicals, cartenoids, and chlorophyll. Greens are naturally high in fiber, low-fat, low-sodium, and low in carbohydrates. Most greens are also considered cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in nutrients isothiocyanates, sulforaphane, and indole-3-carbinol, all linked to reducing the risk of breast, prostate, cervical, lung, and other cancers. Not only do they work to lower the incidence of cancers, cruciferous vegetables boost our immune system, support cardiovascular health, build bones, fight cardiovascular disease, fight age-related macular degeneration, and help fight against birth defects. If you're looking for a super-pill, greens are the answer!

Most all greens can be simply sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onions. Some people like them spiced up with hot sauce or dried chili peppers or with a little kick from a splash of vinegar. Some greens are bitter but turn sweet as they cook longer. It's very easy to incorporate greens into your regular meals, both raw and cooked. The variety makes it easy to enjoy them in everything from breakfast frittatas and omelets to souffle, stews, salad or quick saute.

Many people discard the stalks but I have found that those can be cooked and used along with the leaves. What I normally do is add the stalks earlier in the cooking process to get them started, add the leafy greens toward the end to keep them vibrant.

Greens tend to be dirty so clean them easily in a sink full of water, just agitate every so often. The dirt will fall down to the bottom. Pat dry before cooking or salad spin dry if using raw to get off the excess water.

Chard is a lovely green, very much like Spinach. Chard, also called Green Chard or Swiss Chard, has green leaves with white stalks. Red Chard, pictured below, has green leaves with red stalks. The color adds antioxidants but they are all Chard, pronounced with a hard CH like choo choo. Rainbow chard pictured at the top has vibrantly colorful stems.

When my then 3 year old saw it he declared, "that sure is colorful lettuce, mommy!" He was right. You can use chard raw or cooked. It is mild so does not need to be cooked a long time like collard greens (Today we're just talking about more mild greens but I'll attack more bitter greens like collards, which are absolutely delicious when cooked low and slow!, another day.)

The stalks of chard can be used much like you'd use celery. They are perfect added to a stir-fry.

Sweet & Salty Chard Saute

1 bunch chard, washed, rolled and sliced into thin ribbons
.25lbs pancetta (optional but it adds a nice salty bite)
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chicken broth (or veggie or even water but we like chicken broth)
handful chopped almonds (lightly toasted if you like)
splash of apple cider vinegar

Saute the pancetta until crispy. Remove. Add the onions and saute until caramelized, add garlic. Add the chard, don't worry, it will cook down. Top with stock & raisins and cover. Cook on medium covered for 8 minutes turning every so often to mix it all up together. Uncover and cook a couple more minutes, continuing to turn in pan. Top with chopped almonds. My husband likes a splash of apple cider vinegar too.

Another fave with Chard is Syrian Swiss Chard with Chickpeas by Joan Nathan. We make that every Rosh Hashanah.

Kale is another mild green. It comes in Dino or Lacinato Kale which has a more prehistoric look as well as Curly varieties - both Red and Green. Kale is a good one to juice since it's not bitter or strong and even the kids will like it if you add an apple as that masks the veggie flavor.

Kurly Kale Chips
1 bunch curly kale
olive oil
sea salt

Rip off the leaves and roughly chopping in appealing uneven pieces. Toss with some olive oil and salt and roast at 425F for a 3-5 minutes until crispy but NOT brown. You will probably need to flip them 1/2 way through the cooking. The secret is to keep them in a single layer when cooking so that they will crisp up instead of steam.

Black-eyed Peas, Kale, and Red Pepper

3 pieces bacon (optional)
1 onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper chopped
big bunch of fresh greens like Kale
1 can black eyed peas
1/4 cup chicken (or veggie) stock or water
hot sauce

I made it with bacon but you can certainly leave it out. What I did was cut a couple pieces of bacon into pieces and fry them up. Once crispy, I removed them and set them on a towel to drain and poured off most of the grease. I left enough to saute 1 chopped onion until translucent and then added 2-3 chopped garlic cloves. Let that saute up another minute. Added a whole bunch of chopped Kale (you can add stems first and cover for 2 minutes and then add the leaves but for this dish I discarded the stems because I didn't want that firmer texture with the creamy beans.) Add the diced red pepper (I love the flavor of fresh red pepper so I don't saute that with the onions. The fresh flavor, crisp texture and lovely red color remains if you don't cook it out.)

