Real Food Introduction: Kale

Thanks for all the great feedback on my Overnight Kale Salad.  I’m happy to hear that it has inspired you to eat salads more often, and for some people, to try kale for the very first time!

I’m sure most of you are aware of the hype around kale.  Despite being in existence for over 2000 years, kale has gained a recent surge in popularity and has earned itself some catchy slogans along the way –  ”Kale Is The New Beef”, “Eat More Kale”, “Queen Of Greens” and is often touted as a “Superfood”.  Heck, people are even making t-shirts about kale.

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Okay, so kale isn’t exactly “new” to people anymore but it definitely lives up to the hype.  Although all leafy greens are insanely nutritious, kale really is the superstar of the bunch.  So I thought you might like to get to know this superstar a little better!

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Let’s start with the facts.  Kale is about as nutritious as it gets.  Besides the benefits of all leafy greens, kale contains more Vitamin K than almost any other food.  It has more calcium per calorie than milk and more iron per calorie than beef.  It is super, duper high in fibre and omega 3 fats and has been proven to help lower cholesterol.  However, what makes kale really stand out in the vegetable world is its high concentration of antioxidants and phytonutrients.  Kale is jam packed with them, and it has been well documented that these nutrients significantly decrease inflammation in the body, and have cancer preventing properties.  The amount of nutrients present in kale are rare to find in other vegetables and  the more I read about kale, the more I am convinced that everyone should be eating it as much as possible.

So if kale is so incredible, why has it only recently become popular?  Well, for starters, some of the health benefits that I mentioned have only recently been discovered  in scientific studies.  Scientists always knew kale was good for you, but didn’t realize how healthy it is until they started researching it in more detail.  I think that as people become more health conscious, they want to eat more greens – and if they are going to eat their greens, they want as much nutrition in them as possible!

Kale is also pretty inexpensive as far as healthy veggies go and this is in part because it is extremely easy to grow.  Kale grows all year round in just about any climate as it tolerates the cold well.  Kale has a pretty hearty texture, which is why up until recently it was mostly used as ornamental garnish on buffets.

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Now I know some people think that kale tastes bitter and awful.  To those people, I would say that you just aren’t preparing it right!  Kale’s tough texture can take some getting used to, so if you are new to eating kale I would recommend starting off by putting it into soups, smoothies or even sneaking it into your (green) eggs.  You can take the edge of the bitterness by cooking it or massaging (yes, massaging) it with some sort of oil based dressing.  The massaging also softens the kale up, making it a bit less tough.

And of course I have to mention the ever-popular kale chip, which involves massaging the kale in oil and salt and popping it in the oven at a high heat and cooking until crispy.  Kind of like a potato chip, only green and kale-y.  A lot of people start eating kale in this form and then move on to other, more nutritious kale recipes (the high heat from the oven denatures some of the nutrients in the kale). I must admit, the kale chip is darn delicious and I’m pretty sure most kids would eat them right up.

This summer my father-in-law is going to give growing kale a try.  He always has a beautiful garden and its great being able to eat freshly picked vegetables when we visit Jon’s parents.  I can’t wait to introduce them to many delicious kale recipes over the summer!

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Some tips on prepping kale:

  • Wash thoroughly.  Kale is often full of dirt in all the nooks and crannies and I have found dirt in my salad on more than one occasion!  Also, kale is on the dirty dozen list, so it is especially important to give it a good scrub if you are not able to find organic kale.
  • Trim and wash your kale as soon as soon you get it home as it will be less likely to wilt.  This is a good habit for all leafy greens.  Although kale will actually last much longer without wilting than most, it’s nice to have it ready to use when you want to (and you will be much more likely to eat it if it’s already prepped)
  • I find that the easiest way to prep kale is to fill the sink with water, and then use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the leaves from the stem and throw them right into the water to wash and then spin dry.
  • In my experience, the best way to store all washed and trimmed leafy greens, is to put them in a ziplock bag or a very tight closing container with a folded paper towel to absorb the moisture.  This method of storing extends the life of your greens by quite a bit.  I’ve had kale last for almost 3 weeks when stored this way.

