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When my son first started eating solid food, he was an excellent eater. His diet was full of ordinary and esoteric fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors. Boy oh boy, did this make me smug. I told myself that it had to be the result of good parenting. There would be no picky eaters allowed in my household.

Hah! What a rude awakening I was in for. He turned two and the “no green stuff” phase began. Dinner’s standing order was “xx, no green stuff.” It could be spaghetti, quesadilla, or steak – there just couldn’t be any green stuff.

So how did we get from there to the kid who when confronted with a mess of collards at the grocery store hot bar joyfully proclaims “Ooh greens!”?

Here are a few of my best tricks:

Celebrate Fruits and Vegetables

Don’t hide fruits and vegetables in recipes as if you were ashamed to serve them. Celebrate them! Introduce new varieties or old favorites in different shapes and colors.

Get your kids involved in selecting new fruits and vegetables, whether at the grocery store or the farmers’ market. Learn about what you’re eating, how the varieties are grown and how different fruits and vegetables are related. This takes them out of the realm of “healthy eating,” a chore if ever there were one, and instead makes it fun.

Trust Kids to Develop Their Own Taste

Give your kids the latitude to not like something. In our classes, we ask every child to take a single “polite bite” of everything we try. If they like it, that’s great. If not, we give them language to explain why they don’t. Is it too tart? Is it too sour? This process not only empowers them to try new things without fear of reprisal, but also develops trust, so kids are more likely to try the next food presented.

Don’t Underestimate Kids

We’ve all been guilty of this. A child pushes away an ingredient so often that you, the parent, are programmed to expect they won’t like it. It can take up to 10 tries before a kid will accept a new ingredient. How many kids love tomato sauce but won’t let a raw tomato pass their lips? It’s important for parents to keep trying without expectations.

I once ran a veggie tasting for a group of second graders. Celery was one of the tasting items, so I brought celery root to show them how the plant grew. I offered the class extra credit if they would try the raw root. Fully expecting them to recoil from it, I cut up the root and, to my surprise, almost every child loved it.

Use Cool Tools

Admit it, it’s so much more fun to cook with cool tools, whether old favorites or new gadgets. Kids can’t be expected to be immune to their charms. In our classes, we bring in supplies of kid-sized equipment like tiny whisks, rubber spatulas and bowls. Our measuring cups and spoons are colorful and kid-friendly. Imagine their delight as they whisk up a batch of cumin-scented dressing for black bean salad or cut up tomatoes for a salad with their own hand chopper. Give them the right-sized tools and you’ll have to shoo them out of the kitchen instead of cajoling them in.

Pretty Presentation

Make your meal pretty. Presentation is key when dealing with kids. If something looks strange, many of them won’t even get past the appearance to give it a taste. Check out the most recent recipe I developed for Right@Home®, SC Johnson’s online resource for information, tips and offers on their products including Glade®, Windex®, Ziploc®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Pledge®, OFF!®, Raid® and more.

My Fun and Flavorful Lasagna Cupcakes are a delight for the eye as well as the mouth. Your kids will be so delighted at their appearance that they just might forget about the “green stuff” that’s inside.

If you’d like to see my upcoming recipes, register for Right@Home® to receive their monthly newsletter, which will highlight my future recipes and interesting articles about caring for your home.

The post Fun and Flavorful Lasagne Cupcakes for the Picky Eater appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

The best way to beat the April doldrums has got to be cooking fresh, colorful food, and Purple Asparagus teamed up with a group from Big Brothers Big Sisters last Thursday to do just that.  Outside the skies were gray and foggy, but inside the tables teemed with bright red and green peppers, pearly onions, juicy watermelon, ripe avocados, and more.  Once the junior high students in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood and their mentors arrived, the spirit in the room was much more Cinco de Mayo than early April.

And the food followed suit.  The menu for the day featured Mexican-inspired recipes like quesadillas with Black Bean Salad and Strawberry Salsa (see recipes here).  All of the recipes were packed with plenty of fresh ingredients in keeping with Big Brothers Big Sisters’ emphasis on healthy eating for a healthy lifestyle.  Many of the students were familiar with the elements of the meal—guacamole, salsa, quesadillas — but had never tried cooking the foods themselves.  One student remarked that he loved Mexican food, but had only had it from Taco Bell, and looked skeptical when we told him he would soon help turn tomatoes into salsa and lumps of dough into tortillas.

