September 3rd Menu

Bread is on tomorrow's childcare center menu for breakfast and lunch and snack is pumpkin pie. I am going to rebel by sending O's with Caroline for her breakfast. If I was feeling more creative and had more time, I would make something with rice or with an ancient grain like quinoa or spelt but since I am in my new routine that involves 3 hours in my car commuting to Ann Arbor, boxed cereal will have to do.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, September 3: Breakfast - pear (Threadgould Gardens), O's; Lunch - 100% whole grain bread, hummus, cucumbers (home garden), watermelon (Greenman Produce); Snacks - carrot bread (Crane Centennial Farm carrots), Sun Gold and Pear cherry tomatoes (home garden)

Childcare Center Menu, September 3: Breakfast - pears, wheat bagel, cream cheese; Lunch - turkey sandwich, cantaloupe, cucumbers; Snacks - pumpkin pie, carrots

End of Summer Pesto

In less than 3 hours, summer will be over. We just got home after a long weekend vacation on Mackinac Island. We had a lovely time. We rented a condo on the more secluded west side of the island. There are no motorized vehicles on Mackinac Island so we spent half of our time biking and riding around on a horse-drawn carriage and the other half exploring, eating, and watching the sunset. It was the perfect end to summer. We drove into town just before 5:00 pm and headed straight for the co-op to buy our week's groceries. The co-op was closed but there were a couple of working members inside and they let us in! We were hungry when we got home so I threw together one of my quickest summer meals: tomato drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, fettuccine with pesto, corn-on-the-cob. The tomato was a gorgeous heirloom variety that I picked up at the co-op and the corn was part of the bushel I bought last week from Rebecca Titus. The pesto is part of the 10 batches or so that I made a couple of weekends ago using my friend Anne's basil. Pesto is easy to make, freezes well, and defrosts quickly. We freeze small portions in old Gerber baby food jars or plastic 1/4 cup serving containers (from all that pearsauce that Caroline eats) and eat it all winter long...and on nights like tonight when I want something that's easy to prepare.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, September 2: Breakfast - O's, peach (Heritage Acres Farms); Lunch - garbanzo beans, corn (Titus Farm), brown rice with chard (Owosso Organics), dill, and feta cheese; watermelon (Greenman Produce); Snacks - graham crackers; sunflower butter

Childcare Center Menu, September 2: Breakfast - grape juice, Cheerios, Golden Grahams, Rice Krispies; Lunch - cheesy rice, corn, beans, bananas; Snacks - graham crackers, soynut butter

How Will I Do It?

I woke up this morning with anxiety. For almost three months now, I haven't had to think much about how to mimic the childcare center's meals with nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks made with ingredients grown/raised without harmful chemicals and sourced as close to home as possible. On most days, Caroline and I just open the refrigerator and pull out whatever seasonal fruits and vegetables we have on hand and pull together a last minute meal. On Monday and Wednesday nights, I grudgingly look over the childcare center's menus for the next day and make a feeble attempt to mimic the cakes, hot dogs, and smiley fries. I realized early this morning that next week will mark the start of my postdoctoral research fellowship at University of Michigan and a new year, and new classroom, for Caroline. University of Michigan is an hour away (an unsustainable commute) which will make finding time to prepare meals challenging. I'm not sure how I will do it just yet but I know that it will involve a lot of planning and advance meal preparation. I just hope that Geoff and I don't kill each other trying to make it work! I tried to get ahead tonight by freezing two 1-cup portions of our dinner leftovers: brown rice with chard, feta cheese, and dill. Tomorrow, I am going to try to take advantage of the Michigan harvest (while it lasts) and pack the fruits and vegetables I picked up at the farmers' market on Saturday, or in our home garden, in lieu of the grapes, kiwi, and California vegetables.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, August 26: Breakfast - pearsauce, French toast (Flying Goat Farm eggs); Lunch - brown rice, baked and marinated tofu, zucchini (Owosso Organics), tomatoes (home garden), Red Baby watermelon (Cinzori Farms); Snacks - blueberries (Threadgould Gardens), whole grain crackers

Childcare Center Menu, August 26: Breakfast - applesauce, French toast sticks; Lunch - sweet and sour chicken with rice, California vegetables, kiwi; Snacks - garlic bread, grapes

Saturday Farmers' Market Picks

Our fridge is still full of food that we bought last week at the farmers' market so we only picked up a few things today: a bushel of corn for canning (Titus Farms), Red Baby watermelon (Cinzori Farms), okra and Thai basil (Crane Centennial Farm), and two beautiful bouquets of flowers. I love fresh flowers.

Training Week

I just got home from a week in Washington, D.C. where I was reviewing grant proposals for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before going on long trips, I usually prepare a bunch of dishes that Geoff and Caroline can eat throughout the week. I put the dishes -- lasagna, soups, salads -- in Tupperware containers and neatly stack them in the refrigerator. And I leave Geoff with the childcare center menus and notes on what to pack for Caroline's lunch. But this time I didn't do either. The days leading up to my trip were busy but more than that, I just felt that I didn't and shouldn't have to spend hours in the kitchen doing what I was sure Geoff was capable of doing for himself (and for Caroline). I thought of it as "training week" for Geoff. I must admit though that I was worried that I would come home to a recycling bin full of empty cans of Wolfgang Puck soups and empty boxes of Amy's frozen pizza, ravioli bowls and enchiladas. And what if I did? Would it really be so bad if Geoff and Caroline ate processed foods for four days? I guess not. But what if....but what if what? Did I think they were going to starve in a house full of food?! Of course, all of my worrying was all for naught -- Geoff was able to fend for himself (of course...what was I thinking?!) and they did just fine.