Add one can of black eyed peas, sea salt, freshly grated black pepper, and 1/4 cup chicken stock (if you omitted the bacon, you can add water or veg stock instead to make it vegetarian) cover and simmer 5-8 minutes. Some people like their greens more wilted but Kale isn't one of those bitter greens so we enjoy it a little fresher. You can cook it longer if you prefer.

Take out everything with a slotted spoon and reduce the liquid by cooking another minute or two uncovered. Top with a splash of hot sauce, fresh diced tomatoes, the crunchy bits of bacon and serve over brown rice. This is a meal in itself but you can use it as a side dish.

Spinach is another super veggie and we try to eat it twice each week. Bunches are usually inexpensive but bags of baby spinach can be a super convenient for salads or adding to stews, soups, or a quick saute. If using a bunch, do not chop off all the stems, trim gently at the base as the sweetness is in the stems.

While some juice spinach, we prefer it cooked since cooking breaks down cell walls and allows us to absorb more of it's nutrients. However, there is debate on whether to eat spinach raw or cooked since it contains oxalic acid. Cooking breaks down the oxalic acid into crystals that can limit the absorption of iron so always add some iron-rich foods with spinach. Eaten raw, oxalic acid in spinach cleans our intestinal tract but also binds with calcium and diminishes the absorption of calcium so enjoy calcium-rich foods when eating it fresh.

I make and freeze basil spinach pesto which I then add to stews, soups, and frittatas. I like to keep it in the house fresh and frozen so I have it on hand for all sorts of things including:

Basil Spinach Pesto
This is a good way to get spinach into the kids and husband and they won’t even know it! The spinach adds nutrients and a lovely green color but you won’t even know it’s there. If you don’t use it all in a couple days, freeze it into ice cube trays and then you can take out a cube whenever you need it.

1 bag of (organic) spinach
1 bunch (handful) of basil
Handful of pine nuts (about ¼ cup)
1 – 2 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon Salt & grinds of Pepper
Lemon Zest (optional) (from one organic lemon)
Olive oil (about a ½ - ¾ cup)
½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (imported or organic)

Boil a pot of water. Drop the spinach in for a moment then remove and put in ice water. Drain well and dry best you can. (Spinach offers more nutrients when cooked but you can also use raw spinach if you prefer.) In a blender or cuisinart blend the spinach , basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper until ground into a thick paste. With the blender on, stream in olive oil. Stir in cheese by hand. Taste, add more salt if necessary.

This is very versatile and flavorful and perfect to have on hand to make any meal gourmet. Toss with pasta by itself or add chicken and/or veggies. Use as a spread on sandwiches with cheese and deli meats. Use as a pizza topping. Add to soups or stews for an Italian flavor. Mix in cream cheese and use as a dip. Add a little cream or cream cheese or use as is to top meat, fish, veggies, or chicken before or after cooking. Mix with eggs to make a green eggs frittata.

I made green eggs for my son's class when they had Dr. Seuss day with spinach-basil pesto mixed in a frittata. The kids said they were the best eggs they ever had!

Green Eggs Frittata

8 Eggs
¼ cup milk or cream
1 small container Ricotta Cheese (8 or 12oz)
1 handful Parmesan Cheese
¼ cup Spinach Basil Pesto (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt & some grinds of pepper

Preheat oven to 425F. Put pan in oven to heat. Mix all ingredients together.

Remove pan and butter around all sides of pan. Add egg mixture. Cook for 20-30 minutes until slightly golden on top and done in the center. Depending upon your oven, you may need to turn the pan around after half-way through cooking for even rising and browning. This is a soufflé so it will fall therefore serve immediately. Great for breakfast, brunch or lunch served with side salad and toasty garlic bread.

