Flying with Kids

We just took a super long flight. Well, technically it was one relatively short flight followed by an overnight flight.

You know when you get on an airplane and you see that baby and you think "aw, cute baby! Hope she doesn't scream during the flight." Come on, I know you've had that thought. I have too. And I admit - my baby was that baby on both of our flights. 

Flying with kids is hard. We didn't buy a seat for my littlest one because we don't have to until she is 2 and frankly, flying is really expensive, whether you use miles or dollars so why buy a fifth seat if you don't have to? Anyway, as my baby was arching her back, flailing and screaming at the top of her lungs (she happens to have a fantastic set of pipes and everyone in the nearest 700 rows could hear her) I thought, well, I'm trying my best and this sucks for everyone including me. She's having a tough day and while this may be disruptive to others, I would certainly change it if I could! I am certain that the woman sitting next to my eldest daughter with her fingers in her ears did not share my calm mindset. 

Anyway, I digress. When we awoke from flight #2 in the morning after a fitful night, breakfast had been placed on our trays. Before I could even blink, my son had opened a little container of what masquerades as jam and began licking it and scooping it out with his fingers. Ugh. I asked him if he licks jam like this at home. No, he said, he doesn't. I'm not sure what would compel him to do it on the flight but it's a tricky situation as a parent. 

I didn't want to shame him for what he had done but I did want to make it clear that I was not okay with licking red jam-ish substance made with four types of added sugar including high fructose corn syrup. Though he was disappointed, I simply told him that's not the kind of jam we eat and threw out the package. I'd like to say that I don't change the way I feed my kids while we are on vacation, but I don't take a hard line on it with everything and I wonder if that sends a mixed message. 

I gave the green light for my son and older daughter to drink cran-apple juice when the beverage cart came around, and that's not typical for us. Is throwing out that jam but allowing the sugared beverage controversial? I don't know but I'm guessing yes. I suppose we all draw lines in the sand in various places.

What are your go-to strategies for long flights with kids? Do you adopt the "whatever, it's vacation" strategy? Or do you prefer the "this is how we eat as a family, and it doesn't include HFCS and other crap" approach? Or are you like me and still trying to come to terms with some of the grey area? 

Best Books for Gifts

Certain books have been cornerstones for my family as my kids have gone through various phases. New baby? My oldest daughter loved Julius, Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes. First day of school jitters? My daughter read the Berenstain Bears over and over. Dealing with feeling excluded by friends at school or fighting with siblings? We've recently been reading The Quarreling Book, by Charlotte Zolotow and Why Are You So Mean to Me?, a Sesame Street Book.

In my house, I've been especially interested in watching how each of my kids responds to books that have been beloved or ignored by their siblings. I recently compiled this list of my three favorite books to give as gifts but in truth, it was agonizing to get down to just three. So I figured I'd use this space to throw out some of our other all time favorites: 

• Yoko, by Rosemary Wells
• Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi
• Roberto, the Insect Architect, by Nina Laden
• Making Friends is an Art, by Julia Cook
• Mouse Tales, by Arnold Lobel
• Mouse Soup, by Arnold Lobel
• Pete's a Pizza, by William Steig
• Duck in the Truck, by Jez Alborough
• Go, Dog, Go, by PD Eastman
• Some Dogs Do, by Jez Alborough
• Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl
• Ramona's World, by Beverly Cleary
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sachar

Would love to hear your family favorites! 

Fresh Chickpeas

As I've said before, I like to try new foods. So when I came across fresh chickpeas, I couldn't pass them up. I never even knew that the chick peas I know and love and eat all the time, originally look like this: 

A quick google search turned up a bunch of ideas that sounded delicious, like this one from Bon Appetit and this one from Epicurious and this one on Yum Sugar. For my first foray into fresh chickpea land, I decided to try them sautéed and eaten from the shell like edamame, as I found on Bon Appetit. I tossed 1/2 pound of them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then added them to a pan on medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes, when little brown crispy spots appeared on the pods. 

Meanwhile, I added 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds to a hot frying pan and toasted them until they became fragrant. When those cooled, I added them to the rest of my spice mix, which included 2 teaspoons of each: salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic. 

Once the chickpeas were done, I tossed them with the spice mix and served immediately. 

My husband and I agreed that these would be easier to eat if the pods were sturdier, like edamame. But they were tasty nonetheless. I probably wouldn't make them this way again but I'm certainly eager to keep experimenting with fresh chickpeas.  

Red Lentil Pasta

Grocery shopping is always an adventure. Ok fine, sometimes it's a chore, but I've always kind of enjoyed it if I'm not in a hurry. I love to choose my own produce and meat. I like to see for myself what new products are out there. The other day, I chatted with a woman in the pasta aisle while I was picking out dry pasta for carbonara (note, this is totally unusual for me. I'm not one to chat up strangers at the grocery store). She was putting several boxes of a pasta I hadn't seen before in her cart - it's single ingredient pasta by a company called Tolerant Foods, and it's gluten free, non-GMO and organic, made from legumes. 

