Into the Mouths of Children: Red Lentils

I received an incredible amount of feedback from the Brussel Sprouts Post; apparently mothers are very interested in recipes, specifically those that are healthy for the kiddies. I also realized that nutritional education - especially for that of children - is really not such common knowledge...

I was recently at a social gathering where the conversation led to kids and food. When I mentioned the 3 things that I would never let my child consume, my statement of  "no coffee, coke, or sugar-free anything", was met with total confusion! Many of us Americans were raised to believe certain things without actually understanding them: that sugar-free was better than sugar (for your teeth!), that coffee was natural (as a drug!) and that soda was created for kids (and a recipe for diabetes!).

I was fortunate enough to grow up with the most nutritionally-educated woman I know: my mother. Unfortunately, I'm not claiming to doing much of what she taught me, but there is something to be said for knowing what is healthy and what is not. It makes for a much better starting-point. :)

My (amazingly knowledgeable) mother is currently working on compiling a life's worth of research into a book. A few months ago, she sent me over a copy to leaf through, and do some editing (unfortunately the editing never quite came to fruition... sorry ma!), but I learned some of the most amazing food-facts ever! I don't want to run off on a tangent here, so I decided to start a little category on kids/health/food: Into the Mouths of Children, and I hope to share some of her wonderfully life-enhancing health insights with you all, every so often...

Here's one of her recipes: a super-easy, super-healthy soup recipe for even the most culinarily inexperienced.

RED LENTIL SOUP:

- 2 Cups of Red Lentils (rinsed)

- 1/2 Onion

- 4 Garlic Cloves

- 2 Celery Stalks

- 2 Carrots

- 1 Handful Fresh Italian Parsley

- 3 teaspoons Salt

- 2 Bay Leaves

- (about) 7 Cups of Water

Give the lentils a good rinse in a colander and let them sit over the sink to drain. Drizzle some olive oil into a pot and let it heat up on a medium flame. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, toss it into the pot to begin sautéing. Roughly chop the celery, carrots, and parsley. Add them to sauté as well. When the onions are nice and translucent, add the lentils, salt, and bay leaves. Add the water, cover the pot halfway with the lid, and after it hits a boil, let it simmer for a little over an hour. Remove the bay leaves, and use a immersion blender to blend it up in the pot. Serve hot. Pine nuts (or pignolis) serve as an excellent garnish - adding a delicious element of earthiness to this wonderfully deep soup.

P.S Freida loooooves this!! And I'm quite sure most children will go for it as well...

You can find red lentils in most grocery stores, by Bob's Red Mill, or Aromatica Organics. You can also buy them by bulk in Whole Foods Markets. Red Lentils contain an impressive amount of iron, fiber, folate and vitamin B¹ - but they are made up mostly of protein, so when serving to children remember that this soup is protein-laden, i.e. a small bowl with some whole wheat toast as croutons or garlic bread is a complete meal!

Enjoy the wholesomeness!!

Into the Mouths of Children: Brussel Sprouts

When I turned 9 years old, my parents got me a very funny birthday card about 9 wishes and the only one I didn't find that funny was about not having to eat any more brussel sprouts... I loved brussel sprouts! I didn't have them that often, but once in a while, especially around this time of year, I'd enjoy some well grilled and seasoned brussel sprouts (I'm pretty sure I called them "cabbage balls").

Unfortunately in America, the green stuff all lands in the same dinnertime angry-toned-mother stigma - "eat your broccoli". I've been giving Freida broccoli since she was able to eat solids, and now, to her, a side of steamed broccoli can compete with a side of fresh strawberries any day! It's so important to involve your kids in the food choices, kitchen prep, and cooking process of all different kinds of foods. I want a home with a yard just so I can plant a garden for my kids to see that food comes from someplace a lot more amazing than a grocery store (even though Trader Joe's is pretty damn amazing, and I guess Farmer's Market cuts it close).

Kids in the kitchen are usually doing basics like baking or assembling. And while it's great for them to watch batter form from different ingredients, and tactilely beneficial for them to experiment with dough, I think it's wonderfully educational for children to work with ingredients that may not be up there on the list of kid-loved foods: garlic, fresh basil, artichokes, beans, brussel sprouts, asparagus, capers, scallions etc. It's been proven that a versatile taste for food begins to develop at a very early age, and if we teach and train them properly, it will not only be beneficial to their health but to our sanity as well!

