little LADIES WHO LUNCH

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 cocktail for good measure. 

When I first wrote about the Revolution last month, I committed to hosting a dinner party at home.  That idea changed when I found out from our friends at the Children and Nature Network that today is also National Kids to Park Day.  After a quick check of the weather forecast a picnic started to make a lot more sense, so we turned to our trusty tiffins to make life easier.

Here is what we packed:

pastured baby back ribs with homemade bbq sauce

red & golden quinoa salad (with crushed chickpeas, garlic, cumin, carrots, scallion, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley)

lemon-scented sugar snap peas (recipe here)

whole wheat pita bread triangles

hummus

toasted walnut lentil pate, aka Faux Gras (made locally by The Regal Vegan)

Bing cherries (welcome back — we’ve missed you!)

watermelon balls

homemade tapioca pudding

The Little Ladies love a good picnic, and relished in the opportunity to climb trees and hula hoop in the fresh air and sunshine at 500+ acre Prospect Park. 

The day has been filled with an avalanche of amazing advice on healthy eating, the summary of which is to eat “real” food and know its source.  For a recap of events all around the world, check out the Food Revolution Community page. 

In addition to fueling your body with good food, don’t forget to work in exercise, spend time in nature and take a moment to reflect on your inner self.  Be well, and remember that Food Revolution Day is really every day.

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. 

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 chose an “active” fundraising method that got the kids moving.

Feeling terrific and picking out a healthy post-race snack or two is always a bonus!

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 of time to work in after-dinner family walks, and with the end of the school year comes a flurry of last-minute fundraisers like the upcoming 5k the girls will run to raise money for their local YMCA. 

There are opportunities abound for wellness!  You owe it to yourself and your family to slow down and seize that opportunity. 

And while you’re thinking of ways to eat healthier and become more active, don’t forget to introduce a tiny dose of mindfulness into your day. 

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 come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.

So what does Little Ladies Who Lunch (The Food Revolution’s Blog of the Month!) have planned? 

We’re aiming to host a dinner party at our home featuring fresh, wholesome foods similar to the meal we’ve featured in today’s post (all treasures from our recent Spring Break trip to Pennsylvania and New Jersey after visiting local farms and markets). 

(left to right from Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse) Taleggio (imported from Italy via the farm); house-made cranberry walnut loaf; pastured duck salami; house-made cave-aged cheddar with a patina rind made from grass-fed raw milk

We will also encourage readers and fellow bloggers to stop by our Facebook page and share photographs of their culinary adventures, recipes, how-to suggestions – anything that will help us exchange ideas on how to eat in a healthier manner.

Lastly, our May 19^th blog post will be teeming with links to some of our favorite sites and images that keep us inspired and we hope will do the same for others. 

Homemade quiche (local Hudson Valley organic cream, local pastured eggs, cave-aged Gruyere, ramps, organic tomatoes and diced crispy humanely-raised prosciutto)

Field salad with lightly sauteed asparagus, organic heirloom tomatoes, crushed walnuts, diced dried apricots and baby beets with a handmade balsamic vinaigrette

Please join us! For more on Food Revolution Day and how you can get involved, click here.

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. 

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 fanatic)! 

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. 

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, followed by a major meltdown complete with gagging and tears just for setting the bowl down on the table.  Really.  Even in the absence of the words “try a little.”  

Flash forward to school Harvest Day, an event that is part of a special DOE School Food / NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets program called “Garden to School Cafe.” Mostly though, it’s executed through the hard work of our school Garden Committee Co-Chairs and the Chair of our Wellness Committee.

In short, Harvest Day affords our students the opportunity to play fun food-related games, explore a food expo featuring fresh veggies and homemade dips, toasted pumpkin seeds, freshly squeezed juices and apples from our region.  They also get the opportunity to sample three specially prepared dishes (baba ghanoush, potato salad sans mayonnaise and a winter squash medley, for instance) and vote on a winner.

The hi-lite of the day, though, is having the kids eat their lunch (which contains fresh herbs harvested from the school garden) in the school’s “big yard.”  One lunch in particular was herbed chicken and brown rice, fresh green beans and a super tasty salad bar that included pasta pesto (the basil came from the school garden) and a chick pea salad.

I’m not sure if it was the concept of “growing your own” that finally enabled my girls to settle down and try some of the food they had help tend to from seedlings, or if it was simply peer pressure because everyone else was sampling all the food, but pasta pesto has been a hit ever since.

For that reason and countless others, I am a huge fan of school gardens.  If you aren’t fortunate enough to have one, I urge you to consider starting one, even if it’s small and you have to use raised beds in the school yard or Aerogardens in the classroom. 

For information on the amazing benefits of school gardens, click here.  Please take the time to check out the link.