What's for Lunch - Thurs., 6/7

CHICKEN FAJITA!
Sauteed Chicken with Zesty Veggies
Flour Tortilla
Shredded Lettuce, Lo-Fat Cheddar and Salsa
Brown Rice/Black Beans
Fresh Fruit at the Salad Bar

Tyson chicken. Tortilla is not whole grain but the brown rice is.

Hummus Recipe

Here's Bhavani's recipe for Hummus from Friday's cooking class:

Hummus

1 can Chick peas,

6 TBS water

½  cup Tahini

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1TBS chopped garlic

1 TBS cumin

½ t. salt

Parsley or cilantro, (optional)

In a food processor, pulse chick peas until blended. Add water, and puree until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings for taste.

*Garnish with Olive Oil, pine nuts and parsley

 As you can see, it's obviously very delicious.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 6/6

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese
with Boar’s Head Ham or Plain Cheese
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

 The sandwich is made with Cabot cheddar on whole wheat bread.  The optional ham is Boar's Head brand.  We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for these. 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.

The smoothie  will be made with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

Cooking Class a Big Hit!

Bhavani Jaroff returned on Friday for our popular kids cooking class:

Stay tuned for her recipes including nori rolls shown here:

What's for Lunch - Tues., 6/5

Pizza Bagel
(with Broccoli or Plain)
Quinoa Salad!!
Fresh Fruit at the Salad Bar

We do assemble these ourselves so they are not highly -processed. The bagel is whole wheat! For our various pizzas, we use  the Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz -  we use 2 ounces.

Try the quinoa - the kids loved it on sample day and you can check out the recipe here.

 Plus, fresh fruit.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 6/4

Applegate Hotdog
Whole Wheat Bun
Homemade Red Smashed Potatoes
Cucumbers with Dip
Warm Apple Crisp

The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms - so they are far better than many hot dogs but are hot dogs nonetheless. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates the nitrate issue is tricky - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.  You may also not want your kids growing up thinking hot dogs are a good lunch given the potential link between processed meats and cancer. The bun is whole wheat.



I do not know how they make the potatoes.


Cucumbers are fresh with an organic, full-fat ranch dressing as the dip.  Apple crisp is a dessert.

I could try the new alternate entree for June:
Hummus with Toasted Pita Strips
Mozzarella Stick
Black Olives
Pears in Fruit Juice

Cheese is part-skim.. Pears are canned. Pita is not whole grain.

Weekend Reading

Reading

Oh, the uproar. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed limiting many sugary soda serving sizes to 16oz. Read the details. There's already a Youtube video denouncing him as a Communist. Free speech  is a right - giant sodas are a marketing gimmick.

Here's a great list of small changes you can make toward healthier eating.(#6? "Kick the Soda Habit.")

Local Fun

Tonight - Kids cooking class at Sea Cliff! 6pm - cafeteria. 

Saturday is garage sale day in Sea Cliff! Make sure to hit the giant used book sale to support the library on Village Green. Rain date Sunday.

Music on the Harbor to support the Fire Dept. Sea Cliff Beach on Saturday evening.