The Daily Fuss

Food Sense Part I: What Are We Eating?

In previous food-related discussions, I've mentioned how we strive to eat well in the Freeman house. We have a few simple rules by which we do our best to abide. 

• Organic whenever possible.
• Lots of fruits and veggies - grow them in the summer garden.
• Keep packaged goods to a minimum.
• If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
• Use a variety of whole grains.
• We make our own whole wheat bread (well, Mary Poppins makes it, and it's delicious), and I've been making yogurt lately - mostly for fun and because I can.
• Vegetarian dinners a few nights each week.
• Eat red meat rarely.
• Know where your food comes from.
• Keep sugar to a minimum. This one is incredibly tough.
• Everything in moderation.

Of course, we occasionally buy snacks for lunches and the kids can have fruit/veggie juice blends (which do have sugar). We also get into ruts from time to time where we find ourselves eating the same things.

We love wine and cheese and any strict diet that eliminates certain food groups would be completely lost on us. i.e. Virgin, South Beach, Perricone, Paleo etc. So far, the Mediterranean diet has the easiest guidelines for us to follow and I rely on that mentally when ordering out at restaurants.

I think we are reasonable, but we're also indulgent. Our grocery budget hovers in the range of $1,000 per month. (This includes beverages - namely red wine and various household items such as light bulbs and toilet paper).

I will get produce, frozen fruit for smoothies, cheeses, condiments and some limited meats from Costco. For example, they have organically fed chicken (breasts) that taste great. I don't have much luck with that most other places, but Costco has so much other crap, I dread the trip.  We get the rest of what we need from Peapod or a local grocer.

I find grocery shopping to be an absolute chore, which is why I actually prefer to do it online. Most of the commercial or packaged food in stores has little nutritional value (at best) or (at worst) is inedible. Health experts aren't kidding when they stay "stick to the perimeter" of the grocery store. It's those middle aisles that will be the end of us.

But the packaging is so pretty. [SIGH]

I understand that many people live on a tight budget. I am also aware that colorful boxes of food product that barely contain actual food are less expensive than real food - building blocks of a meal that must be assembled and/or cooked prior to consumption.

That's a lot of work. But it's worth it.

According to commercials, Americans want tasty food that's inexpensive, won't spoil quickly, can be prepared in minutes and won't make you fat. 

Good luck.

It must be true, because so much of what's stacked up and down the aisles caters to those desires.

The Food Network is currently airing a Walmart commercial to show people an alternative to fast food for lunch. I thought to myself, "How responsible of them, to send the message that fast food is utter garbage." Alas no. The "alternative" was a Hot Pocket and soda - a full meal you can pack for your self that only costs $2.00!

To suggest someone should buy a case of these horrific get bombs and consume them daily is, well,  silly.

If I think too much about what's in food, I start unraveling. Packaged junk is one thing. And, it's fairly easy to eliminate.

However, when I factor in the importing of food from other countries with lower quality standards, the inability to track the origin of meats and vegetables, irradiated foods, apples that sit in gas chambers to prevent ripening for a year or more, inhumane treatment of animals in slaughterhouses, states passing anti-whistleblower statues criminalizing the videotaping of activities in various facilities, gases released from melting polar ice caps, tainted water supplies, the billions of tons of garbage floating around in the ocean, genetically modified food, grain fed animals, improper labeling, hormones in milk, and contaminated meats, fish and produce ... I lose my appetite completely.

What I listed above is not propaganda. It's real. And, it's really easy to ignore if you don't want to see it. 

The true propaganda lies in the commercials and packaging and advertising that leads us to believe that food is food and it should be cheap and fast and not make you fat and/or kill you at some point. 

Yes. We can talk about how diets based predominantly on salt, fat and sugar cause cancer and diabetes and acid reflux and obesity and heart disease and a number of other things that lead to an early death. But we'll stick to packaged foods for today.

If you don't believe me, see if you can identify these ten, common, packaged foods by their ingredients. I did them in the form of Wordles to make it visually appealing.  The larger the word, the more it appears on the package.

Keep in mind that the ingredient list does not need to include compounds used to "clean" meats, chemically create other substances and/or oil and clean processing machines. For example, cane sugar is often whitened using charcoal from the bones of cows. Gross.Vegan sugar is made without this process and is thusly Vegan.

 

1. Popular Lunch Meat

2. For many kids, this is their entire breakfast most days.

3. Pop this in the microwave, grab a Mountain Dew, and apparently you have an entire "meal" for under $2.

4. Breakfast on the go. You can get these frosted or not.

5. Canned O's. Admittedly, these aren't quite as bad as I thought.

6.  This is actually three items together to create one of America's favorite sandwiches to serve kids.

7. This little snack bar is in my pantry. Well ... it was until I read the label closely.

8. Kids drink this - according to sales numbers. I have only ever tried it once and I think it's super gross. The commercials suggest the sun comes out when this beverage does.