His hesitation was reflected on several other faces around the room (including some of the mentors!), but as soon as everyone started chopping, pouring, mixing, and grilling, the doubt turned to excitement when they realized how capable their own hands were.  When the cooking was finished everyone gathered around three large tables that had been pushed together to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  In between bites (and photographs) there was much laughter, much talk of food, and much approval of the “family dinner” we were having.  Overhearing that talk made me realize that food does far more than brighten up a dreary day: it brings us together over a common table and unites us with those around us despite where we’re from, how old we are, or what we do.  After all, everyone’s got to eat, right?

Carrie is a barista, writer, and lover of all things food. She is hoping to start a Master’s program in nutrition next fall.

The post Guest Post: A Fresh Feast with Big Brothers Big Sisters appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

This Saturday, April 20 in Millennium Park, The Nature Conservancy will host Picnic for Earth: Chicago, a celebration of our planet. In its third year, this event raises awareness of the significant challenges facing our global agricultural system, and asks people to think about where food comes from, how food choices impact the Earth, and their own well-being.

From 11am-3pm in the Park’s Chase Promenade-South Tent, guests will experience sustainable cooking demonstrations by Purple Asparagus’ Melissa Graham and her son, Thor, the Food Network’s The Hearty Boys, as well as other renowned chefs. There will also be activities for kids, a delicious picnic lunch, and a special musical performance by BLIND PILOT.

For more information about the event, and to purchase tickets, please The Nature Conservancy website here. Tickets are $25 per person and include all activities, a reusable tote and water bottle. We hope to see you there!

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Certainly, I’m not the only one with fond memories of listening to news radio on snowy mornings for school closures. Snow days were one of the great pleasures of my childhood, time spent alternating between outside snow play and indoor lazy day activities. Given that my mom was a school teacher, she too would have the day off so we could host friends, build snowmen, make cocoa, and, of course, play around in the kitchen.

As a parent, it was a sad day when I realized that here in Illinois we don’t get snow days. We’re a tough bunch here in the Midwest. No matter how deep the accumulation or how low the wind chill, school must go on. As a working parent, I know I should be grateful, but still . . .

So when last week’s weather reports predicted our first real snow, I didn’t think as an adult about errands not run or sidewalks to shovel. Instead, I was as giddy as Thor about the possibility of a snow day that we could actually enjoy. We made snow angels, took a long walk, had a snowball fight, made hot cocoa and made a giant mess in our kitchen, making the very pinnacle of nostalgic indulgences: Rice Crispy Treats.

I have not made them since high school, but one nibble of one recently sent me into a swoon and it got me thinking – why must they be made with margarine and bagged marshmallows? How awesome would they be if I used the real deal – butter, sugar, and real vanilla? Suspicions confirmed. Even my husband who originally pooh poohed my suggestion because he “never liked them” rated them tops among the days baking experiments.

I recently transformed this nostalgic favorite for Right@Home®, SC Johnson’s online resource for information, tips and offers on their products including Glade®, Windex®, Ziploc®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Pledge®, OFF!®, Raid® and more. Shaped into hearts and dipped in bittersweet chocolate ganache, these Easy Valentine’s Day Chocolate-Filled Hearts will delight your Valentine, whether young or old. Get the recipe here.

If you’d like to see my upcoming recipes, register for Right@Home® to receive their monthly newsletter, which will highlight my future recipes and interesting articles about caring for your home. 

The post A Nostalgic Indulgence: Crispy Rice Treats appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

Kids are funny, aren’t they?

I don’t know about yours, but my son’s favorite playthings are often not even toys. Give him a map and hours later you’ll find him tracing his way from Maine to California. Google maps and GeoMasters are tied as his favorite iPad apps. Neither he nor I could live without our car’s GPS; we’re simply motivated by different needs.

Maps aren’t his only geo-political obsession. I have a whole slew of his drawings of the flags of the world dating back to 2010.

Late last year, we hatched an idea that combined his love of nation states and my love of cooking. Regularly, we plan to focus on a country. We dedicated a blank book to this purpose. In it, he’ll draw the nation’s flag and pair it with a few quick facts about the selected country. For my part, he and I will cook together a meal from the country.

Starting with China, we launched our project on Saturday to coincide with the country’s New Year. We made Egg Rolls and Shrimp Toast from scratch and enjoyed Stir-Fried Hoisin Pork with Peppers from Grace Young’s Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge. 

