May 2012
10 posts
12 tags
Baked Penne with Local Cheeses & Pureed Butternut...
Baked whole wheat penne pasta with local cheeses (ricotta by Salvatore Brooklyn; fresh mozzarella by Russo’s) and organic baby spinach in a tomato sauce surrounded by butternut squash puree; haricot verts; Bing cherries; half a peach (our first of the season!) garnished with organic strawberries
The sun is back after a couple of days of heavy rains. The peaches and cherries are back...
12 tags
Food Revolution Day Has Arrived!
All day long, guests have been dropping by our Facebook page on behalf of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day, from our friend Kristina (who we wrote about yesterday) to Applegate Farms. It’s been a fun show of support, although I think this just may be the first “dry event” I’ve ever hosted. We may have to fix that and end the day with a champagne toast or a boozy...
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A Prelude to Tomorrow's Food Revolution Day
Today’s recipe for Fresh-Baked Honey Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels comes from my friend Kristina Wiedenhoeft of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.
Kristina has been a source of inspiration for me over the years with the meals she lovingly prepares for her family of 7. In addition to choosing local organic produce and pastured meats, she has been making her own bread, muffins, cakes, and crackers for...
8 tags
Ham, Cheese & Um...Asparagus
Nitrate and antibiotic-free humanely raised shredded ham slices; grilled asparagus; Gruyere cheese; organic Granny Smith apples; Persian cucumbers and organic mini sweet tomatoes; mini farmhouse cheddar roll from a local bakery as a special treat; organic strawberries
With just one month left of school, it’s no wonder I feel like I’ve hit a wall when it comes to making creative...
7 tags
Soft Shell Fish Tacos
Chunks of leftover fresh wild-caught local flounder (breaded and baked), shredded organic raw baby spinach and diced organic tomatoes with a squeeze of lime in a whole wheat tortilla; red seedless grapes, farro salad (recipe forthcoming) and anjou pear balls.
Today is the day for all leftovers to move out of the fridge to make room for a Fresh Direct delivery. The kids and husband seemed...
11 tags
Mother's Day 2012: Good Eats & Sweet Treats
I was bad* on Mother’s Day…and it was good!
Brunch: overnight baked whole wheat Challah French toast with candied pecans, organic strawberries and banana slices made and plated by my husband with styling assistance by the Little Ladies. It was a lot more sugar than I’d typically eat in one day, but honestly — the food was made with so much love that it could have been...
10 tags
Herbed Chicken Drumsticks
Roasted humanely-raised chicken drumsticks with herbs over a bed of raw spinach; organic strawberries; Asian pear “fries”; Minneola tangelo slices; cornbread as a special treat
It’s a rainy, cool day today in Brooklyn. I wanted to send the kids to school with a little warmth and sunshine from home.
7 tags
Grilled Pizza
Light sides are the perfect match for pizza:
Instructions:
Heat your grill until it’s nice and hot, around 400 degrees. In order to cook the pizza evenly you’ll want somewhat indirect heat, which you can achieve by spreading the coals more heavily around the edges of the grill, or if you have a gas grill, by turning the burners directly under the pizza a little lower than the...
8 tags
YMCA 5k Fundraiser
The Little Ladies ran a 5k this morning and raised $200 for their local YMCA. Both girls did an amazing job — the younger of the two choosing to run despite illness and injury.
Donations such as theirs make programs available for kids and families who otherwise would not be able to afford them. To read more about the YMCA, click here.
We’re very proud of the girls, and happy that the Y...
8 tags
Mapo Tofu - Guest Post by the Husband/Daddy of the...
Traditional preparations of mapo tofu have a bright red oil floating over the surface of the dish that is intensely hot, followed by a cooling, numbing sensation - this is the “mala” feeling that you get from frying Szechuan peppercorns and then using the resulting oil in the dish (along with using a spicy bean paste). This version of the recipe eliminates that to make it more...
April 2012
9 posts
8 tags
Getting Outside, Getting Active
Along with the warmer weather comes greater opportunity for wellness.
Many people will find it easier to eat healthier and lighter (summer foods rock!)
….to get outside and see the gifts that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us (this is Brooklyn in the photos, folks)
and just become more active all the way across the board.
With longer daylight hours comes a longer period...
7 tags
Sausage, Peppers & Sweet Onions
Grilled humanely raised, nitrate/antibiotic free sausage with organic red and yellow peppers and sweet Vidalia onions; organic baby spinach with organic strawberry slices; Ojai Pixie seedless tangerine, whole grain baguette slices and pistachios.
11 tags
Easy-Does-It Multigrain Tostada Bowls
The kids went nuts for this dish: a multigrain tostada bowl stuffed with shredded free-range chicken (leftover from our meal of roasted chicken the night before), avocados, organic corn, orange peppers, organic black beans, red onion, local organic butter lettuce, locally made cave-aged cheddar from raw milk with a dollop of organic sour cream and locally made salsa.