9. Two words. Cheese. Product. 

10. This one is particularly shameful because it's an uber popular diet food. It's always on sale and, according to the label, milk is basically an afterthought. Hint: I make my own.

This all may seem a bit harsh, but eating these packaged food wouldn't be such a big deal if they were an exception, rather than the rule. I blame the 1950's and the ensuing acquiescence to lazy living. The 50's (the dawn of convenience items for the modern housewife) gave us everything from tv dinners to the Fridigdaire. Preservatives and packed freezers allowed us to keep food longer and make it faster. Luckily, the current decade has seen the rebirth of the agrarian - a trend I hope continues. 

ANSWERS

1. Bologna

I chose this because it is inexpensive compared to whole cuts of meat. And, the commercially packaged bologna is reminiscent of the "pink slime" expose we have likely all seen. I personally prefer cuts of meat from a single animal. It leaves almost zero room to add any filler or crazy bits. You need to go straight to the butcher for this. There are fancy bolognas you can get from the butcher. However, if the frankenmeat is patched together, I believe it's better just to skip it. There are just too many points of failure there. 

2. Golden Grahams

Commercial cereals kill me because the main selling point is that you can get a large percentage of your much-needed vitamins and minerals in a serving of cereal. The reality is any cereal that tastes "good" (especially to a kid) is nothing more than bleached flour and sugar "fortified" with powdered vitamin compounds. Grains should be whole, rather than heavily processed, sugar has no nutritional value and real live fruits and veggies (along with a healthy dose of sunlight) offer more vitamins than that cereal.

3. Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pocket

You could not PAY me to put a hot pocket into my body. Don't misunderstand, I am not above eating junk food on occasion. In fact, Filet O'Fish is my favorite pregnancy indulgence. However, there is not enough sodium or high fructose corn syrup in the world to make a Hot Pocket taste good. It just isn't possible. Aside from salt and a number of things I can't pronounce, a package of two Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pockets contains 740 calories, 36 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, only 2 grams of fiber and zero vegetables. 

4. Pop Tarts

Pop Tarts are palatable if toasted to a crisp, but make no mistake, they are pure junk - basically sugar, oil and a mixture of refined corn and wheat. In the world of baked goods, you would generally expect to see flour, sugar, butter, baking soda, fruit and an extract (vanilla, orange, lemon). That's about it. Maybe vegetable oil. The fact that these toaster treats have a long shelf life (and the fact that it likely costs three cents to produce one tart) is the driver for the shenanigans on the label.

5. SpaghettiOs

I have eaten these once. They taste like noodles with catsup (not ketchup). My children will never konw what these are. Although, the label proved a better read than I thought. I do see tomato and onion on the label and, like cereal, there are quite a few powdered vitamins in the mix. Why so much oil, I wonder? The downside is that if you feed this to your kids, they may start to think pasta is supposed to taste like sugary, buttered ketchup noodles. If you're going to do canned or jarred pasta, at least throw a pasta bomb in to assuage the associated guilt.

6. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Everyone loves PB&J, including me. Let's just not fool ourselves into thinking this is anything more than dessert. You can eat dessert for a meal. We have cake for breakfast after birthday parties. There is no shame. Just don't do it all the time. The ingredient Wordle for this is Jif, Smuckers Strawberry Preserves and Brownberry Bread. Right behind peanuts and strawberries, the top ingredients are high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar and salt. Peanuts have protein, but they are the least sophisticated sibling in the nut family. If you can't live without PB&J, go for a peanut butter made with naturally sweet valencia peanuts as the only ingredient( CostCo carries it) and a fruit spread with less sugar. 

7. Special K Pastry Crisps

There are just way too many ingredients in these. They are tiny Pop Tarts. It's a "lazy" item in our pantry. I am never buying them again.

8. Sunny D

There isn't anything remotely resembling fruit juice in here. I'm not sure I would even let the girls drink this at a birthday party. I'm not sure they would drink it if I let them try it. 

9. Velveeta

At least "milk" and other cheese related ingredients show up on the label of this admitted "cheese product". As a Wisconsin native, this and basically any "American Cheese" offends my sensibilities. I do buy Kraft singles for grilled cheese, but it's against my better judgment. We use real cheese for sandwiches.

10. Yoplait Light "Yogurt"

 This one is just plain ridiculous. The tag line is, "Yoplait Light makes healthier eating SO good." Healthier than what? Real yogurt please. In the "unwanted ingredients department" Yoplait light is right on par with the Muller Fruit Up containing tilapia. 

Garden Variety - Year 3

Item #2 on my summer to do list is "Tend My Garden" and I feel I have it well in-hand, now that things are really starting to grow. 

This year, I turned the four 4x5 beds into two 4.5 x12 beds. That gave me a few extra feet of space to plant. I pushed my plantings out into the side beds and used some planters, as well.