Saturday Farmers' Market Picks

We arrived at the farmers' market later than usual this morning so when we got there, it was packed! But I was glad that we arrived when we did because I finally met Kate, a woman who posts comments on Caroline's Lunchbox from time to time. All summer long, I have been keeping my eye out for Kate, hoping that we would meet while buying sweet corn or other vegetables from Rebecca Titus, a mutual farmer/friend. We finally met today, not over peppers or eggplants as I had imagined. But at the playground next the market with our kids in tow...of course!

Meridian Township Farmers' Market Picks: watermelon (Greenman Produce); Buffalo tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, radishes, sugar snap peas, flowers (Owosso Organics); sweet corn (for freezing), cranberry beans (Titus Farm); Orange Blossom tomatoes (Wildflower Eco Farm); garlic, heirloom carrots (Green Eagle Farm); blueberries (Threadgould Gardens)

Watermelon For Dessert

When desserts like pumpkin pie are on the menu, I feel compelled to pack something sweet in Caroline's lunch. This morning, Caroline and I went to the Wednesday Meridian Township Farmers' Market and found just the thing: watermelon! We are having friends over for dinner a couple of nights in a row this week so we picked up several things at the market: corn, green peppers, eggplant, tomatoes from Titus Farm, flowers from Threadgould Gardens and blackberries and watermelon from Dennis Greenman. We've never bought anything from Greenman Produce before but I was drawn to the large display of melons. Dennis Greenman functions as a farmer and a wholesaler. Not everything he sells is grown on his farm or even grown in Michigan. But the blackberries and some of the watermelon is. The blackberries aren't sprayed. The watermelon vine is sprayed before it bears any fruit. After that, it is not sprayed with any chemicals. We bought a yellow-flesh watermelon and will cut it open tomorrow...I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, August 14: Breakfast - blueberries (Threadgould Gardens), yogurt muffin; Lunch - salmon salad, 100% whole grain bread, watermelon, grilled zucchini (Threadgould Gardens); Snacks - cheddar cheese, whole grain crackers, cherry tomatoes (Titus Farm)

Childcare Center Menu, August 14: Breakfast - grapes, wheat croissants; Lunch - tuna fish on pita, salad, peaches; Snacks - pumpkin pie, cheese slices

Summertime Pizza

After years of using Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza crust (which is quite good), I decided to go back to making my own...mostly because I love pizza in the summertime and Trader Joe's is in Ann Arbor, a one hour trek from Lansing. I dug out an old recipe for whole wheat pizza and Caroline and I made it this afternoon. My plan was to have Caroline measure ingredients, watch the yeast come alive, and knead the dough but since she was fussy and not interested until the very last minute, she only ended up poking the dough after it had risen to see if it was ready to punch. I topped half of the pizza with shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup), thickly sliced Buffalo tomatoes, minced garlic (1 clove), a handful of basil (torn into small pieces) (in that order) and the other half with sliced zucchini. After the pizza came out of the oven, I added a pinch of salt to the half with tomatoes and spoonfuls of pesto to the half topped with zucchini. Caroline loved both sides.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, August 12: Breakfast - blueberries (Threadgould Gardens), whole wheat mini bagel with sunflower butter; Lunch - brown rice with egg (Flying Goat Farm), pesto (basil grown at Swallow Tail Farm last year), and Buffalo tomatoes (Owosso Organics); Snacks - zucchini muffin, carrots (Green Eagle Farm)

Childcare Center Menu, August 12: Breakfast - strawberries, wheat bagels with cream cheese; Lunch - cheesy rice, California vegetables, mango; Snacks - pound cake, carrots

Kids' Menus In The News

Check it out! The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has just released its report, Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu, on the nutritional quality of kids' meals at restaurants like KFC, Burger,and Taco Bell. The results go without saying: kids' meals are not good for kids' health. The press release states that "Besides being almost always too high in calories, 45 percent of the kids' meals at the 13 chains studied by CSPI are too high in saturated and trans fat, and 86 percent are too high in sodium. That’s alarming, according to CSPI, because a quarter of children between the ages of five and ten show early signs of heart disease, such as high LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) or elevated blood pressure." Yikes! But it's not only at chains where kids' meals are not good for kids' health. And we shouldn't only evaluate meals based on calories, fat, sodium, or other nutrients. If nutrients were all we cared about, we might as well load up a Twinkie with vitamins and minerals. Kids, just like adults, need fresh, whole foods that taste like they should. And if its produced in a way that protects the health of our environment, chances are it will help to protect our kids' health too.

Saturday Farmers' Market Picks

I wasn't feeling very well when I woke up this morning but I rolled myself out of bed so that I could get to the farmers' market. Being surrounded by good food, friends, and fresh flowers usually makes me feel better. When we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing I noticed was that the back of the Titus Farm truck was loaded with sweet corn (see photo, courtesy of Rebecca Titus)! I love sweet corn. And so does Caroline. We love the Titus' sweet corn and buy lots of it every year. We start with enough ears to eat for the week but as the season winds down, we buy it in bushels so that we can freeze it for the winter. Today we bought a dozen ears for $4.75. You can also buy them by the ear for $0.50 per ear. We ate three ears of sweet corn tonight (shucked and blanched for 2 minutes) along with a loaf of Italian Round from Zingerman's, sliced Buffalo tomatoes (Owosso Organics) and fresh mozzarella cheese, basil (home garden).

Meridian Township Farmers' Market Picks: flowers, Buffalo tomatoes, baby eggplant, swiss chard (Owosso Organics); Wolfmoon garlic, mixed onions -- White Winte, Copra (spicy), Alsa Craig Exhibition (sweet), Burger Master (red) -- ( Green Eagle Farm); sweet corn (Titus Farms); blueberries (Threadgould Gardens)