We purchased the bowls at...
14 tags
Gearing Up for Food Revolution Day (May 19)
100% grass-fed ground beef, raised at Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse
Baked organic yams (raw vegetable tray in background):
The Jamie Oliver Foundation recently announced a “global day of action to inspire, educate, and empower people everywhere to stand up for real food.” According to the Food Revolution Day website:
Food Revolution Day on May 19 is a chance for people who love food to...
4 tags
Now on Facebook
We would love for you to join us on Facebook for interactive discussion and off-blog commentary (or just to lurk). Click here to visit us and see if you “like” the new page, or just click the icon above.
6 tags
Light & Easy Post-Easter Bento
If you’re like us, you’re probably looking to eat a little lighter post-Easter, while simultaneously looking for ways to use up those Easter eggs.
Our featured bento contains crudites (organic carrots, red and yellow peppers, celery), hummus, organic red seedless grapes and hard-boiled pastured eggs. A mini whole wheat pita bread was wrapped separately to prevent sogginess.
7 tags
Eggs by Mother Nature
Easter eggs dyed using only vegetables and spices: an art project and science lesson all in one.
Happy Easter, All!
8 tags
Grass-Fed Beef Bento
This is my stepson’s version of a Happy Meal. :0) Said stepson wanted me to make it very clear that he is not a Little Lady, by the way.
Today’s bento features grass-fed beef, sauteed green beans with garlic, kiwi and organic strawberry slices, dragon fruit (sort of tastes like a cross between a kiwi and a pear) and a wee bit of low-sugar, organic ketchup.
6 tags
Organic Strawberries & Fresh, Local Cream
Strawberries and homemade whipped cream are hands down a favorite no-bake treat in our family — and so easy to whip up (no pun intended)! My youngest daughter recently took 25 mini servings to school as her classroom birthday treat and received rave reviews.
Below, her older sister agreed to walk us through the process.
First, here’s what you’ll need: local cream, sugar (we...
March 2012
8 posts
7 tags
Grain-Free Chicken Avocado BLT
Today’s bento today features an organic red leaf lettuce wrap stuffed with humanely-raised meats (chicken and nitrate-free bacon), organic grape tomatoes and avocado. The sides are pomegranate seeds, Sumo orange slices (read about them here at The Jolly Tomato), organic raw red pepper and a fruit kebab of organic strawberries and fresh pineapple.
In addition to one meatless day per week,...
8 tags
Spring Has Arrived!
Today as an after-school snack we brought back a repeat of one of last year’s posts featuring spring-themed finger foods. Pictured are butterfly shaped mini sandwiches (almond butter and low-sugar jam), freshly baked kale chips, honeydew melon balls and raw yellow pepper chicks.
The Little Ladies are very happy to to greet spring, but in all honestly, I am personally still sort of...
7 tags
Red Cabbage, Beet & Currant Slaw Salad
My cousin Darlene introduced us to this delicious, healthy and beautiful warm weather salad over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. It was the perfect accompaniment to her homemade corned beef brisket and would compliment any sort of spring/summer fare.
You can find the recipe here.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day!
To make a shamrock apple, use a cookie cutter and push it slightly into a Golden Delicious apple. Next use a knife to chisel out the shape of the cut. Then, use the cookie cutter to cut out a chunk of Granny Smith apple. Insert the Granny Smith shamrock into the golden delicious. Done.
Inspired by A Mum ‘N the Oven.
6 tags
Green, White & Orange: Nod to St. Patrick's Day
Today’s bento is dedicated to the Maher side of the family and consists of fresh whole wheat pasta and broccoli tossed with walnut pesto (with a raw spinach shamrock); sauteed garlic string beans; an “Irish flag fruit salad” (green = honeydew, white + anjou pear, orange = cantaloupe); pistachio nuts and cara cara orange slices, which are closer to the shade of a blood orange...
6 tags
Grass-fed Baby Lamb Chop
By request for my baby’s 7th birthday bento: grilled grass-fed baby lamb chop; roasted broccoli (seasoned with orange rind, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh Parmesan cheese); Persian cucumber slices with organic tomatoes; organic strawberries and kiwi slices.
This year’s bento is a far cry from last year’s, when we were still packing processed snacks occasionally. ...
5 tags
Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Ginger &...
Made in honor of my 16 year old stepson (who fancies pineapple and key lime pie like nobody’s business), this cake is a twist on the classic pineapple upside down cake and features hints of ginger and citrus.
For the bottom (which will become the top):
8 slices of organic pineapple in natural juice (see below for what to do with the rest of the can or container of juice from fresh, cored...
