White House Chef Chris Comerford offers ideas for packing lunch boxes with good-for-you stuff like vegetables, fruits, hummus as well as meats and cheese.It seems really healthy and hopefully tastes good too! The idea of including a dip with the veggies is great as kids love dips and will get through their veggies better that way.
Category Archives: Living
Seeds of Change
They say every cloud has a silver lining and with this long downturn it seems like the clouds have been here forever. But,even in these difficult times, there is some good news. Rising food and healthcare costs are forcing people to rethink the way they live. Farmer’s markets are thriving and people are trying to grow their own produce. The next step is the revival of (almost) lost skills like canning, pickling and preserving produce. That is how people used to live in the past: enjoy produce when it is fresh and also prepare for the rest of the year. But grocery stores continue to be a source of produce for many and I wonder if this trend will impact what we pay in the store for fruits and vegetables?
Note: the link above is to the New York Times article on the changes in produce growing in rural Kentucky. There is some issue with the link that I am trying to fix at the moment, you could go straight to the new York Times site to read it in full.
Posted in Food Policy, Food Security, Green, Hunger, Living, Nutrition, Price Rise
Tagged food policy, food security, Green, Hunger, Living, nutrition, Price Rise
How To Cook…
….. like Mark Bittman. He talked about his new book in an interview with NPR. I particularly enjoyed the fact that he was so practical in his approach. Yes, cooking a large batch at one go means we have enough leftover for another meal, which may not seem so exciting tomorrow but at least it is a better alternative than eating out. And I can’t wait to try out all the recipes with whole grains that he talks about. Bring on the Meatless Mondays!
School Lunch Program: some good news
It is nice to read a positive piece on a usually dismal topic: school lunches, specially when it comes from the West Virginia school district that was the subject of Jamie Oliver’s TV program. The school district is now making most of its food instead of simply heating up packaged and frozen foods and the children are loving it.
Children, at home and underfoot during the long summer break, have contributed to a quieter than usual time on this page. Earthquakes and hurricanes also proved to be major distractions. But we are back to the routine now and I will be posting regularly, only occasionally taking off to pack very healthy lunches!
Chipotle’s Short Film on Farming
on the need to change farming and animal raising practices, please share it with your children too.
Video: Seeds of progress: How urban farming is changing Detroit’s future | Need to Know
Posted in Food Security, Green, Living, Nutrition, Urban Garden
Gardening the Community: Lessons From Youth Leaders | Simple, Good and Tasty
Posted in Green, Living, Nutrition, Urban Garden
Where Have All the Nutrients Gone?
So, a new study shows that today’s fruits and vegetables contain fewer nutrients and are also less flavorful than those that grew a generation ago. Could the market’s emphasis on size and unnaturally perfect appearance have something to do with it?
The Face of Sustainable Farming
A tour of the Polyface Farm in Virginia…..a whole different way of growing our food.
Posted in Farm Technology, Green, Living, Nutrition
Small is Beautiful
Urban gardens have become synonymous with urban renewal but massive urban overhaul programs are a difficult option for municipalities in these tough times. “Urban acupuncture” which relies on small efforts rooted in the community may fit the moment better. A planter that provides blooms and a relief from the cityscape is low on investment and brings together the community that takes care of it instead of relying on a big government project. Case in point: San Fransisco’s Pavement to Parks initiative which is turning street parking spaces into miniature parks.
So while we nurture our own yards, flower beds, planters or window boxes let’s take a moment to see how we can spread a little green in our urban neighbourhoods.
Thought + Food 