Chicken Egg Rolls

2 tablespoons dried porcini
1/4 pound chicken breast
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon tamari
2 1/2 cups bean sprouts
4 cups fresh spinach, loosely packed, sliced into 1-inch ribbons
The greens of 2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Egg roll skins
Vegetable oil for frying
Sweet and Sour Sauce for dipping

Soak the mushrooms in hot water.

Cut the chicken breast into very thin strips. Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt, and tamari in a small bowl. Add the chicken strips and stir to coat. Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the bean sprouts in the water for 2 minutes. Drain.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook a few minutes or until it’s no longer pink. Remove from the pan and let cool on a small plate.

Heat remaining oil in the pan. Add the scallions and saute for a minute. Dump in the bean sprouts and spinach and cook until the spinach is softened. Return the chicken to the pan and stir together all the ingredients.

Scrape the mixture into a colander and let drain while it cools.

Heat a large pot filled with several inches of vegetable oil over high heat.

Fill egg roll skins according to package. Set the filled egg rolls onto a plate.

When the oil reaches 375-F degrees. Add 3 egg rolls at a time to the pot. Cook until the egg rolls are golden brown. Drain and serve hot with sweet and sour sauce.

Makes 10 egg rolls

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I wrote this blog post over 3 years ago. Sadly, while we have seen more attention paid to the issue of antibiotic resistance, there have been few large scale success in curbing the overuse of antibiotics in the livestock industry. Accordingly, I’m putting the subject in regular rotation on this blog in two ways. First, I plan to update you regularly on this public health scourge – in my view, the biggest threat to our children more so than even obesity. Second, here at Purple Asparagus, we’re going to regularly share with you restaurants of all styles that have committed to serving antibiotic free meat.  

I just read a really scary book.

It wasn’t written by Stephen King or James Patterson . It wasn’t even fiction. But the tales of necrotizing pneumonia and pus filled abscesses caused by a virulent strain of antibiotic resistant bacteria made my hair stand on end.

Maryn McKenna, an award-winning science and medical writer, has created a terrifying and vivid portrayal of drug-resistant staph in Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA. The book has the style of a crisply written detective novel from its first paragraph, comprised of one line:

This ordinary knee ache resulted from a collision on the volleyball court in the Chicago school gym where he scraped his elbow. From this small ordinary childhood injury, came a knee so swollen that this healthy teenager could not put weight on it. The first visit to the ER resulted in a prescription for Motrin and hot towels. A few days later, the teen was in so much pain that he could not walk, go to the bathroom, or even eat. The family made a second visit to the ER where they were referred to U of C’s children’s hospital. Within minutes of their arrival, Tony’s condition worsened and he crashed into septic shock. His body was wracked with infection – a voracious antibiotic resistant staph known as MRSA. Tony ultimately recovered after months of treatment and a few more months of rehab, but the story of how a little bit of bacteria felled an otherwise healthy kid is just the beginning of McKenna’s nightmarish portrayal of the infection that could hit any one of us at any time.

MRSA stands for methicillan-resistant Staphyloccus areus. As the historians among us will recall, the antibiotic era began during World War II. Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the mold that birthed penicillin on a culture dish of Staphyloccus (staph for short) in 1928. Twelve years later, a set of researchers proved the drug’s value to U.S. pharmaceutical companies who then manufactured the drug and sent it to Allied troops curing battlefield infections that previously were fatal. The public saw penicillin’s release in 1944. While it was heralded as a wonder drug, even its creator was beginning to fear the ability of the bacteria to circumvent the drug’s protection.

Given the wont of Americans to overdo, this fear was justified. Penicillin was added to face soaps and body creams and was prescribed to excess. The nimble bug evolved, getting stronger. Much of the book follows the bacteria and its aftermath. Appearing first mainly in hospitals where the patient’s resistance is weak, the bacteria then developed a community strain, infecting individuals with no connection to hospitals, either patients or workers, killing, in some instances, healthy children within hours.

The real story, however, is not the spread of this Superbug, but the system that we constructed to give it life. The over prescribing of antibiotics by busy doctors, overcrowded prisons, and poor hygiene are part of this perfect storm that we’ve created. While these are large contributors, we must not forget the livestock industry.

Between 70 and 80 % of the antibiotics used in this country are given to animals raised for food. While some of these drugs are given to sick animals, the majority is provided either preventatively (i.e. so that otherwise healthy animals will not get ill under the wretched confinement system that they are forced into) or as sub-therapeutic doses to help the animals gain weight so that they can reach slaughter sooner. Despite connections made between the antibiotics used in livestock production and resistant bacteria that infects individuals working with these animals, the livestock industry has claimed that this relationship is not proven with absolute certainty. (Whatever ever happened to the precautionary principle in science?). Their case is growing weaker by the day.

