non-food birthday rituals

My daughter celebrated her fourth birthday at school recently. It's a Montessori school with kids from ages 3-6 in one classroom. The school has a "low sugar" policy, and I'm not exactly sure what that means, but part of that is there are no sweets and treats for birthdays or special occasions. I also don't have to deal with bags of candy for each holiday from her little classmates. (M certainly gets "sugar" in the lunches I pack, with a home-made cookie or rice-krispie treat or jello about half the days along with her cherry tomatoes or cucumber salad and left-overs...)

The parents are invited to celebrate the birthday with the child, and I don't think anyone missed sweets at all. In fact, it was a lovely celebration of M's life. The children all sit on the floor while the birthday child walks around a candle once for each year of her life. The parents are invited to share a special story about that year and the children sing a lovely song. It was all very special and more of a celebration than a tray of quickly consumed cupcakes might have been. M had cupcakes at her party and cake for the family celebration in case any of you worry that she is being deprived! :)

We incorporate sweets and treats in our menu planning, and I guess I am thankful that the school doesn't have a constant parade at all hours of sweet treats. I know that their snacks offer protein, fat and carb and I get to pack her lunch. (We offer sweets during certain snack or meal times with a protein if possible like a glass of milk so it lasts longer and doesn't spoil her appetite.)

You might find out what your school or childcare does. I would worry if the policy on food is too strict. If the school tries to limit portions of foods (in the name of health or "obesity prevention") or serves snacks with only carbs (graham crackers and juice or water) with no fat or protein, I would be concerned. Also ask that the adults feeding your children don't enforce "growing food" before dessert rules, or make kids feel bad about the foods they eat. The adult's job should be to provide a pleasant atmosphere, limit distractions, help the children set out the food, and if possible model enjoying a variety of foods. They also need to adhere to the division of responsibility and not push your child to eat more or less than he wants to. (See https://ellynsatter.com/resources.jsp and scroll down to resources under child care policy where you can download a PDF and bring it to your school or daycare if you have concerns...)

per request, another post about rituals with kids...

training with Ellyn Satter

I will be off to Madison to train with my mentor, Ellyn Satter this week. I'm super excited to go down again this year and see the person who has been so influential in my personal and professional life. I'll be training in her Eating Competence Model (ecSatter) and learning more about working with adults.

Lots of the moms I meet tell me that they themselves struggle with eating or a history of an eating disorder. A great resource is "Secrets to Feeding a Healthy Family." As we try to teach our children to be competent eaters, sometime we moms need to learn it for ourselves.

I'll be back on the blogs after the 9th, or sooner if I can catch some downtime in Madison!

Multi-vitamins and DHA

The three inches of snow last week reminded me that it's time to start a multivitamin again. This year it seemed like everything has DHA in it. Ever wary of the latest "trends," I did my own research, and then conferred with our fabulous pediatric nutritionist, Hydee. (Multivitamin is recommended in Northern climes from October through March mainly for Vitamin D since we don't see the sun much!)

Here's what she has to say...

"I do think that including omega 3 fatty acids in your child's diet or supplements is important. They are essential fatty acids after all. They are important for brain function, normal growth and development. The best way to get them would be from food and that would be to eat fish twice a week, as the American Heart Association suggests. But that just doesn't seem to happen for most Midwestern families. Omega 3 fatty acids are also present in nuts, seeds, oil, and soy beans. It is also in fortified eggs, bread, and margarine. The amount recommended for adults is 1 gram a day, about the amount in one tuna fish sandwich.

The precise safe and effective doses of all types of omega 3 fatty acids in children has not been established. And there is some concern about mercury contamination of supplements made with fish oil because the FDA doesn't regulate supplements. Some companies that use fish oil go through the process of third party testing. One company that comes to mind is Nordic Naturals. Yes, this is one that is difficult to find unless you go to the food co-op or other natural health food store. I don't think you have to purchase supplements there, but I would certainly want to know more about the supplement that contains fish oil before giving it to my child or taking it myself. One way to get around the issue of contamination is to purchase a supplement that contains a vegetarian source of omega 3 fatty acids. The one I give to my child and take myself is LilCritters Omega-3 Gummy Fish (it is non-allergenic and also doesn't have artificial colors or flavors). "

friends don't let friends eat with fat people

http://www.ellynsatter.com/newsletters.jsp

Don't let your kid eat with fat kids or she'll get fat, right? Isn't that what that latest study says? Read the link above for a thoughtful analysis on only one of the many flawed and incomplete studies out there.