Of course, there are the common issues, say, texture problems (Freida seems to have a diversion to mashed food; potatoes, avocados etc.), allergies, choking hazards etc. but if you are able to get around those and move forward - children will be healthier, more diverse, and culinarily well educated. G-d's food (in its natural form) is delicious in its own right, however with a splash and a dash of the right seasoning and spices - all food becomes kid-friendly.

The other day when I was unpacking my groceries, Freida walked into the kitchen to help me, and was completely dumbstruck by a stalk of brussel sprouts. She wouldn't put it down. She examined it, showed it to her "baby", pulled the leaves off, even snuck a bit of the raw stuff into her mouth for a taste-test. She wound up crying when I eventually had to take it away... so I let her sit up on the counter with me and pull them off the stalk, remove the outer leaves, and wash them (who knew prepping brussel sprouts was such a kid activity??). I spread them out on a baking sheet (cut the larger ones in half), drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled salt and pepper, and put in the oven on broil for 17 minutes. The result was popcorn like, kid-freindly goodness! Try it - they'll like it, and if they don't... you will.

The Cold Season

So "man plans and G-d laughs" - there goes my plans for getting back to normal... Freida seems to have picked up whatever was going around this past week. She had some symptoms of a cold yesterday evening, and came down with a wee bit of fever just in time for bed; our night was long and sniffly. I guess with the cold weather (no, I am not complaining, I am glad for a break in the heat!) came the cold season. And honestly, after a holiday like last, her immune system was really in jeopardy - the intense lack of sleep + the insane amount of consumed sugar and sh*t from shul = very vulnerable immunity. Should've seen it coming... Anyways, we are using all our favoritel tactics to nip this in the bud before it goes viral! Thought I'd share some "flu season" remedies.

Number 1: Crane Humidifier. Hands down, the best one out there! This humidifier can turn any room into a tropical rainforest in seconds using the safety of cool mist, and noiselessly, to boot! I've tried many others, and found this to be the only one that actually does what I need it to - keep her nose running and not stuffing. Plus, no need to hide these guys; the designs are sleek, streamlined, and even quite cute.

(The "raindrop" design wasn't yet released when we got ours, but it sure is super good looking!)

During flu-season last year I posted these other great remedies to keep the bugs at bay, and we're still using this insulated sippy-cup for echinachea-infused morning tea and warm doses of chicken soup.

I guess we won't be getting back to regular schedule for a few more days after all...

Lunch-ability!

Back to week-2 of school, new-classroom-jitters, and lunch packing pandaemonium - for most mothers with preschoolers. I've been getting heaps of "school lunch" questions, and referral-requests for good packing ideas to make lunch a bit more fun and a lot more enticing. I've stumbled upon a fantastic little lunch blog called Another Lunch, and it is the perfect place for bumping up the sandwich/snack inspiration!

I'm by no way implying that all you busy mamas are meant to have the time (or patience!) to cut out, stack, size, design, and decorate your childs everyday lunch; just that these images and ideas + a little imagination can make for much more interesting lunchables.

But before joining this lunch-party - you got to get on the trendy bandwagon; better known as: The Bento Lunch Box. It's a theory. A method. A current wave of hipster lunch packing, and it's the basis of Another Lunch blog. But first you've got to get yourself a form of a "bento", my favorite is the Goodbyn.

The Goodbyn Lunchbox $24.95

Peas Please!

Alright, this is super random, but when I figured this out I found myself wishing some seasoned mom had let me in on the secret... So I'm just sharing the discovery. Frozen Peas.

Freida never swallowed a single pea in her little life. At 5 months old she spit out the pea puree over and over again, at 9 months old she spit-shot little steamed peas out of her mouth and onto the floor, and at 15 months old (don't know why I didn't just give it up!) she actually scratched the pea remnants (after spitting it out) off her tongue!

I so wanted her to like peas! Aside from broccoli she really doesn't get many green veggies in her diet (she doesn't chew leafy greens very well), and peas are such an easy on-the-go protein to sneak into any mealtime/snacktime.

Well, today she loves peas. Frozen peas. We've dubbed them "ice cream peas", and she's obsessed. Victory. Was worth the wait... easy vitamins, fiber, and protein all rolled into one teeny tiny pea.

Try it, they'll like it. (Maybe.)