Here are some great recipe ideas to get more kale into your life:

So many recipes, so little time.

There is so much I could say about kale, but I think you get the point.  I love kale.  He (she?) is a superhero to me.  Remember, if you want your kids to love kale so that they reap some of its amazing benefits, you need to learn to love it first.  So don’t just sit there – jump on the bandwagon and throw some kale into your smoothie or eggs tomorrow!

Overnight Kale Salad

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We all have good intentions when it comes to eating healthy, don’t we?  We buy the vegetables and leafy greens but then sometimes they just sit in the fridge staring at us as they slowly rot, simply  because we just can’t find the time to prepare them.

Lunch for me most days is pretty hectic – I am usually getting home from some sort of morning activity, trying to feed a hungry toddler ,  dealing with any phone calls or emails that I missed from the morning and still tidying up from breakfast.  I’m also typically starving.  So once I have Tyson settled with lunch, I just want something in my belly as quickly as possible.

In order to avoid resorting to rice cakes and almond butter for lunch (which I have done on more than one occasion!), I try to have vegetables – and more importantly leafy greens – prepared ahead of time to make it easier to grab a nutrient-filled lunch to keep me satisfied and fuelled for the rest of the day.

This technique for preparing kale was introduced to me by my friend Meghan from Nutrition School.  She did a presentation on a kale salad that she makes every day for work, and the idea behind it is brilliant.  It is Real Food for Real Moms at it’s best.

I will be talking about this in my next post (which is a spotlight on kale), but massaging kale really helps to soften it and make it less bitter.  The amazing thing here is that you can actually dress and massage the kale on a Sunday and it will be delicious for the rest of the week.  I’m serious – kale holds up and resists wilting for quite a long time, despite being covered in oil (unlike most greens which would be soggy within an hour).

This overnight kale salad base is a great starter for a big, bad, nutrient dense –  and most importantly quick - lunch salad.

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Overnight Kale Salad 

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: N/A

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
1/2 cup of olive oil
juice from 1-2 lemons*
sea salt to taste (do not skip this – it really brings the salad together)
optional: diced shallots or a dash of maple syrup (both delicious!)

Directions

1. Wash and trim your kale.  Rip into salad sized pieces.
2.  Prepare dressing: mix olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt (and shallots/maple syrup if you are using them) in a jar with a tightly sealed lid and shake until well mixed.
3.  Put kale into a ziplock bag and pour dressing over top.
4.  Get your hands in there and massage the dressing into the kale.
5.  Close bag and store in fridge until ready to use.

*I recommend using real lemons as opposed to the lemon juice you can buy in a bottle.

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I usually make a big bag of Overnight Kale Salad on Sundays and use it as a base for my salads throughout the week.  I say base because I always add a whole bunch of other ingredients on top to make it a complete meal.  Whatever leftovers are in my fridge go on top of the salad.  It is so delicious and I always look forward to lunch when I have some of this in the fridge.

Here are the add-ins on my delicious salad from yesterday:

  • A handful of mixed salad greens
  • sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 an avocado  (this goes SO well with this salad)
  • Shredded beets and carrots leftover from a recipe earlier in the week
  • Green olives
  • Diced cucumber
  • Diced tomato

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Some other great options for add-ins:

  • Any nuts and seeds that you have on hand
  • Beans or chickpeas (or how about some roasted chickpeas?)
  • Roasted vegetables
  • Leftover chicken, pork or beef
  • Leftover quinoa or rice
  • Chopped tomato, mushrooms, peppers etc.
  • Fruit – apples, grapes, or pears would be great
  • Hardboiled eggs
  • Tofu cubes
  • Feta or goat cheese
  • Sun dried tomatoes (SO good)
  • Etc.

I hope you give the Overnight Kale Salad a try.  You’ll be amazed how great you feel in the afternoon after eating a big heaping bowl of superstar greens for lunch.

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Green Eggs (No Ham!)

One challenge that I’ve come across in feeding Tyson and trying develop his relationship with Real Food, is how to incorporate green leafy veggies into his diet.