In total, I planted:

• Twelve tomato plants with two others scattered about and three volunteers that I let go for a grand total of 17 plants ranging from heirloom, to sauce to salsa in every color, shape and size
• Nine pepper plants ranging from sweet bells to jalapenos
• Four lemon cucumbers
• Three Burpless cucumbers
• Three Spacesaver cucumbers
• Two baby bush cucumbers
• Two bush beans (it's been cool and wet enough that these are thriving)
• Two bush peas (it's been cool and wet enough that these are thriving)
• An assortment of squashes, the labels for which got mixed up when I started them under the grow light. So, I have roughly seven plants that could be spaghetti, butternut or acorn squash, summer squash or any of eight varieties of heirloom pumpkin. Time will tell.
• Two 12ft rows of beets
• One 12ft row of kale
• Two 12ft rows of red and green lettuce
• Two 5ft copper planters with easy serve green lettuce
• Two feet of microgreens
• Twelve strawberry plants (that mostly feed the bird population in my yard)
• One prolific blackberry bush
• Chocolate mint, pineapple mint, cilantro, basil, fennel, thyme, English lavender, French lavender, lemon balm, bee balm and yarrow to attract bees, butterflies and (as of yesterday) a hummingbird!
• Four PVC "wormeries" - 2 in each bed

I have learned two big things over the past few years that, I believe, are currently serving this year's crop well. Garden Year 1. Garden Year 2.

I now truly understand what it means to say that "green things love nitrogen." By "green" I am specifically reffering to leaves. NOT FRUIT.  I have thusly learned to judiciously prune superfluous leaves froma plant to force the plant energy into the fruit. It's tough to clip a limb from a living thing you grew from seed, but last year I didn't prune a single leaf and had very few peppers, for example. I have TONS of blooms this year. And, in turn, am hoping for a bumper crop of veggies and fruits. I continue to "snip snip".

The other big thing I came to understand is that for row veggies, thinning them properly is paramount. My first year out, I planted beets, carrots and kholrabi. They grew, but I didn't thin them in time (too fussy and they got away from me). They developed into an intertwined mess, and I ended up with a small yield of mishapen roots. This year, I pulled all the extra shoots, rinsed them and ate them with some balsamic and oil. I felt good that they didn't go to waste and they were delicious.

Today I will stake the peppers so they don't topple and use velcro tape to keep one particularly moster tomato in line. Other than a periodic check in ... this garden is tended. I am checking it off my list.

Out of Hand

I am aggressively attacking my to do list on several fronts.

It's slow-going.

For example, I cleaned and organized the storage/unfinished portion of the basement yesterday and I am completely sore today from the bending, lifting and twisting (essentially cardio-yoga) involved in dealing with my small, but jam-packed space.

In the interest of otherwise showing progress this week, I offer status on the following items:

2) Tend my garden = COMING ALONG BEAUTIFULLY

3) Can and otherwise preserve the fruits of said garden = PROCURED NEW WECK JARS AND FAITHFULLY TEND CROPS

8) Thoughtfully display the girls' artwork = HUNG NEW FRAMES, ONE OF FOUR WAS BROKEN, ORDERED REPLACEMENT

9) Free up kitchen counter space = ORDERED SOLUTION FOR VEGGIE/SNACK BOWLS/COFFEE CLUTTER

12) Clean/organize basement = DONE

13) Clean/organize my closet = PARTIALLY DONE PER DONATIONS/BASEMENT REORGANIZE

15) Donate everything I don't need = IN PROGRESS

16) Spend time with family = ONGOING: WE HAD AN EXCELLENT WEEKEND

I likely won't have everything done by the end of summer, so why not add a few more time consuming and seemingly impossible items to the list?

My neighbor and I have been running lately and sticking right around 3 miles per outing. Today, we decided we need more of a commitment and vowed to run 100 miles in July. That's basically a 5k a day for a 31 month. 

Also after posting about how Muller uses tilapia to keep its Fruit Up "fruit mousse" fluffy, I learned from my Aunt (Paleo advocate) that there exists a challenge NOT to eat anything with a nutrition label for a month. So, as long as I am running my ass off, I might as well be munching nuts and berries. 

In sum, I'm adding:

17) Run 100 miles in July; and

18) Eat ONLY whole foods for a month (also July?)

to my list.

Details to come.

Who's with me? 

Runners and healthy eaters, tips, suggestions, recipes and encouragement are welcome! Please post a comment and share your fuss with us!

Tilapia Fruit Mousse

It doesn't take much for me to get skeeved out about the food situation in our fair country.

If you haven't seen Food, Inc. (a documentary released in 2010) you should. It put a finer point on some things I already knew about the business of food in America. It's interesting.

And, based on facts.

Facts are good.

Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) was one of Bill Maher's guests on Real Time last night. He made a point to mention federal funding cuts for real food programs and adding obesity to the list of "diseases" covered by insurance companies.

He was also there to promote his new book, Cooked, the basic premise of which is that we should spend less time watching cooking shows and more time cooking food of our own.

The bottom line - it's a shame that we are turning attention to the result of crappy eating, instead of the real problem - that corporate america makes most of the convenient foods Americans eat.

