Weekend Reading - and Local Fun

Reading

Jane Brody on the NYT's Well Blog has some tips for school and families on adjusting to the new, healthier school lunches we're seeing this year. 

A new study reported on the Freakonomics blog links the consumption of fruits and vegetables with general happiness and well-being.

Speaking of which - how much did you eat on Thanksgiving? The NYT Thanksgiving Help Line takes on the standard line that it was 4500 calories. 

The Environmental Working Group has posted some tips for your Holiday Kitchen.

We still don't have a Farm Bill - and it will impact school lunch. Read more. 

Fun

Old Westbury Gardens will have holiday craft workshops for kids Saturdays in December from 10am - 1pm. Pick up a museum pass from our local library.

If you're headed to the train show at the NY Botanical Gardens, don't miss the gingerbread extravaganza in the children's adventure garden. 

Chili con Kasha - Our Sample Day Recipe

Parents Helped Serve the Samples -- Kids Picked Their Toppings

Sample Day was great fun -- and our kids loved it! Want to try it at home? Here's the recipe:

CHILI CON KASHA

Serving Size for 6 persons : 3/4 Cup Portion

Olive Oil                                             1 TBSP

Onion, finely diced                             1 Each

Garlic, finely chopped                        1 Clove

Bell Pepper, small dice                      0.25 Each

Crush Tomatoes                                 1 14 oz can

Groats/Kasha                                      0.25 Cup

Veg Broth                                           14.5 Ounces

Kidney Beans                                     15 Ounces

Chili Powder                                       1 TBSP

Cumin                                                             1 TBSP

Cilantro, rinsed and tied                     0.25 Bunch

Bay Leaf                                             1 Each

Salt                                                      1 Tsp

Optional Topppings:

Scallions, finely chopped                   2 Each

Sour Cream                                         garnish

Cheddar Ch, Shredded                        garnish

DIRECTIONS

• In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

• Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.

• Add garlic, bell pepper, and tomatoes.

• Cover and cook 5 minutes. Add kasha and broth. Stir to blend.

• Cook, covered, 5 minutes.

• Add kidney beans, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and bay leaf.

• Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes.

• Add salt to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf and cilantro.

• Serve hot. If desired, serve with sour cream, chopped scallions, and

grated cheese on the side.

JGVL Associates, Inc. 11/25/2012 

And -- here are some more photos from the event:

Box of Kasha from North Shore Farm s- $2.99!

Chili con Kasha as served

A Happy Sampler!

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 11/29

Cup of Soup
All White Meat Chicken “Bites”
Whole Grain Roll
Sweet Potato Puffs
More Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Petite Banana

And a Special Taste of Chili con Kasha for Sample Day!

I think the chicken "bites" are similar to the "tenders" -- in other words, nuggets. The chicken is from Tyson. The ingredients are: Chicken breast tenderloins, water, modified food starch, sodium phosphates, salt. PREDUSTED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), wheat gluten, salt. BATTERED WITH: Water, enriched bleached wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), modified corn starch, salt, dextrose, spices, garlic powder, xanthan gum, oleoresin paprika and annatto. BREADED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, spices, garlic powder, extractives of paprika, natural flavors (spice extractives). Breading set in vegetable oil.  The serving size of two pieces - which is what elementary students get - has 14g of fat and 580mg of sodium.

Whole grain roll - which may be partial vs fully whole grain.

And then we have The Return of the Tater Tot - a product we thought we had sent packing years ago.   This processed potato product comes from McCain's - a product called Harvest Splendor Bites.  The ingredients would then be: Sweet Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One Or More Of The Following Oils: Canola, Soybean, Cottonseed, Sunflower, Corn). Contains 2% or less of Corn Starch - Modified, Dehydrated Potatoes, Dextrin, Maltodextrin, Molasses, Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate Added To Maintain Natural Color, Sugar, Tapioca Starch - Modified, Xanthan Gum.  We do bake them but I don't know yet if they are pre-cooked (fried?) before being frozen and shipped to us.

The menu indicates the soups are vegetarian but the broccoli and cheese soup at least does contain chicken stock and rendered chicken fat.  The lentil soup is vegetarian. It looks like we may also have served a turkey soup.  I don't know which soup they are offering today.

Thursday is Sample Day!!!

Photo from Last Year's Sample Day

Sample Day is back! Last year, our kids tried - and really liked - a quinoa salad. For pictures, details and a recipe - click here.

This Thursday- thanks to our hardworking food service department - Sample Day is back!

We're very excited to be trying a "chili con kasha" that will let kids try a great whole grain (kasha) in a fun dish. As your child exits the lunch line, he or shee will be offered a small sample. Everyone is welcome to try it whether they buy or bring lunch. Once everyone has eaten, we'll have a quick "thumbs up / thumbs down" vote. If the recipe passes the kids' test, we'll see it on the lunch menu in January.

Talk to your kids ahead of time about the chance to try something new. Here are the ingredients: olive oil, onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomatoes, kasha (groats), vegetable broth, kidney beans, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, bay leaf, salt.

Kids can add cheese, scallions or sour cream IF they would like to.

We'll send home the recipe afterwards!

What's for Lunch - Wed., 11/28

Whole Wheat French Toast
Applegate® Turkey Bacon
OR
Scrambled Egg & Cheese Wrap
Herb Roasted Long Island Potatoes
Strawberry-Grape Cup

Or Salad Bar
or Fresh Fruit Plate

Thanks in part to the new nutritional requirements for school lunch involving whole grains our challah french toast is now whole wheat french toast - a terrific improvement and one the nutrition committee has been advocating for. The question this menu leaves unanswered is: Will the kids still be served a syrup whose first and main ingredient is high fructose corn syrup?  I know the food service consultant has been trying to find an affordable maple syrup instead.

Ingredients for the bread in the french toast: We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for the french toast . The ingredients are: STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, BROWN SUGAR, YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OIL OR CANOLA OIL), DOUGH, CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM, STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM IODATE, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, DATEM), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, VINEGAR, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM, PHOSPHATE, YEAST FOOD (AMMONIUM SULFATE), SOY LECITHIN. Eggs and milk are used as well but they are not organic. 
 
The turkey bacon is by Applegate.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates otherwise - and cites the company saying their products have the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands. Read more about nitrates here.

The potatoes are local and we make this dish ourselves.

I do not believe the wrap used for the egg and cheese is whole grain. 

The strawberries and grapes are fresh but unfortunately these fruits are some of the worst in terms of pesticide residue - but a $3 lunch cannot include organic fruits and vegetables.

A New Book for Kids with Food Allergies

  

Our district's own Letizia Barbetta recently wrote this "Food Allergy Fairy Tale" which looks terrific. Read more on Amazon's website. Or click on www.seacliffpca.org first and then through the amazon logo -- if you buy the book, the PCA will get a percent.