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It’s becoming more and more clear that “green leafies” are some of the healthiest foods out there.  I’m talking about kale, swiss chard, collards, spinach, beet greens, watercress, bok choy, herbs such as parsley and basil and even broccoli.  Here’s why:

  • They are very high in antioxidants such as Vitamin A, C and lutein, which help to combat free radicals in the body.
  • They are full of important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron.  Did you know that 1 cup of cooked collard greens actually contains more calcium than 1 cup of milk?  Some recent studies also suggest that the absorption rate of calcium is higher in leafy greens than in dairy products.
  • They contain high levels of protein and fibre – they help fill you up and control blood sugar.
  • They are a concentrated source of phytonutrients (natural compounds found in plants that help protect its vitality).  When we eat them, we are reducing our risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

All of these benefits packed into a lovely green package (the darker the green, the better in fact).  So of course I want to get as many leafy greens into Tyson as possible – not an easy challenge with a 14-month old!Babies Heart Real Food

Now to be clear, I’m a big believer that we need to help kids learn to love Real Food in its original form.  It is important for them to  recognize different fruits and vegetables and appreciate the variety of flavours they offer.  When Tyson was younger, I would simply puree things like kale or spinach and he would eat them right up.  Now that he is eating more finger foods, he is not interested in pureed greens (do you blame him?)  And outside of broccoli (which he gobbles up), steamed greens are tough for him to eat and I know that some parents worry about choking when it comes to the leafy texture.

So, until he is old enough (and has the teeth) to start eating salads and steamed kale, I get those nutritious leafy greens into him by sneakily incorporating them into other foods.

I love starting the day with greens, so I came up with this simple way to mix those greens into a breakfast staple.

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Green Eggs

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 handful of leafy greens*
splash of milk or milk alternative

Directions

1.  Crack eggs into blender or magic bullet.
2.  Add greens and milk.
3.  Blend until greens are mixed in - about 1 minute.
4.  Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
5.  Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook, scraping bottom frequently with a heatproof spatula, until just set (2-3 minutes)
6.  Transfer to a bowl and serve when cooled.

*There are so many delicious leafy green options to choose from.  It’s also a great way to use up those leftover leafy herbs in your fridge!
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Eggs are one of Tyson’s favourite foods – he absolutely LOVES them and eats two whole eggs by himself when we have them for breakfast.  With the green eggs you can’t even taste the greens (except if you use a herb) so he didn’t notice when I started doing this.  In fact, the other day I didn’t have any greens to add (oh the horror!) so his eggs were the normal yellow colour, and he actually seemed a bit suspicious of them!

Preparing the green eggs  only takes an extra 2 minutes – totally do-able for busy moms who are trying to get breakfast on the table quickly.  Another green-ifying option would be to just mix in some already prepared kale pesto once the eggs are cooked.

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So now you have one easy way to make sure you baby is getting some green goodness into their diet. Green eggs are also a fun recipe idea for older kids on St. Patrick’s Day.

As for the ham, I would definitely recommend leaving it out of your baby’s diet.  Besides the fact that it is highly processed, most deli meats contain an abundant amount of  sodium and cancer-forming preservatives such as nitrites.  Yuck – not Real Food at all!

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Have you ever tried to “sneak” something healthy into your child’s meal?  Do you think this is the right thing to do?

For some great nutritional informaton on eggs, check out Mandy’s post.

Tyson Eats: 14 Months

I have wanted to write this post ever since Tyson turned one and am now finally finding the time!  I get a lot of questions about what Tyson eats (and doesn’t eat) every day.  I have posted recipes here and there but I haven’t really talked about the day-to-day basics of feeding a one year old.  For moms who aren’t at this stage yet, hopefully this will give you some ideas to start with!

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Tyson just turned 14 months old and  he is almost completely weaned from breast-feeding.  I am still nursing twice a day (before bed and in the morning), but  I don’t think there is much milk left in there so it is not a significant source of his nutrition anymore.  Which means he is getting almost all of his nutrition from other sources now, and it takes a lot more planning and effort to make sure his diet is healthy, complete and well-balanced.   I admit, being a nutritionist means that I probably spend a lot more time analyzing Tyson’s meals than the average person, but I’m still like most moms – I always have a million things on the go everyday so meals still need to be quick and easy.  I will be writing another post soon with my tips and tricks for keeping baby food prep as simple as possible.