In the late 2000’s, a strain of MRSA know as ST398 emerged in the Netherlands. For years, the Netherlands instituted a stringent “search and destroy” policy to prevent the spread of MRSA. Anyone suspected of carrying MRSA (a patient previously admitted to a hospital in a foreign country or with a leaking wound) went immediately into isolation upon arrival to rid them of the offending bacteria. The system worked. According to McKenna, in 2000, only .03 % newly admitted patients in the Netherlands were carrying MRSA as compared to 2.6 percent in the U.S.

Then the young daughter of a pig farmer arrived at a hospital colonized with MRSA. A doctor from the Netherlands interviewed by McKenna stated that “I saw twenty patients colonized in a year, max, and in every case we knew the source. I had not seen a MRSA infection in fourteen years. Yet here was this little child, who had not been in a hospital abroad. It was amazing.” And, as McKenna adds, unnerving.

Before reading Superbug, the question of confinement raised animals was an ethical one for me – whether the misery inflicted upon animals and, for that matter, the humans working in those facilities by the putrid conditions outweighed the need to eat cheap meat. Even the environmental degradation resulting from the inevitable careless management of CAFOs seemed a distant and intangible casualty. For me, Superbug has changed the argument from one of ethics to a moral imperative. In every hamburger of unknown origin, I see Tony Love’s face or even worse that of Carlos Don IV.

Carlos was another healthy kid who left on a school trip to the mountain and returned with a 104°F fever. The first doctor diagnosed Carlos with walking pneumonia so his mother kept him home bundled and hydrated until she realized that he was beginning to hallucinate. She rushed Carlos to the hospital and the doctor’s ultimately diagnosed his condition as MRSA. A long slow death march ensued during which Carlos’s lungs dissolved and clotting choked off the blood to his lower intestines, legs and arms. In two weeks, he was dead.

After reading Carlos’s story late in the evening, I woke my son from a dead sleep to scrub his hands clean. I hugged him as tightly as I could.

When I first wrote this article. I just came back from Portland where I was speaking with a friend from Berkeley. She’s devoted to sustainable causes and eats well – I think she may even largely keep a vegetarian diet. Yet, she told me about the antibiotic resistant staph infection she contracted after staying in the hospital for post-op. She eats well, she takes care of herself and yet, she has been impacted by this terrible scourge caused by the misuse of antibiotics. This isn’t about you or me or our personal choices, but how we protect society at large.

On the same trip, I had the pleasure to hear Ruth Reichl speak and she implored the audience to reject confinement raised animal. As she put it, if everyone stopped buying them and eating them, the practice would be history. Knowing what I now know, I think it’s a moral duty.

If you want to learn more about the issue and how to get involved in the fight against the overuse of antibiotics in the livestock industry, become part of the Save Antibiotics campaign led by Pew Charitable Trust. Their Facebook page is Save Antibiotics for the Sick and their Twitter handle is @saveantibiotics.

The post Save Us from the Superbug: Save Antibiotics appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

Purple Asparagus has partnered with the Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education (CEMSE) at the University of Chicago and Region Apps, LLC, to develop a student survey iPad app as part of a program evaluation of Purple Asparagus’ Delicious Nutritious Adventures program. The program evaluation, conducted by CEMSE, is taking place in ten CPS first grade classrooms over the 2012-13 school year. Children in participating classrooms will take the survey before and after participating in a series of monthly Purple Asparagus lessons.

Designed for children ages 5-10, the app measures students’ familiarity with a variety of fruits and vegetables, how often they eat these foods, and how willing they are to try new foods. The app also measures students’ general feelings about healthy eating, including their habits at home. To use the app, students wear headphones and listen to each question and multiple response choices, and answer using a touch screen. Students control the pace of navigating through the items, which uses photographs, colors and fonts to capture students’ interest.

The survey app development was inspired by a need to accurately and efficiently learn about students’ experiences before and after the program, on a large scale, where participating students vary in their reading proficiency. The app takes about 5-10 minutes per student to complete. The survey app was taken by 100 first grade students in January 2013 and will be administered to these students again in the spring of 2013. Students remained focused on the survey for its duration, which, depending on the student, was between five and ten minutes. Most students had previous experience using an iPad and were familiar with the touch screen. Student response to the app was very positive and many students commented that taking the survey was a fun experience. To learn more about the student survey app, please contact Amy Cassata at acassata@uchicago.edu.