I love Ellyn's newsletters and urge everyone to go on over and sign up and peruse the archives. She does a lovely job explaining the much-hyped study about big kids eating more with other big kids. I won't bother going into why studies like this make me crazy, because Ellyn says it all so well. Check it out and think about it. Next time you hear some study about kids and food, or obesity or soda etc. ask yourself if the study even considered how the child is being fed, or restricted.

new yogurt love

I LOVE this product. It's a little pricey, but I usually take two sittings to eat one. (I like to eat half at breakfast with toast and/or an egg and fruit, and the rest with a snack later in the day.) Its FAGE, but pronounced Fa-ye. It's the Greek yogurt which means it has lots of protein which is important for long-lasting, even energy (10 grams per package.) Don't forget every meal and snack needs to offer fat, protein and carb. This would be great for a kid who might not be into eggs or peanut butter for breakfast.

I love the creamy texture and flavor. It feels very rich and it fills me up, unlike most yogurt. I can also add as much of the fruit flavor as I want, so I use a little less than the full amount so it's not too sweet.

It's a little gimmicky, but the fruit ones have a little cup of fruit that you mix in. My 4 year old thought that was neat, and since she is choosing milk over water these days, this is a nice source of calcium too. I buy the 2% so that there is some fat in there as well.

You can get them at Target, Whole Foods, Lunds and more. They are pretty pricey, so I stock up when they go on sale.

Let me know what you think!

apple orchard recipe/easy apple cake

This is my mom's recipe for an apple cake I grew up with. I love the simple yellow cake and the way the apples get a little but soft, but still maintain their shape and flavor.

Kids can help out with the measuring and mixing, apple cutting if old enough, pushing the apples into the cake and of course sprinkling the powdered sugar! (M was a bit heavy-handed with the sugar, but it was still delicious!)

Sorry this is by weight, this is the German way of cooking, and officially the "best" way to bake as flour etc can settle and weight is more accurate. I have a little kitchen scale that I use.

Apple Cake

1 stick butter (room temp and sliced)

3-5 apples depending on size, peeled, cored and cut into thirds or quarters. I like a mix of tart and sweet but any will do really. Use enough to push into the dough, but not overcrowd-see photo

150 grams sugar (2/3 cup)

2 large or 3 small eggs

200 grams sifted flour (roughly 1 3/4 cup flour I think...)

2 1/2 tspns baking powder

2-4 Tbspns milk

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and slowly add sugar. Add eggs one at a time and cream. Add sifted flour and baking powder and blend. Fold in cut walnuts if you want. Peel and cut apples into quarters. Score the tops of the apple slices about 2 mm deep- makes them look really pretty and cooks better. Add 2-4 Tbspns milk and mix until dough is thick but can pour into the cake form (thicker than pancake batter, but not a cookie dough.) Grease and flour a spring-form cake pan. Pour batter in, and spread it around. (It will seem like a very thin layer.) Push the apples into the dough in a pattern, about 1/2 way submerged. Put in oven for 40-50 minutes until cake is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on wire wrack and dust with powdered sugar (shake it through a sieve.) YUMMY!

broccoli romanesque experiment update

So here it is, the romanesque broccoli. I couldn't find a quick/easy recipe online so I cooked it the way I usually eat cauliflower since we all like that, and I know how to do it.

I made my white sauce (classic bechamel) and steamed the romanesque.

I think I overcooked it a little (it got kind of a drab green...) I thought it was OK, but I prefer cauliflower. DH said he liked it and thinks he would prefer it to cauliflower, M loved it, and ate it. I don't think she noticed it was any different from cauliflower.

They say the cook is the "gatekeeper" for the family and what they eat. So true!

D: "This is really good. "

Me: "It's OK, I prefer cauliflower."

D: "So, I'm never going to see this again, am I?"

Me: "Probably not."

Guilty as charged! My mentor, Ellyn Satter says that if you expect to cook for yourself or your family on an ongoing basis, you have to enjoy what you eat, enjoy the process and have some pleasant anticipation. SO TRUE! I can't put my finger on why I didn't go for this veggie, but I have lots of others I really do enjoy, so this one will probably just be a curiosity.

Does anyone know a great way to cook these Romanesques?

Anyone else had an experience trying a new food recently?