5 tags
Oven Baked Sweet Onion Rings
Nitrate-free, organic turkey breast slices with cheddar cheese sunbursts; oven baked sweet onion rings; dinosaur egg fruit (official name “pluat,” a cross between a plum and an apricot), organic tri-color raw pepper salad, low-sugar organic ketchup in condiment holder
The close-up glamour shot:
Even if you’re not a big fan of onion rings to begin with, you really have to...
February 2012
7 posts
5 tags
Pancake Poppers (inspired by Danish Aebleskiver)
Multi-grain pancake poppers stuffed with no-sugar-added apple sauce; a side of organic strawberries and a peanut butter cup (just peanut butter and salt — period) with organic granny smith apple slices for dipping. There is a small amount of real maple syrup in the condiment holder, but the last time the girls ate pancake poppers they said they were perfect as-is so they didn’t...
5 tags
Popcorn Tossed with Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Crushed...
What do you do with just enough kale chips left to feed 1 or 2 people, but you’re serving a snack to a party of 4?
Here is one solution:
air-pop a half a cup of popcorn
place popcorn in a large bowl
drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
add crushed kale chips
add Parmesan cheese
sprinkle with sea salt
toss and serve
Enjoy!
This post is dedicated to my cousin Darlene (a kale chip...
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A Video Worth Watching & Sharing
Short and sweet, please click ***here*** for a video entitled GET REAL FOR KIDS by NourishMD.
Yes, there is sound. Just be patient for a few seconds.
Share the video with your friends, your family, school administrators, HR department employees responsible for vending machines at your workplace… anyone who needs a nudge regarding the importance of real food.
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A Little Anecdote About Pasta Pesto
Whole wheat pasta pesto, roasted broccoli (with extra virgin olive oil, orange rind, salt, pepper, garlic), organic strawberries, pomegranate seeds, free-range, organic chicken roasted with fresh herbs and Meyer lemons
Pasta pesto. Just a couple of years ago it was public enemy #1 in our house as far as the kids were concerned. Think “ew, that slimy green stuff!” for starters,...
6 tags
Delicious No-Bake Valentine's Day Desserts (& a...
This is *so* easy to pull off, folks, and so delicious. I hope you give it a try!
All you need is your fruit of choice and a high quality dark chocolate bar. Melt the chocolate in a water bath. Don’t know how? No longer a valid excuse:
Chop the chocolate bar into semi-uniform pieces to ensure even melting. Do not just chuck the entire bar into a bowl and expect things to go well.
...
4 tags
A Non-Food Valentine's Day Classroom Treat
This is a look back at last year’s Valentine’s Day post, when my friend Diane shared with me her family’s tradition of making a non-food Valentine favors for her children’s classmates.
She rightfully says it’s a great way to put old, cracked crayons to use. Bonus: her kids are now old enough to actively participate in the process she first spied in a magazine years ago.
...
4 tags
Superbowl Pigs-in-a-Blanket Redux & Other Noshes
First off, congratulations to our hometown team, the New York Giants!
We had a lovely selection of Superbowl fare despite the fact that we are still not fully operational after our move.
A few examples of our starting finger foods line-up include:
organic, nitrate-free grass-fed beef hotdogs sliced to mini size and baked in puff pastry with a trio of dipping sauces (Berlin’s famous...
January 2012
8 posts
3 tags
Out to Lunch !
Friends, we are moving this weekend and I just sealed the boxes carrying the bento equipment.
Please bear with us for a few days while we’re off-line. The blog’s one year anniversary is coming up and so is Valentine’s Day, so we’ll be back to cover those events and more as soon as we are able.
I can’t wait to give you a peak at the new kitchen, and walk you through...
3 tags
Sadly, it's true.
I don’t normally post signage on my blog, but this is worth making an exception for.
In regards to children specifically, take a look at most children’s menus at restaurants. Investigate school cafeterias.
Then, volunteer at the pediatric ward of a local hospital and see what the children are being served while they are in recovery.
It’s heartbreaking.
We need more...
8 tags
When the Sickies Strike...
*Exhale*
We just spent the past few days nursing a virus that came out of nowhere and seemed to go away within 24 hours, only to morph into a different sort of beast shortly thereafter.
It started with a stomach virus, which basically meant it was difficult to stay hydrated. To help with diarrhea, we turned to the BRAT diet (no longer recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics, but...
12 tags
Turkey Bolognese Over Whole Wheat Casarecce
A steaming ladle of humanely raised, antibiotic free turkey bolognese sauce over casarecce whole wheat pasta with fresh Parmesan cheese; organic raw spinach; clementine orange slices; organic red seedless grapes; organic Pink Lady apple slices.
Leftovers are are favorite of mine when it comes to packing a bento. The pasta was boiled fresh this morning, but the sauce was defrosted overnight...
13 tags
Bacon !