The post Technology in the Classroom – Creating Measurables with Apps appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

I’ve previously written about why I think it’s important to let kids be in control of what they put in their mouths. Part of this means, letting them choose if they want to take a bite of a new food or not. My thinking is that forcing a child to eat something they don’t want may increase their fear of new foods, as well as lead to a general distrust of the eating experience.

While I believe that children should have the ultimate right to not try a new food, that doesn’t mean that they (or you) get an easy out. I believe that children need enthusiastic encouragement to try a new food, knowledge on the proper way to say “no thank you” to a second bite, as well as good vocabulary to describe what they like or don’t like about a new food. In my opinion, giving children control over their eating situation will make them much more likely to try new foods in the long run, even if you strike-out on one…or two…or seventeen meals.

When I’ve shared my opinion on this in the past, I struck a nerve with many of you. Some people expressed total, utter relief about it, telling me things like “it’s taken such a weight off my shoulders to know that I’m doing all I can to offer my children healthy foods without making dinnertime a battle.” While others disagreed with the “no force” approach, telling me things like “healthy eating is worth battling for” and “if I spend an hour making a dish, my kids are going to try at least one bite.”

Certainly, every child and situation is unique, and only you can decide what’s the best approach for your family. But here’s what some experts say about it, on both sides of the debate.

Against the “One Bite” Rule

Ellyn Satter, child feeding expert (and my idol!), is not a fan of forcing a bite. In her book, Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, she eloquently says:

In Favor of the “One Bite” Rule

The founder of Purple Asparagus (I highly respect her work) has successfully incorporated the “one bite” rule into the not-for-profit’s efforts to introduce children to new and healthy foods. In a comment on a previous blog post of mine, she said:

The Customized Approach to the “One Bite” Rule

On her blog, Raise Healthy Eaters, Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen talks about how a child’s “food personality” is a key factor in how the “one bite” rule will play out.

 An Alternate Approach to the “One Bite” Rule

Sociologist and child feeding expert, Dina Rose, of It’s Not About Nutrition offers an alternative approach to the “one bite” rule, in an effort to help engage your kids in positive discussions about food.

So there you have it. Four different, well articulated opinions about the “one bite” rule. What has worked best for your family?

About Laura Chalela Hoover

Laura is a Chicago-based registered dietitian and mother of two young children. She is passionate about helping busy families do the best they can to nourish themselves using science-based, realistic and time-efficient strategies. Laura received her Master’s in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Michigan. Visit her site, Pint-Sized Nutrition, to learn more.

The post Guest Post: Four Expert Opinions on “The One Bite Rule” appeared first on Purple Asparagus.

Purple carrots, had only I known you seven years ago. . .

Unlike many other purple vegetables, like purple Brussels sprouts and sadly even purple asparagus, purple carrots, the ones colored through to their core retain their vivid hue after cooking. Not only do they keep their color, but purple carrots lend it to their partner ingredients in a dish.

You won’t find these carrots at your ordinary grocery store. No, for these, you’ll have to make a stop at Green City Market. Look for Vicky Westerhoff of Genesis Growers, she’ll hook you up.

Purple carrots will help your kids to eat a rainbow – a recommendation that many a dietician and doctor would make for a healthy diet. Thor and I were given a terrific tool to keep track of his rainbow consumption from my friend, Kia Robertson: a Today I ate a Rainbow Kit. He tracks what colors he’s eating on the magnetized fridge chart, I plan for our week’s worth of rainbow foods with the shopping list, and we both enjoy her delightful book, The Rainbow Bunch.

Purple Bean Soup

Serves 4

6 cups chicken stock
1 ham hock
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 purple carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
½ teaspoon cumin
3 cups cooked black beans
1 bay leaf

Pour the chicken stock into a large pot and add the ham hock. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the ham hock and reserve for another purpose.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan or soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté until the vegetables are softened. Sprinkle the cumin over the vegetables and cook for another minute.

Add the black beans and pour in 4 cups of the ham stock. The remainder can be frozen for another purpose. Drop in the bay leaf, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and three grinds of freshly ground pepper and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes.

Puree in a blender (be sure to cover the top with a clean dish towel) or with a stick blender. Ladle into shallow bowls and dollop with sour cream and a spritz of lime juice.

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