Corporate goals are related to the bottom line, not how big my bottom is or how unhealthy I am. It's about money, not health, and I'm out. As much as I can be ... I'm out.

If that wasn't enough of a reminder, a friend posted a picture of something GROSS on Facebook that served as the exclamation point of the evening. Check out the ingredients for Muller Fruit Ups, below. Pay particular attention to the last line in bold.

I am just fine with plain old yogurt and fruit. I do not need "fruit mousse" which apparently gets its froth from TILAPIA. 

Yuck.

I know it's on the label, thankfully. But not everyone reads every label every time. And I feel confident that NO ONE is expecting to see Tilapia in a Fruit Up.

And, is it cooked? Raw? Bleached? Washed? I imagine it's like using raw egg white to whip up  a froth, but it's fish? Or could it be like the pink slime we have all come to understand is the basis for so much processed meat? 

I marched over to the fridge and studied my Chobani labels.

 While Chobani has absolutely NOTHING wierd in it, it got me thinking. Why don't I just make my own yogurt? It doesn't seem too terribly expensive or time consuming.

And so, I am officially adding "Make My Own Yogurt" to this summer's To Do List right next to "Read Nutrition Labels Three Times" and "Eat Raw Foods Whenever Possible to Avoid Having to Rely on Nutrition Labels At All".

{Fussworthy Food} Tomato-free Pasta Sauce

My kids love pasta. However, sauce from a jar offers neither the nutritional content nor the creativity I feel are essential to any meal.

Lately, Lei isn't into "red sauce" and has been asking for buttered noodles. To add some life to her request, I came up with this tomato-free pasta sauce. It's much like the pasta bombs I describe here.

The following recipe makes enough super healthy pasta sauce to feed two kids dinner now and make 12 pasta bombs for later.

Ingredients:

2 medium-large sweet potatoes

3 large handfuls fresh spinach

1 large shallot

1/2 medium vidalia onion

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms

Beaba Babycook or steamer and food processor

butter

chicken broth

noodles

Penzey's Sunny Paris (spice blend of purple shallots, chives, green peppercorn, French basil, French terragon, chervil, bay leaf and dill weed)

Italian sausage (optional - I did not add sausage this time)

parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Peel and chop sweet potatoes. Steam or cook until soft. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

2. Chop onion, shallot and mushrooms.

3. Drop a few tablespoons of butter into a sauce pan on high heat. Sautee onion, shallots and mushrooms until softened and slightly browned.

4. Wash and dry spinach. Add spinach to the sauce pan and wilt it while stirring.

5. Stir in 1-2 teaspoons of Penzey's Sunny Paris.

6. Once your saucepan vegetables are thoroughly heated and mixed in, you are ready to blend your sauce.

7. Depending on your food processor's capacity, you may need to blend your sauce in multiple batches. Pour the saucepan vegetable mix into the processor, add chicken broth and blend until smooth. Add chicken broth to desired consistency.

8. Once you have finished blending the saucepan vegetable mix, pour the blend back into the saucepan and add the sweet potato puree to it.

9. Add butter and salt to taste.

10. Boil water and cook your noodles al dente.

11. Serve with grated or shaved parmesan cheese.

12. Freeze the rest of the batch in silicone muffin molds.

Save in a freezer safe bag or container. Throw one or two into warm noodles or add to jar pasta sauce or mac n cheese to add flavor and nutritional value any time.

Check out this previous post for a detailed description of pasta bombs.

Boom Boom Part II: Lemon Drop

As I may have mentioned, Mairin is still nursing and basically using me as a pacifier at night. What sleep I do manage to get is achieved in a crooked "S" shape on my right side.  

I understand the argument that my youngest will eventually roll her eyes at me and make me drop her off a block before the theater and I will long for the days when she was a wee babe.

I realize that I said I would coast along for another two months and then phase out feedings. I said this as recently as Monday.

But, I can't take much more of this. She and I both need a good, solid night's sleep for a change. Actually, all four of us need it. Mairin's late night fussing has been waking up Leighton, who ends up in our bed, digging her toes into Ryan's spine.

We enjoy the family bed, but sometimes it's an ugly commune-type situation that results in a tough morning. We've had a string of those lately and something needs to change. Plus, my little Marinka Dinka has all but forgotten how to self-sootheas she likes to nurse to sleep. It's unequivocally my job as her parent to help her with that.

At approximately 1:00 am Tuesday morning, I broke free from my crooked "S" and found my iPad next to the bed.  I began Googling "how to wean a toddler," and "toddler resists weaning" and a few other seemingly absurd variations.

Most of what I found on the good old interweb pertained to weaning toddlers from a bottle. This, to me, seemsa much simpler proposition than weaning a toddler form the breast. I've done it with Leighton. I just didn't give her a bottle and talked her through the withdrawal. She was done in two nights at the age of sixteen months - from boobie to baba to batte just like that.