Asian pear “fries;” organic green and red seedless grape kebabs; mini whole wheat cheddar roll (fresh from a local bakery); half a clementine orange; organic nitrate/antibiotic-free turkey bacon
We are a family of bacon lovers. Whether it’s “regular” pork bacon, turkey bacon, or even duck bacon (wow, what a treat, especially when making gourmet BLT’s with...
5 tags
she makes muffins (guest post!)
In 2011, at thirty-seven years old, I made peace with my kitchen. Up until now it was a — what’s the word for something you only have because you have to have it? In my mind, a kitchen was like a junk drawer or a laundry hamper. You have one whether you like it or not. It’s not pretty, it’s there for a purpose, you toss things into it and run away as fast as possible.
...
10 tags
Guacamole Finally Made the Bento!
Grass-fed lean ground beef and a sprinkling of extra sharp white cheddar in a whole wheat soft shell taco; pomegranate seeds; tangelo orange slices; a dollop of organic reduced fat sour cream; organic stone-ground blue corn chips with sea salt; homemade guacamole
Oh happy day! My husband and I are rabid homemade guacamole fans, so naturally it’s pretty much a staple at our home. Every...
5 tags
Crunchy (guest post!)
Guest blogger Tiffany Ard from Electric Boogaloo is posting this week, even though she has Boisterous Boys who Brunch instead of Little Ladies who Lunch.
Templeton: How’s this? It says CRUNCHY. Crunchy would be a good word for your web.
Charlotte: Just the wrong idea. Couldn’t be worse. We don’t want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is crunchy.
When I was stumbling through the...
December 2011
5 posts
6 tags
Paris New Year (in Brooklyn!)
When my youngest daughter was 10 months old and my oldest was 2 1/2, our family of 4 became a family of 3. As tough as it was initially I quickly learned to embrace the role as solo parent to my 2 little girls.
Shortly after relocating from Manhattan to Brooklyn I joined a local single parent support group. It was there that I first encountered the concept of “Paris New...
6 tags
Christmas-Themed Classroom Party Idea
This was last year’s contribution to the holiday classroom parties: a styrofoam craft store tree painted with green acrylic paint, wrapped in plastic and then decorated with organic fruit, cheese and whole grain crackers. Not a morsel remained.
To add to the cuteness factor, fill the empty platter space that surrounds the tree with air-popped popcorn.
We’re thinking of doing...
11 tags
Homemade Chinese Chicken & Broccoli
Homemade leftover Chinese chicken and broccoli over brown rice; organic Granny Smith apple slices; a clementine “stuffed” with pomegranate seeds
I’m all about festive Christmas colors right now. I can’t help myself!
Today’s bento features last night’s homemade Chinese chicken and broccoli leftovers. The dish is simple to prepare and tastes a million times...
7 tags
Seasonal Cranberry Oat Banana Breakfast Bread
Yesterday was a lovely family day at our house. We took a brisk walk around Prospect Park (3.53 miles on this particular route), played games, made hot mulled cider, baked ourselves a breakfast treat to wake up to on Monday morning and cooked a Sunday dinner of whole wheat pappardelle sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese, turkey meatballs, tomato basil sauce and homemade garlic bread made...
8 tags
6 Minute Christmas Bento
Yes, I timed how long it took me to make today’s lunch of almond butter on whole wheat bakery bread with a teaspoon of local blackberry jam, navel orange slices with a few organic cranberries for color, and organic apple slices tossed with ground cinnamon.
All that was needed to make the sandwich was a round cutter (ours has crimped edges, although you can’t tell from the photo) and...
November 2011
7 posts
7 tags
The Last of the Leftovers & Thanksgiving Wrap-Up
Unlike most families, ours never seems to tire of turkey. Today’s bento features the last of the turkey breast thinly sliced and served on pretzel bread (a special treat) smeared with a little homemade cranberry sauce with hints of citrus. The sides consist of fresh kiwi, naval orange slices with pomegranate seeds and a salad of diced red bell peppers and cucumber.
Thanksgiving was an...
7 tags
Mouthwateringly Delicious (& Heart Healthy) Apple...
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Cathy Elton of What Would Cathy Eat.com, a blog dedicated to Cathy’s culinary adventures post-coronary stents. An admirer of her work, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that she lives only a few short blocks from my home. How cool is it that Cathy, despite dietary restrictions, has been able to create recipes that even your most staunch...
6 tags
Thanksgiving-Themed Classroom Party Picks
For the 4th year running, our fruit, cheese & raw veggie turkey will appear at our annual Thanksgiving classroom parties. Originally spied by my friend Robyn Kahle in a parenting magazine, Mr. Gobble is a hit with the children because he’s delicious and utterly adorable (I can guarantee oohhs and ahhs even from the teen set) and can be enjoyed by all since he is allergen free. He...