Tyson, like his mom and dad, seems to be quite the foodie.  Despite his small size, he has the most ridiculously voracious appetite.  We recently taught him the sign language sign for “more” in an attempt to deter him from whining for more food after each bite.  It works well, but almost too well as he signs for “more” anytime he spies a morsel of food – he always wants “more” of what I’m eating,  ”more” of what I’m cooking or baking, or “more” just because he can ask for it.  It’s cute, but sometimes I feel like I’m spending the whole day feeding the boy!

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That being said, I usually try to structure his eating around 3 meals, and two snacks per day.  Obviously if he is still hungry in between that, I will feed him, but I find that this works well to make sure he has enough “fuel” to keep him going throughout the day.

There are so many factors that I  consider when planning Tyson’s menu, but the three most important to me right now are:

  • Making sure he is getting enough fat and protein
  • Making sure he is getting a good variety of vitamins and other micronutrients (iron, calcium etc)
  • Exposing him to a variety of foods and flavours (salty, bitter, sour, sweet)

I typically try to focus on what Tyson is getting in a day or over two days, rather than per meal.  For example, if he doesn’t get a lot of protein or fat at breakfast, I make sure to get plenty in at lunch and dinner.  And if he has a lot of fruit at lunch, I try to have a veggie-heavy dinner.  Things like that.   I try not to over-think his menu TOO much, which is easier said than done for someone who is an over-thinker by nature!

I obviously try and make sure our eating habits align with what Tyson is eating so that I am cooking for everyone at the same time.  My favourite things to make are big batches of soups, stirfrys or roasted veggies.

Here’s how an average day of eating looks for Tyson right now…

Breakfast

Tyson is always starving when he wakes up.  Lately his wake-up time is 5:30am (ughhh…we are working on this), so even though I nurse him right away, he is still usually cranky and wanting food within an hour after waking up.   I usually alternate between “sweet” and “savoury” breakfasts.  Here are some typical breakfast foods:

  • Oatmeal, buckwheat cereal, quinoa flakes or quinoa cereal with blackstrap molasses, almond butter or coconut butter mixed in
  • Gluten-Free pancakes, made with a combination of oats, rice or quinoa (recipe to come)
  • Fruit – he loves bananas, oranges, pears, grapefruit and frozen blueberries in particular
  • Diced avocado or cherry tomatoes
  • Eggs with veggies or “Green” Eggs
  • Fish (salmon, tilapia) with steamed veggies (peas, broccoli etc) – who says that you can’t have this for brekkie?!
  •  Fruit & veggie smoothie
  • Goat milk yoghurt with fruit puree or applesauce

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Lunch

Lunch typically depends on whether we are at home or on the go.  If we are at home, it resembles more of a meal (similar to dinner).  When we are out and about I try to bring a variety of different items that are easy for him to eat with his hands so that I can feed him throughout the day.  For example:

  • Steamed or roasted veggies – carrot, turnip or sweet potato spears, peas, broccoli florets, cubed squash, cucumber, beets etc.
  • Diced cherry tomatoes
  • Fruit – diced apple, pear, kiwi or clementine wedges
  • Fruit & veggie smoothie (such an easy way to pack in nutrition when on the go)
  • Homemade muffins (recipe to come)
  • Homemade cookies (recipe to come)
  • Rice puffs
  • Cooked black or adzuki beans or chickpeas
  • Fruit or veggie puree in a squeeze pouch
  • Rice cakes with almond/sun-butter, hummus or tahini
  • Bean or chickpea patty cut into cubes
  • Dried apricots (soaked) and cut into cubes or soaked raisins

Lunch and Snacks

Snacks

Usually we are out and about from after Tyson’s morning nap until his afternoon nap, so lunch and snacks are pretty much a combination of the list above.  I often save some of his smoothie for after his afternoon nap as he wakes up cranky and it is usually a good way to calm him down.  If we are at home for snack time, we often share an apple with sun butter or some hummus and veggies.  Some days Tyson wants to eat all afternoon, and although I try to stick to specific “snack times”, this often goes out the window.  I think the fact that we live in a condo and our kitchen is in plain sight most of the time has something to do with it.  He can see the bananas on the counter and will walk over to them, look up and sign “more?”  Who could resist that?