A toddler can't climb into the upper cabinet, fetch a bottle, assemble the nipple, get the milk from the fridge, heat it up, pour it into the bottle, screw on the nipple and have her batte. Toddlers are crafty, but not that capable.

They are, however, able to unbutton a blouse, shove their hands into the neckline of a shirt, stretch it out, throw a temper tantrum, bite through the blouse, pull out your earnings and repeatedly yell, "BOOM BOOM" as loudly as possible to cause a scene.

If I could put my breasts in a kitchen cabinet on some days, I would do it.  Alas, no.

So that brings me back to what the Google machine eventually did reveal. The message boards and blog comments have all the goods - the real answers from real people who aren't afraid you're going to try to sue them for giving worthy advice.  

I stumbled upon a few comments about toddler weaning using lemon juice. WHAT? I know, rubbing lemon juice on my boobs struck me as something akin a dare or a cruel trick to play on a little kid. Still, the desperate women who tried it happily reported that it worked like a charm. Their babies didn't mind much and lost interest fairly quickly.

So,I tried it. I cut a lemon in half and applied it to the targets. Before bedtime, Mairin made her plea for "Boom Boom". I let her try it and she pulled back, made a little face and said, "taste", "taste" while shaking her head. She tried it again with the same reaction. Then, she hopped off my lap and got a book to read.

A little while later, Ryan picked her up for bed. She said, "boom boom?" so I offered it up. She looked at me for a moment and, apparently remembering her previous attempt, changed her mind. She said "no" kissed me good night and went off to bed.

And then, I cried.

Mom Enough

I must admit that my first reaction to the cover of this magazine was, "I don't get it. What's the problem?" My nanny then pointed out to me that the child is "quite old," to which I slowly replied, "Huh. I guess he's probably four-ish."

This cover and the title of the related story "Are You Mom Enough" is causing more of a stir than Alicia Silverstone's premastication video blog.

The article is about attachment parenting and Dr. Sears - the man who defined it. Key components of attachment parenting include (among other things) co-sleeping, breastfeeding, letting your child dictate its schedule and the like.

You can take the TIME quiz on parenting styles here for free if you are wondering where you fall on the attachment parenting spectrum.

Questions swirling about the blogosphere fall largely into the category of, "What is TIME trying to do?" and "Has TIME gone too far?"

Shock and awe aside, the article and its provocative title/photo combo illuminates a heightened sense of parenting in our culture these days. And it makes sense, as a wave of "natural parenting" has washed over us in the last decade.

Breastfeeding is back in vogue - to the point that we have a secondary market for human milk. Organic food has become more widely available and less expensive. The BPA scare boosted the sale of glass baby bottles and spurred the elmination of its use. Baby wearing  is all the rage. Throngs of children are not properly vaccinated, either timely or at all, due to fear and mystery surrounding autism.

The list goes on.

In the wake of the women's liberation movement, the main devisive issue for moms was whether or not to work outside the home. The debate pitted the working mom against the stay-at-home mom and many an Oprah-esque argument ensued.

It was so much simpler then, when one side felt it damaging to leave children without mom for more than a few hours and the other felt that children need to see their moms do more than just take care of them.

I really do believe that we Americans are culturally enlightened enough to get past our own jealousies and insecurities to see the positives and drawbacks inherent in either situation. We now have the SAHM (Stay At Home Mom); the WoMo (Working Mom); the WAHM (Work At Home Mom) and seemingly no apology from any party as to the label.

With progress comes new challenges. And, as we open up the idea of "natural" motherhood we rely on "mother's intuition" in ways that, frankly, piss off our pediatricians. Maybe we shouldn't believe everything we're told. Maybe we shouldn't trust the system as much as we do.

With rapid exchange of information in these times, we've seen that the system doesn't always work. Is controlled breathing all I need to get me through childbirth? Can I have a glass of wine? What's in that formula? What's in that vaccine? If the risk of SIDS is really higher when baby sleeps alone? What hormones were fed to that cow? Does the sugar in juice really cause obesity and eat your brain?

The motherhood playing field has shifted dramatically and it's more devisive than ever. It's become the game of mothers judging each other for doing specific things that will ostensibly harm their children in some way. For me, this article is less about Dr. Sears, and more about jumpstarting that dormant conversation.

You know ... the one I'm having right now.

Moms, in honor of our upcoming day of motherly celebration, let's all relax. Being a mom is a tough job and we shouldn't judge each other for the choices we make.

I take the un-apologetic approach to parenting. We do what works for us and the kids always come first. Here's our parenting style in a nutshell:

The girls have a routine. They behave better when they know what's coming next. Our nanny is better at keeping the routine than Ryan and I.

Mairin comes in our bed between midnight and two am. She still nurses at night at 15 months. We eat as well as we can. We try different foods. If we don't like it, we need to try it again later. We drink juice on occasion. We have dessert.

We have rules and strive to be orderly, but our house gets messy. A lot. In the name of projects and art and more projects, we get messy.

