Kids and Salad

I've seen and heard of kids eating all kinds of salads. I see it with some of my friends' kids, and on Pinterest that kids eat all kinds of raw veggies and salads for both lunch and dinner. It hasn't been our experience here. While my kids do eat vegetables, they're usually cooked in some way (with the exception of carrots and celery). 

So last week when my older daughter (9 years old) had a sleepover with my niece, I was shocked to get a text that she had devoured the salad my sister made for dinner that night. "Must have that recipe," I texted back. And boom! Just like that, a new chapter has begun chez moi. I went out the next day and bought the ingredients: arugula, endive, parmesan and lemon and served it at a dinner party where it was gobbled up by four out of the five kids, and by all of the adults. The salad itself is nothing earth shattering. We're not recreating the wheel here. But it is enormously comforting to see that if you keep offering new foods, that one day kids will be comfortable enough to give it a go. 

My daughter even requested it for lunch today. A first! She says she loves the spicy arugula and the mild endive mixed together. And she's a huge parmesan cheese fan. Plus, most things taste amazing with olive oil and lemon. 

Do your kids eat salad? If so, what kind? 

Arugula Salad with Endive and Parmesan

8 oz baby arugula 
1 endive, sliced
4 oz Parmesan, sliced with a cheese plain
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil to taste

Toss all salad ingredients together. Drizzle olive oil and squeeze lemon juice on top. Combine everything and eat immediately. 

The Thing About Comfort Food

When you think of comfort food, what comes to mind? My mom always says it's her mom's fried chicken wings or a baked potato.  And sure, while fried chicken wings are comforting in their decadence and deliciousness, they are not the first thing that I yearn for. As for baked potatoes, I realize this sounds crazy to some, but they never appealed to me. It's easy to find goodness in a great array of foods that are labeled "comfort foods" (like chocolate chip cookies, big juicy burgers, chicken soup or cheesy pastas). But what is it about comfort foods that make them so comforting anyway? What exactly are we looking for in comfort food? 

I've spent a fair amount of time these past few weeks helping a loved one who just had major surgery. Last week, I made dinner for her kids while she was in the hospital and yesterday I brought groceries to cook in her kitchen for her family. Both times, I relied on my own definition of comfort food: simple roast chicken (dark meat only). For me, roast chicken is a return to home. To reliably delicious family dinners where I sat around a formica table for 18 years with my parents and sister and discussed the comings and goings of the day. Where we hashed out familiar family chatter and where I began to discover, embrace and enjoy the world and my place in it. I'm grateful for those evenings, and a large part of what I find comforting in the food is that return to the simple pleasures of the company of loved ones. 

The smell of my mom's roast chicken and the taste of juicy thigh meat with white rice soaked in chicken juices is, to me, the most comforting food ever. When I was little, we had vegetable minimums; my mom told us we had to eat 4 green beans or two pieces of broccoli. I never had a problem with that, and in fact, green beans alongside that chicken and rice absolutely completes the comfort meal for me. And we must have eaten rice three days a week with dinner. I absolutely love rice. 

So as I set out to make a difficult time even slightly easier for my loved ones, I returned to my concept of comfort food and made roast chicken. I made some additions and modifications to suit the tastebuds of others and included a spinach salad with eggs, onions and bacon with a warm bacon vinaigrette that I knew would be appreciated. 

What do you seek in comfort food? 

Roast Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potato Chips

8 drumsticks
2 large sweet potatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the chicken on a baking tray lined with either aluminum foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle salt, garlic and thyme on both sides of the meat. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Slice the sweet potatoes into rounds. Arrange on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Roast for approximately 35 minutes or until the juices of the chicken run clear and the sweet potato chips are slightly browned and crispy. 

Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, Onions and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

10 ounces baby spinach
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1 package of bacon
6 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Toss the spinach and mushrooms in a large bowl. Fry the bacon in a pan (I used a cast iron skillet). Remove the bacon and  reserve most of the bacon grease. Fry the onion in the same pan, in the bacon grease. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to the salad. Remove the onion from the pan and when slightly cooled, add to the salad. While the skillet is still hot, add the mustard, sugar and red wine vinegar with the reserved bacon grease and stir vigorously so that the mustard clumps dissolve and a fragrant dressing magically materializes. Add the sliced egg to the salad and pour on the warm vinaigrette. Special thanks to The Pioneer Woman for the idea of this recipe! 

10K for LLS

I had a magnificent morning! 

I love to run. I love when music is blasting at an inappropriate volume in my ear as I propel myself forward. I love knowing that the sweat is well earned. I have some of my most productive, clearest thoughts while I'm running and for me, running is a solo adventure. It's precious time by myself. 

it's inspiring to be surrounded by so many motivated people!

Today, I ran the Oakley Mini 10K, the world's original women-only road race, to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, a cause near and dear to my heart. I joined over 7,800 other women, all of whom had dedicated their morning to completing 6.2 miles around New York's Central Park. It's an overwhelming feeling for me; though I'm dedicated and content to complete the run by myself, I'm inspired by the crowd. 

In fact, I felt a bit choked up with emotion during the first mile, as I saw women of all ages, stages and fitness levels, filled with determination. And here we all are, lucky enough to take in the beauty of Central Park on a fine Saturday morning. 

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of so many folks in my life, I raised over $18,000 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Those funds will be used to fund research for new, life saving and life-improving drugs and for patient and family education and services. My team, Moms In Training, raised over $400,000 for today's event. This is a victory! 

The best part of the 10K? That was definitely when I saw my family at the finish line. Feeling so blessed today. 

Guide to Safe, Nut-Free Lunches

The school year is winding down, but all kids still need to eat lunch every day. Thanks to the strict nut-free guidelines at my son's preschool (soon to be my daughter's preschool!), I've learned about a ton of products that are both nut-free and produced in a facility that does not process nuts. As a nut-allergic person, it is incredibly comforting to be in a school that takes this seriously. Thankfully, my son doesn't seem to have any food allergies but because of me and as a family, we're hyper aware of those who do. As we approach a new lunch packing season, for families with kids headed to day camp, I wanted to repost this guide to help those who need to pack nut-free lunches for whatever reason. 

Below you'll find a guide to safe, nut-free lunches, largely based on a great, detailed list that I received from my son's school. A note about safe, nut free lunches: fresh, whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables are always a great inclusion into any lunch. And always nut free! If you have product recommendations to add to this list, please add them to the comments below so that others can benefit too. Happy summer! 

Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #1

Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #1

Cheese and crackers is always a fun lunch for kids, especially if you add variety with a couple of different cheeses and crackers. 

Here are some crackers that are produced in a facility that does not process nuts:
* Kavli Crispbread - 5 grain
* Back to Nature - Harvest Whole Wheats
* Carr's Whole Wheat Crackers
* Mary's Gone Crackers Original

Hummus produced in a nut-free facility:
* Sabra Hummus
* Tribe Hummus

Want to make your own? Try these:
* Hummus
* Black Bean Dip
* Carrot White Bean Dip

Pretzels made in a facility that does not process nuts:
* Happy Herbert's Pretzels
* Unique Pretzels
* Annie's Pretzel Bunnies

 Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #2

Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #2

My kids love lunch on a stick. We like to use tongue depressors for our fruit and cheese kebabs.

Yogurts processed in a nut-free facility include:
* Stonyfield Farm yogurt
* So Delicious Vanilla coconut yogurt (dairy free)
* Chobani yogurt
* Fage yogurt

For popcorn kernels to pop at home (we're huge fans!) you can use Arrowhead Mills Organic Popcorn Kernels (also gluten free). 

Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #3 

Safe, Nut-Free Lunch #3

We are big fans of sunbutter. It's not hard to make your own at home, as long as you can find sunflower seeds that are packaged in a nut-free facility and not roasted in peanut oil.  My son loves it either with jam or banana slices. You can pack sunbutter as a sandwich or a roll up (made with a tortilla). Sunbutter Sunflower Seed Spread is processed in a nut-free environment and is also gluten free. Cascadian Farm makes Spreadable Fruit, which is made in a nut-free facility. 

