food

Veggies are (becoming) this girl’s best friend

December 12, 2011

I have been (mostly) gluten-free for about a month now. It has not been as hard as I expected it to be. I have found some gluten-free replacements for my favorite gluten-based foods that are rather good. And some that really are not. I’ve also found plenty of other things to eat that are naturally gluten-free that I just didn’t eat often before. I have increased my vegetable intake and even tried a new one. Here are the veggies I’ve had this month: Carrots Green beans Red peppers Mixed green salad Broccoli Squash Peas Spinach Artichoke hearts Yams Brussels...

Giving up gluten

November 18, 2011

I have decided to give up gluten, or at least wheat, on a trial basis. How I will live without pizza, I don’t know. Not to mention waffles, muffins, tortellini, crescent rolls and my grandma’s cookies. For the past year or two, I have had a severely itchy scalp. It is worst at night but I rarely feel non-itchy. We have a water softener and chlorine filter on the shower. I’ve tried different shampoos, no shampoo, Scalpicin, coconut oil and shea butter to no avail. I was going to see a dermitologist when, on a whim, I ran a...

A 4-year-old’s smoothie recipe

November 8, 2011

Welcome to the November Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids in the Kitchen This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how kids get involved in cooking and feeding. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. *** When Connor came home from school the other day, he was set on having a smoothie. We had very little yogurt, no ice, no fresh fruit. But he was determined. I decided to...

Homemade watermelon yogurt popsicles

June 10, 2011

Connor asked to make popsicles out of some of the giant watermelon we bought recently. I have a book of popsicle recipes and have never made one. So I pulled it out and found one that included watermelon. And luckily I had all the ingredients (or suitable substitutes) on hand. So we chopped and blended and filled the molds. Then Connor put a few not fully blended chunks in for extra texture. And into the freezer for six hours. Connor loved them. Grace didn’t care for them. I don’t like watermelon but I tried a bite. I didn’t care...

What does your fridge say about you

February 2, 2011

San Antonio photographer Mark Menjivar has a collection called “You Are What You Eat,” in which each piece is a photograph of someone’s refrigerator or freezer and a tiny bit of information about them. It is a very interesting subject. I’ve wondered often about what is in people’s refrigerators and what that says about them. I never thought to make it into an art collection. That is why I am not a professional artist! His website features 20 of the photos, though there are more. Some of them, like the nearly empty one in No. 4, are heartbreaking. Some,...

Trying to end morning fights over packing school lunches

November 10, 2010

In my 20 Questions post, I asked for ideas of what to pack Grace for lunch besides peanut butter and jelly and applesauce every day. These are your suggestions that I’m going to try. She doesn’t normally like deli meat but in a pinwheels maybe she’d go for it. She likes baked beans so bean dip is worth a try. She likes bagels so I bought some mini ones today. Pinwheels of tortilla, meat and cheese Tortillas filled with bean dip and shredded cheese Bagel with cream cheese These will be no-gos for Grace Cheese and salami Ham and...

Supercook.com & I make ‘best soup in the world’

October 19, 2010

Yesterday I had to figure out what our nanny was going to serve the kids for dinner. And once again, my fridge looked like this. (I need to have a better plan for regular grocery shopping. I was using cobornsdelivers.com but am out of discount codes. I get more – and so do you – for referring friends so let me know if you want a referral.) Despite this empty fridge, the freezer is quite full of meat. So I picked one and decided to figure out what to do with it. I went to supercook.com and typed in...

8 tips for making food fun for kids

September 5, 2010

The first time I wrote about making food fun for kids, I got a lot of great responses and suggestions. I’ve added them and rewritten the post. So here’s your new and improved tips for making food fun for kids: I have one very picky eater — penance for mine and hubby’s childhood eating habits — so I am always looking for ways to get her to try new things or eat nutritious things. I’ve found it’s all about making it fun. Here are some ways to do that. 1. Serve it on/in a fun dish. Some ideas include...

Sampling local food at Homegrown Experience

August 22, 2010

I sampled some delicious locally produced food, wine and coffee today at The Homegrown Experience at the Nicollet Island Pavilion. The event was run by Minneapolis’ park board and focused on ”connecting people to the land and providing healthy and enjoyable experiences.” I spent two hours working for Simple, Good and Tasty, which aims to connect people with food that is good both ethically and taste-wise. Wine: I sampled five wines and enjoyed two of them: Gold from Stillwater’s Northern Vineyards Winery is a sweet apple-tasting wine, and Relativity from New Ulm’s Morgan Creek Vineyards is a crisp semi-sweet...

Organic vs. conventional produce: Cost of the dirty dozen

August 10, 2010

The past several months, I’ve been dancing along the line between better-for-your-health and better-for-my-pocketbook food. The following ‘Dirty Dozen’ are the produce found to contain the most pesticides. I’m aiming to buy organic for these items, so how much more does one have to pay to do that? These are the best prices I’ve found for conventional and organic produce in the St. Paul area. Because produce prices vary so much by time of season, this is a list of what produce goes for in early August, whether it’s advertised as regular price, sale or a in-ad coupon. For...

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