We don't tolerate meaness. We allow for self-expression and understand that we need to choose our battles and try not to make a big deal out of too many things.

We have Disney movies and princess stuff and sports stuff and instruments and try to maintain a balance. We don't say things are "boy things" or "girl things". We have dance parties and movie nights.

We always say "I love you" and never NEVER EVER take each other for granted.

So take that Dr. Sears, Time magazine and defiant breastfeeding cover mom. You can't define my parenting style in such strict terms. Even if you are just trying to sell some magazines.

{Top 5 Friday} Garden Variety

Seeds have sprouted beneath my grow light and I can't wait for the next few weeks to pass so I can get to planting my crops for the season. I've mapped it out and I'm not sure which of my choices excite me the most. No need to squint, that's a pumpkin and squash patch on the right.

We've got quite an assortment planned, and as of today, my top 5 garden prospects are:

1) Tye Dye Tomatoes: This is my favorite heirloom tomato and likely to be my most prolific producer again this year. Of my 14 tomato plants, I'm planting two Tye-Dyes.

2) Jarrahdale Pumpkins: Jarrahdales are 10" pumpkins with blue green skin. I'm also planting some Rouge Vif d'Etampes, the pumpkins after which Cinderella's stage coach was modeled.

3) Goldetti Spaghetti Squash: We eat this regularly throughout the year, but this is my first year planting it.

4) Lemon Cucumbers: Lemon cucumbers are cuter than other cucumbers. They taste great and are plentiful. I'm considering pickling them this year.

5) Sweet Chocolate Belle Hybrid Peppers: Choco Belles are basically purple peppers and the sweetest of the lot. This is my first year planting these. Of my 10 pepper plants, I am planting two Choco Belles.

Do you have a garden? What are you planting this year? Please post a comment and share your fuss with us.

Fussworthy Food: Pasta Bombs

When you're cooking dinner for kids, it's easy to get into a spaghetti and mac and cheese rut. Kids tend to like those foods. And, when they go through bouts of pickiness (for some, those bouts last years), it's easier to cave in than fight.

I combat this nutritional challenge with preparing what I call Pasta Bombs in advance of these fall back meals. Pasta Bombs make any kind of pasta dish an incredibly easy and healthy meal.

I've mentioned that I subscribe to the puree method of cooking for kids - basically hiding the veggies if you've read the cookbooks. It started with my Beaba Babycook and Leighton's very first foods. I made all of her baby food (until mish mashes or pureed snacks came about). And, I've continued to cook, steam and puree food for both kids well into the toddler years.

For single baby food meals, I generally start with sauteed shallots or onions. I make a starch separately. Chop veggies, steam them and blend everything together with milk or chicken stock and cheese. I pour the mixture into silicone cupcake molds (Wilton has starts, hearts, pumpkins etc.), freeze them, and then pop them out into freezer bags labeled with each meal.

I've modified this for what I call "Pasta Bombs" which is basically all the veggies thinned with chicken stock. I leave the dairy and starch to be added at meal time.

For example, let's say we've had a busy day and Ryan and I will be eating late. Our nanny makes spaghetti for the girls at 5pm. She boils the noodles, drains them, adds pasta sauce from a jar, and throws in a frozen pasta bomb. The pasta bomb takes this meal from starch and very few vitamins to an iron rich, vitamin infused and balanced meal. Add parmesan cheese. Done.

For this particular recipe, I used:

1 Butternut Squash

4 Small Organic Sweet Potatoes

1 Cup Organic Shelled Peas

2 Large Shallots

2 8oz Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth

3 Cups (or Big Handfuls) Fresh Spinach

1/2  Cup Butter

Organic Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base

Penzey's Sunny Paris (the greatest spice combination ever created) to Taste

Babycook, food processor or blender

Silicone cupcake molds

Chop and sautee the shallots in butter. I used half a stick at this point, but it doesn't really matter. It all ends up in the same place. Add a teaspoon of the Mushroom Base and a teaspoon of Sunny Paris. When the shallots break down, add spinach. Stir so spinach is covered.

Remove from heat when spinach is fully wilted. Once cooled, blend it in the Babycook, blender or food processor. I use the Babycook and a small, two speed processor until all large chunks are gone.

Peel and cube squash and sweet potatoes. Steam in the Babycook, on the stove or bake in oven until soft - a fork easily pokes through the largest pieces. Blend with chicken stock.

Steam or cook peas. Blend with butter until chunky.

Mix your veggies purees together to desired taste. I kept everything relatively separate at this point because the shallot mixture is incredibly potent and I wanted to add it gradually. I ended up adding everything together, but an extra cup of peas I had originally used.

Pour into silicone molds. Cover with saran wrap and freeze.

When frozen solid, pop them out and store them in freezer bags or reusable containers.

This recipe made 15 Pasta Bombs. Enjoy!

Cow Boobie Dish

Putting Lei to bed tonight, we got into a conversation about what milk is and where it comes from.

Oh joy.