Creamed Spinach is classic and actually simple to make. You can use a roux if you don't have cream to thicken the sauce. So many recipes on the web so I won't add mine here but be sure to add a scrape of fresh nutmeg to your white sauce.

Spinach Souffle is easy, light, and tasty.
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package frozen bag spinach
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare souffle dish with butter and then coat with bread crumbs or some grated parmesan cheese. This allows the souffle to climb up the wall and cling to the side.

Beat egg whites on medium to high with a pinch of cream of tartar if you like, for added insurance.

No need to defrost the spinach, just break it up and put it in the food processor. Pulse until grated.

Make roux - add butter to pan and melt. Add flour and stir. Allow to cook one minute and bubble but not brown. Add milk and stir to make sure no lumps. Once it boils again it will thicken, mix in the shredded cheese. Mix in the frozen grated spinach. Add the 4 egg yolks. The pan should be cool enough now from the frozen spinach to add the egg whites but you can move it all to a bowl instead if you prefer.

Take 1/3 of the egg whites and mix into the spinach mixture to lighten it up some. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites. Bake 33 (don't peek or open the door for at least 30 but check at that point if it maybe needs 5 more minutes.)

Nontraditional Picadillo
1lb grassfed beef
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 to 2/3 cup or so pitted olives stuffed w/almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper diced
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon grey salt or sea salt
black pepper
spinach, frozen or fresh, whole package

Saute onion and garlic. Add ground beef and brown. Add can of tomatoes, tomato paste, raisins, olives, cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add fresh spinach and toss in there to wilt it (if you're using frozen spinach put that in with the raisins and then cook uncovered a bit more if too liquidy) and cook 2 more minutes. If you don't have olives with almonds, add olives and then chopped up almonds on top before serving. Serve over rice.

Chicken Spinach Stew
I was kind of sick so I didn't fuss too much and was surprised how delicious and easy this came out so had to share it.

2 packages chicken (we used breast w/bone and thighs w/bones)
1 big red onion diced
2 tablespoons flour (optional as thickener)
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 12oz can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb carrots
1 package frozen spinach, like 10 oz
water
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Warm pot, add chicken skin side down until it browns, about 6 minutes. (I normally would have removed the chicken then and added the onions, garlic and stir around a bit to get up the brown pieces. Then add the flour and cook one minute. But I was not feeling well so I just threw it all together in one step and mixed the flour with the water and added that when I added the water.) Then to the chicken, onions and garlic add a can of stewed tomatoes and then fill that can with water twice and add that with diced (or whole baby) carrots, sea salt, pepper, cadamom, and frozen spinach. Simmer 30 minutes until done. Enjoy with rice.

Even better the next day, take all the chicken off the bone and shred it up. Add the rice and warm it all up together. Made me feel all better.
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If you think your child won't touch greens, first, set a good example. Then explain. My 3 year old is on a non-veggie kick, take them off his plate and move them away from him. I showed him that it was all yummy. Took a couple bites in front of him while we actually talked about how healthy vegetables are and how they make you strong all the while making yummy sounds. He finally said, "souwy, mommy, I want to try it." and ate the whole thing, well, until he looked at the spoon and then looked at me and said "I just don't like to see it." so we got a different bite that hid the greens and he asked for more. It takes patience but they will eat their veggies, especially when they are not overcooked and are delicious.

Greens create a classic salad, can be added to sandwiches and wraps, can be used as a wrap instead of bread. You can create pockets using greens, like mixing meats or beans with grains like rice or bulgur and then steam them in the big green leaves or braising them in a tomatoes or stock. When we make soup I always toss in some greens, frozen or fresh, at least a couple handfuls. Greens can be added to omelets and frittatas, mixed with pastas, or pulverized in your food processor to be mixed in meatballs or used as a topping to chicken, beef, fish. Juice fresh greens (we like a bunch of kale, 2- 3 stalks celery and one apple) to supercharge your day

Add Greens, fresh or frozen, raw and cooked. A super-food, they come in a huge variety and can add great texture, color and flavor to your menu while adding lots of nutrients to your life.