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Dinner

Dinner tends to be a combo of leftovers in the fridge (I make LOTS of extra of everything I cook), and something thawed from the freezer.  I still make a lot of large batches of food and freeze it for Tyson just so I always have food that is easy to grab and thaw.  I really want to work towards eating dinner as a family, but Tyson is hungry by 5:30 and I just can’t get dinner for Jon and I organized by then with a toddler at my feet.  That means Jon is usually on Tyson’s dinner duty as soon as he gets home, while I prepare the adult meal.   Some examples of Tyson’s typical dinner foods:

  • Fish cakes (recipe to come)
  • Soup, stew, or some sort of curry or chili – I particularly like using coconut milk as a base for extra fat
  • Steamed, roasted or puréed veggies – Tyson has tried pretty much every vegetable out there, and of course he likes some more than others
  • Quinoa, rice, rice pasta or millet mixed with a combination of lentils, veggies or a veggie puree and/or tomato sauce
  • Diced avocado or cherry tomatoes
  • Bean or chickpea burgers, or just cooked beans on their own
  • Chicken or pork (organic, free-range), cut into cubes or puréed with veggies and/or rice
  • Stir-fried veggies and beans or tofu, usually slightly puréed

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A couple of things that I wanted to chat about.

Even though Tyson can obviously feed himself at this point, I do still feed him purées for a few reasons.  First, it’s an easy way to get a good variety of food into him in one sitting – soups are especially good for this as I can just throw in a ton of vegetables, beans, grains etc. and when it’s puréed he will eat it right up.  Secondly, at this age Tyson only has a few teeth at the front of his mouth so there is very little chewing going on.

I hope you don’t mind if I get all “nutritionist” on you for  a minute!

Chewing is such an important part of good digestion.  Among other benefits, chewing breaks up the food into smaller particles (therefore creating more surface area) so that the digestive enzymes in your mouth, stomach and small intestine can more easily break down the food and release the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients for easy absorption into the body.  In fact, some of these enzymes actually start to work in your mouth during the process of chewing, so that some food (starches and fat) are already partly broken down by the time they reach your stomach.   When food isn’t chewed, it is harder for the body to break down.  You have probably seen evidence of this when changing your baby’s diaper – there is often bit of undigested food that has passed right on through.  Therefore, I still purée some of Tyson’s food to make sure he is absorbing a large portion of the vitamins and minerals contained in the nutrient dense food that he is eating.  And thirdly, it is quicker and easier to get more food into Tyson in purée form rather than letting him eat an entire meal with his hands (as most of it ends up on the floor).

And to answer the question that is probably on people’s minds: Yes, I am limiting gluten and most dairy for Tyson at this point for a number of reasons (this is definitely another post if people are interested).  As for a replacement for “milk”, we decided to give Tyson mostly unsweetened Hemp Milk.  It has a similar nutritional profile to cow’s milk (fat, protein, calcium etc) with the added bonus of naturally occurring Omega 3 fatty acids, which are super important for children’s brain development.

And no, it does not have the same effects as marijuana :)

After much research and discussion with health professionals, I know that babies don’t actually “need” milk at this stage as long as they are getting enough fat from food.  So I try to incorporate a lot of healthy fats into his diet  instead of relying on milk.  He usually has the hemp milk a couple of times a day in his sippy cup, in smoothies and before bed if I am not home to nurse him, but I don’t really get too caught up in making sure he has a certain number of ounces per day.  He also drinks almond milk, flax milk, and coconut milk quite regularly in recipes or because he is eating or drinking some of my food or smoothies, but none of these are as nutritionally complete as the hemp milk.

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Milk

Phew, so that was a bit of an information dump!  As I’ve indicated above, there are lots of recipes to come on the blog for some of my favourite toddler meals as soon as I remember to photograph them as I’m cooking!