We went through the list: coconut milk is from coconuts, almond, soy, sheep, cow, mommy and the like.

Leighton asked thoughtful questions while I tickled her back and tried to get her to sleep. I could almost hear the gears turning. I was confident that a conversation about milk would send her off to dreamland.

BO-RING.

Leighton rolled over and looked at me squarely and said, "So milkis really cow boobie dish?"

I answered in the affirmative unsure of whether she would find it gross or fine or something else. She said, "Hmm. Oh. Okay. I like it."

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring with regard to this topic. I wonder what food and beverage questions are coming down the pike. I'm just happy she's thinking about food in ways most people don't.

My kids calls breastmilk "boobie dish". It evolved over time. It started with Lue, who eats what we call "dry dish" which is our word for kibble. Sometimes she gets "fish in the dish"or "pasta dish" or whatever. Maybe we watch too many cooking shows. Whatever the reason, it's dry dish for Lue and boobie dish for the baby. It is what it is.

Fussworthy Food: Smoothies

The Freeman family hopped on the smoothie train for a few simple reasons:

1) There are quite a few alternatives to dairy, readily available these days and miss Mairin seems to have developed a sensitivity to dairy. It was a combination of hives and then also what looked like eczema from neck to toe that occurred in conjunction with a long-lasting cold and teething and brief change in laundry detergent. I'm not sure whether it's over or what, but I'm not going to reintroduce dairy for another month.

2) Leighton is growing like a little wild flower and her dinner doesn't always get her through the night. She's been waking up STARVING at 5am and that's just not working for mom, dad and ... mostly for poor Mairin. She is NOT a morning person. Wow.

3) Ryan and I are juicer people. We don't always fit in all of our veggies and vitamins and are accustomed to cleaning out the fridge every few days to make a concoction. Carrot, apple, beet, tomato, red pepper and spirulina (if we have it) is a regular recipe. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. We've used a Breville Juice Fountain Elite for the past four years.

4) Everyone can agree that it's fun to enjoy a colorful beverage of fun consistency in an unusual cup before bed and again in the morning. We go so far as to call these "shakes".

Our smoothie operation s fairly simple. I keep whole milk, Very Vanilla Soy Silk, Regular Vanilla Silk (less sugar), coconut milk and almond milk. Even Target stocks the Silk brand of most of these, if not all. They do tend to take up some room in the fridge, but the only juice we have is Vruit and fresh-squeezed orange juice and those come in relatively small containers.

We keep an assortment of fruits on hand (both fresh and frozen since it's winter) and also use the mish mash when we're otherwise low on a particular ingredient. To sneak in veggies, they need to be cooked or juiced raw.

For cooked veggies, plan ahead: We'll have broccoli for dinner, but we'll make several cups and then have some for lunch the next day or a piece to throw into a smoothie. Same thing with carrots, chunks of sweet potato or peas. All three of those are easy to sneak into a smoothie, believe it or not. There are a number of containers in the fridge with cooked this and that that. They never go to waste because we can puree them and throw them into pasta or cous cous (on gluten free days we use wild rice, quinoa, millet or amaranth) and voila, we've just added some depth to our dinner.

We also keep containers of the cooked grains I mentioned in the fridge for a day or two to add whatever sauce mixture we come up with that day. The girls really like cous cous, quinoa and wild rice.

Of course, when Ryan and I make our juice, we add veggies and can just pour some of that into the kids' smoothies. A tiny bit of beet makes everything pink, has lots of vitamins and if you use just a little doesn't have a strong flavor.

The main message here is that we juice raw or cook and puree veggies into our smoothies. I got into the groove of this Jessica Seinfeld type behavior while making baby food for Leighton and it just became second nature. If we go a day or two with just a fruit smoothie, I don't sweat it. Overall, we include veggies more than we exclude them.

And, if I am lazy or rushing, I just throw in a veggie-blend mish mash and congratulate myself for ingenuity.

I make smoothies at night just before bed and we take them up in place of our battes. I make enough for the morning, as well. I'll use last night as an example.

For Mairin: I poured 1 full Take and Toss cup of coconut milk in the blender. Mairin helped me add four big strawberries, five blackberries and a medium banana. I squeezed in the leftover half of the spinach apple rutabaga mish mash that she didn't finish at lunch and we whipped it up. I poured half of the mixture into separate take and toss cups. I put the lids on, gave one to Mairin and put the other in the fridge for the morning.

For Lei: I poured 3/4  Take and Toss cup of  whole milk and 1/4 Take and Toss cup of Very Vanilla Silk in the blender. I added four big strawberries, five blackberries and a medium banana. I squeezed in another one of Mairin's leftover lunch mish mashes - sweet potato apple - and let her hit the button. I put the lids on, gave one to Lei and put the other in the fridge for the morning.

We sneak in some vitamins, avoid waking up starving and have a fun, pre-bed activity we can do together. We also have a mess-free breakfast smoothie ready to go in the morning, which cuts out the hypoglycemic whining that's been going on while the eggs are scrambling.