* Happy Herbert's* Unique Pretzels* Annie's Pretzel Bunnies

Breads made in a nut-free facility include: 
* Udi's Whole Wheat Bread
* Rudi's Multigrain Bread

Tortillas made in a nut-free facility include: 
* Rudi's Tortilla Wraps
* Alvarado St. Bread Tortillas

Cheese Sticks packaged in a nut-free facility include:
* Organic Valley Stringles
* Horizon String Cheese

Other nut-free facility lunch options: 

Homemade snacks: 
My favorite nut-free and dairy free granola bars, made with Enjoy Life Foods dairy free chocolate chunks
Oatmeal Banana Bars
Dairy Free Banana Bread made with Earth Balance

Graham crackers: 

* New Morning Organic Cinnamon or Honey Grahams
* Annie's Bunny Grahams
* Mi-del Honey Graham Crackers

Cereal:
* Kashi Cinnamon Harvest or Autumn Wheat
* Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Raisin Granola or Maple Brown Sugar Granola
* Cheerios

Rice Cakes:
* Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes or Organic Caramel Corn Rice Cakes or Cinnamon Rice Cakes

Fruit Snacks:
* Just Tomatoes etc. - Dried Fruits and Veggies (also gluten free)
* Little Ducks Organics - Tiny Fruits (also gluten free)  

Quick, Easy Pasta for Busy Weeknights (and Egg Experiments too!)

Between spring fever, family birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and the end of the school year, it's a wonder that anything gets done. Apologies for the silence of late, but we've been knee deep in egg-related science experiments, end of year activities and preparations for the busy Back to School season for LaLa Lunchbox and LaLa Breakfast. In the midst of everything, I've discovered a super easy, really fast dinner that has made our crammed days much easier: Pasta with Boursin and Peas! Here's my favorite part: once the kids tasted it, they immediately requested it for their lunches. And boom! Just like that, the ten minutes it took to put this dish together saved me big time on lunch as well. 

As an aside, did you know that if you put eggs in vinegar, the acid breaks down the egg shell? 

Did you also know that if you place a hard boiled egg in toothpaste for 24 hours, remove it and place the egg in vinegar for 48 hours, the part that was submerged in toothpaste will not decay? Pretty cool – and also a really cool way to show the importance of brushing teeth! 

Anyway, back to the pasta. I've made this once a week for the last four weeks and two of my kids have been wolfing it down for dinner and lunch (my third child can't have dairy). Remember Boursin? I remember slathering it on crackers as a kid and absolutely loving it's creamy, salty, garlicky flavor. Okay fine, I admit it: I used to eat Boursin with a spoon. Didn't you?! I hadn't even thought about Boursin for decades but when I came across the concept on Pinterest, I tried it immediately and the kids went nuts. 

Here's how we did it: cook one pound of pasta (whole wheat or white) and when it's finished and still hot, add 4 ounces of this (use the remainder for crackers, naturally!): 

Add peas to that (I used 6 ounces of frozen peas that I quickly steamed) plus fresh pepper and some lemon zest and bam! Dinner is done. Lunch is too, if you've got leftovers. Hat tip to Joanna Goddard for finding this deliciousness and Danielle Oron for creating it! 

Here's the full recipe (slightly modified from the original):
1 lb pasta - I used penne but anything will suffice
4 oz of Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs
6 oz frozen peas, steamed
fresh ground pepper to taste
zest of 1/2 lemon 

Cook the pasta as directed on the package. Drain the pasta and while still hot, add the Boursin and stir so that the cheese gets all creamy and delicious. Add the steamed peas. I included 2 TB of the water from the steamed peas so that the pasta had better moisture. Add the lemon zest and mix thoroughly. 
 

I removed the peas one night and had them on the side instead.