Wow. As it turned out, this woman is gluten free and loves this stuff. I'm not gluten free but I love to try new foods. I checked out their website and you can buy their products online. They are pricey... but you can sign up for their mailing list if you'd like and get a $2.00 coupon.

And so began our red lentil pasta adventure. My littlest one is fond of flavors that my older kids avoid like the plague, like sun-dried tomato and peppers. This red lentil pasta experiment was just for us two. I soaked one ounce of sun-dried tomatoes in water for about 15-20 minutes, then drained and chopped them. I also chopped two scallions and 1/3 of a bell pepper. 

Meanwhile, I brought a pot of water to a boil and added the red lentil pasta. I let it cook for 9 minutes (the box says 8-10 minutes). I reserved 1/4 cup of the cooking water and drained the rest. While that cooked, I sautéed the tomatoes, peppers and scallions in olive oil for about 5 minutes. 

I added the reserved cooking water and the drained pasta to the sautéed veggie pan and stirred to combine the ingredients. 

I scrambled an egg and added it to the pan after I turned off the flame to make the sauce richer. This was unnecessary. I'll leave out the egg next time. 

Success! The little lady and I both enjoyed this lunch! I'd buy this pasta again and plan to experiment with loads of recipes with this red lentil pasta and with their black bean pasta.

Red Lentil Pasta with Peppers and Sun-Dried Tomato
6 oz red lentil pasta (the only version I've seen is from Tolerant Foods)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 bell pepper, chopped
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water, drained and chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Cook the pasta as directed on the package. Before draining, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Drain the remaining pasta completely and set aside. Meanwhile, sauté the vegetables in olive oil over medium heat for approximately 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the reserved cooking water from the pasta, return to a low heat and let the pan bubble so that some of the water evaporates. Add the pasta and stir. Add chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste. ** I added a scrambled egg here but I don't think it's necessary. ** Serve and enjoy immediately.
 

p.s. - these opinions are my own. I am not paid to this brand or compensated in any way to mention them here. 

Carbonara for Food Revolution Day 2014

My kids are frequently in the kitchen with me, and conversations about where our food comes from and how to prepare it healthfully and deliciously is part of our family fabric. Today is Food Revolution Day, and this year's message from Jamie Oliver really hits home: "I believe that it's every child's right to be taught about food, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies. Without this fundamental knowledge, they'll grow up without the skills or even the desire to eat better." Beyond the knowledge, I want food and food preparation to be fun for my kids. I'm excited for them to try new flavors and develop their palates and taste preferences. Experimenting in the kitchen exposes them to new flavors and helps to free them of inhibition to taste new foods. It also sends a message that setting aside the time to prepare real, whole foods is a family priority. I'm thrilled that Jamie Oliver has been so successful with Food Revolution Day; it is now celebrated in 117 countries! 

Today I've come across loads of events, recipes and blog posts recognizing Food Revolution Day. I absolutely loved this one by Bettina Elias Siegel of The Lunch Tray about home cooking as a political act and agree wholeheartedly with her when she says "I want them to learn by osmosis that we don't need Big Food to feed us, and that we can actually do a better job when we take back control of the cooking."

Today in honor of Food Revolution Day, my kids and I made Pasta Carbonara - a family favorite. This recipe has four ingredients. Three ingredients for my littlest one, who is dairy free and therefore eats the version without cheese.  

pasta, eggs, bacon, parmesan. 

First, we boiled the water to cook the pasta. The classic carbonara is all about spaghetti but my kids love this twirly shape best. Meanwhile, we fried up the bacon. I use Applegate's organic Sunday uncured bacon and I like to put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before making this recipe so that it's easy to chop before frying. 

When the pasta is done cooking, I reserved 1/2 cup of the pasta water to use in the recipe (full recipe below). My daughter added it to the bacon and then added the cooked, drained pasta. 

I added the eggs and stirred quickly to incorporate them into the pasta without making scrambled eggs. I set a portion aside for my littlest one. My older kids then added cheese and stirred. Yum! Because the pan is still hot, the cheese melts beautifully. 

This dish is easy to make with kids in the kitchen. It uses simple, real, pronounceable ingredients. And it's a crowd pleaser! 

Pasta Carbonara
1 pound of dry pasta
4 large eggs
8 ounces of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan
pepper to taste
salt for boiling water
 

Method
Boil the pasta in salted water as directed, until it's al dente. While the pasta cooks, fry the bacon in a pan over medium heat for approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat them. Set aside. In another small bowl, grate the parmesan. When the pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining. 

Turn the heat back on to medium on the bacon pan. Add the reserved pasta water and stir. Add the cooked pasta and continue stirring until the water has evaporated and the bacon is evenly distributed. Take the pan off the heat again. Let sit for one minute. The pan will still be hot. Add the eggs slowly and mix quickly to thicken the sauce and to prevent the eggs from scrambling. At this point, you can add black pepper to taste for a dairy free version of carbonara. Otherwise, add the grated parmesan and stir well to combine. The cheese should melt immediately into a rich, creamy delicious sauce. 

Serve immediately. (this recipe serves 4-6 people)

Happy Food Revolution Day!