It's a win-win.

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Smashed Fruit (and Veggies) Revisited

I've previously mentioned my love affair with baby and toddler fruit purees here and here and I thought it best to post my annual update.

We still love these innovatively-packaged wonders. And, we still have a giant wooden salad serving bowl filled with several different brands in our favorite combinations. It's stocked at all times.

It's worth mentioning that in the two years since I wrote the first post on what we affectionately refer to as "Mish Mash" no matter the brand, there are so many more options - more veggies - more combos - more fun!

We still hit the Plum Organics and Happy Baby pretty hard. We've also added Ella's Kitchen and some Earth's Best into the rotation. All have more stages and more vegetable combinations than ever before.

We do a lot of smoothies too with cow, soy, coconut and almond milk. Mairin needs a few alternatives because she's a bit sensitive to dairy all of the sudden. Fresh food is our first option, but we also blend in a mish mash when we don't have enough fruit or veggies in the house. Plus, it's winter in the midwest and selection of good fresh food can be limited.

To the companies who make these wonderful on-the-go treats.

Keep it up!

And, thank you!

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Date With Leighton

Leighton needed some mommy time. Okay, fine. Maybe it's the other way around, but no matter. Lei happily accepted my offer to take her to her very first movie in the "thee-ay-ter".

The Muppets.

It's playing at Northbrook, so we decided that Ryan and Mairin would mill around the mall while we went to the movies. We would regroup afterwords for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.

Sidebar: I love CPK. The food is consistent. Prices are reasonable. There are plenty of healthy options for kids and grownups and they serve alcohol. Perfect. Did I mention that they serve alcohol?

Leighton carefully readied herself for our date in a way that let me know she understood just how important the outing was for me. I haven't spent a large chunk of time with just Lei for a while now and was looking forward to some bonding.

My peanut picked out some textured tights, pink corduroy skirt and a white top with tulle at the collar - a good look for a two-and-a-half year-old to be sure.

We sang and danced to Let's Go To the Movies from Annie while we dressed.

Lei then took it several steps further and accessorized herself with sparkly shoes, a hair bow clip, a necklace and one of my purses from I couldn't even tell you when.

I think "embellishment" is one of her favorite words. In fact, I'm certain of this.

As we walked through the mall, Lei turned heads with her confident little gait. "What a girly girl." "She's so cute." "Look at those shoes."

She was oblivious to the attention, which pleased me immensely. She was only going about her business, after all.

We left Mairin and daddy at the entrance to the theater, picked up our tickets and headed straight for the snack counters. Out of all the candy, crap and junk food she could have chosen, Leighton settled on fruit snacks.

God bless her.

So I talked her into ordering a white cherry ICEE to wash them down. She later admitted that it was a smart decision.

She was mildly irritated by the previews, but loved the Toy Story short film and Muppets feature. She bounced around during the musical numbers and clapped at the end.

We saw a two-hour kids version of The Nutcracker last month and she got antsy half-way through. But for these Muppets, she made a little camp in her seat, ate her snacks and gingerly sipped her ICEE - taking it in and out of the cupholder a thousand intriguing times.

For the undisputed littlest ticketholder in the thee-ay-ter, she behaved perfectly.

We had a lovely dinner, fish tacos for mom, bbq chicken salad for dad, banana and avocado for Mairin and grilled chicken and broccoli for Leighton. She cleaned her plate and we made our way home.

We stopped at Walgreens on the way home to get more kid toothpaste (mint is too "spicy") and Lei said she couldn't wait to brush her teeth. She went straight upstairs and did just that when we arrived home. And put on her PJs and went to sleep.

Thank you my sweet little Leighton for the absolute best date EVER.

Fussworthy Food: Kid Kabobs

This Christmas Eve at my grandma's we did heavy appetisers for dinner. I didn't know what to bring and initially has some trouble figuring what would appeal to Leighton from a spread comprised entirely of cold food.

She likes broccoli and pasta so I made kid kabobs. I cooked green and white tortellini, steamed some broccoli florets and cooled them. I alternated them on kabob skewers and threw in red pepper for color balance.

I set out marinara sauce and ranch for dipping and it was a hit. Kids and adults ate happily. Easy preparation, yummy presentation (I didn't realize until I was finished that the red, white and green made for a lovely holiday theme) and it travels well.

Lei wasn't crazy about the red pepper, so for New Year's I replaced it with strawberry and watermelon. With tortellini as an anchor, you can tweak the rest to suit your family's preferences while serving a balanced meal on a stick.

Enjoy!

Ha Ha, Sucker!

We try to eat well. I try to limit sugar - although I do allow Lei to drink half-water/half-juice. And, we do have gelato or ice cream on occasion.

Candy, however is TOTALLY off limits.

If that were true, then I would not know with full certainty that a Blow Pop lasts up to 200 miles in the hands of a two and a half year-old.

Thank you, Charms.