So far I’ve found feeding a toddler to be an art, rather than a science.  Different things work for different kids but this is what is working for us right now.  I’ve been lucky that Tyson likes pretty much everything at this point.  Sure, he refuses things some days, and throws food on the floor when he doesn’t want it, but for the most part I can convince him to eat anything if it’s under his own terms.  If he wants to eat it with his hands, rather than me feeding him from a spoon, I let him.  It’s that, or he won’t eat it.  Yep, it is ridiculously messy at times but I want to encourage a healthy association with meal time and so far it seems to be working. Once he is a little older and can understand some rules around being messy, this will likely change.  That, or we need to get a dog so I don’t have to sweep and mop the floor every night!

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I know some parents have asked me how I avoid Tyson eating “unhealthy” foods.  I actually don’t think it’s all that difficult.  Since I control what he is eating right now, I just don’t give him the stuff I don’t want him to eat.  Simple as that!   I’m not looking forward to the day when he really starts to say “no” to certain foods.  I will definitely be looking for some tips and tricks from experienced mamas on how to deal with that.

On a final note, I thought I would leave you with a fun song for kids about eating healthy foods.  A friend recently introduced me to Yo Gabba Gabba, and although Tyson doesn’t really watch TV yet I have downloaded a bunch of the songs and put them on his little baby mp3 player that he got for his birthday.  This song is definitely catchy and always makes me laugh!

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Does Marketing Affect Kid’s Eating Habits?

I worked as a cashier in a grocery store for over five years, where I was often witness to the familiar scene of children throwing a huge tantrum because mom would not let them buy their favourite breakfast cereal or snack.  I’m sure you’ve seen it – (or even experienced it yourself!) – the full-out meltdown in the grocery store aisle over Lucky Charms, Cheezies or Gummi Bears.  This scene usually ended with the mother giving in and throwing the item in their cart just to avoid the stares of other customers.

Kids Cereal Aisle

I remember being confident that by the time I became a parent, I would have my kids so well trained that they would never try that kind of thing with me.  I assumed that with my good influence on their eating habits, they would not have any desire for such garbage.  Don’t worry – I’m a little older and wiser now and I’m well aware that kids today are influenced by much more than their parents.

Starting at a very young age, kids are bombarded with marketing and advertising campaigns targeted specifically at them.  Obviously the large junk food companies know that deep down, most parents want to feed their kids healthy and nourishing foods as opposed to all the sugar and fat laden processed foods that line the grocery store shelves.  Therefore, instead of trying to convince the parents to buy this junk, they get the kids to do the begging and pleading and eventual convincing of their parents to buy it.  If you think about it, it’s a very strategic form of child labour!

How exactly do these companies get the kids on board?  By marketing their products like crazy in a way that is appealing to the easily influenced child.  Bright colours, fun characters, misleading nutritional information – these are just some of the tactics used to convince children that they really should be eating this junk food on a daily basis.  It’s awful, but it’s really hard to shield your children from this.  I could go on and on about the evils of advertising targeted at children,  but that is actually not the focus of this post (but for more information on a recent report in Ontario that urges the government to ban the marketing of junk food to kids you can go here).

What I really wanted to explore here is: What if Real Food was marketed with the same intensity as junk food?

Check this out.  The following advertisements were actually created by The Television Bureau of Canada as a creative way of trying to prove that traditional television advertising is still relevant.  They chose broccoli as an item that had never really been marketed before and was seen as a tough sell.  They aired these commercials for 5 weeks on conventional television and measured the sales of broccoli before and after the campaign.

Get this – after the ads aired, broccoli sales increased by 8%! I’m serious. This beat their goal of 3% for the campaign!  The thing that shocked me the most was that thirteen percent of consumers responded that they had purchased at least one more bunch of broccoli in their latest shopping trip as compared to the pre campaign period.  So besides proving their own point (that TV advertising is still relevant, despite the influx of PVR and NetFlix users), this campaign also proved that educating people about the benefits of Real Food can be successful in encouraging them to eat more Real Food.  Amazing.

I love broccoli

(Source)

So what if we applied this to kids?  Obviously junk food like Oreos or Pringles are going to be more tasty to a kid than broccoli. They are specifically designed by food scientists to appeal to the taste buds in a chemically superior way.   That’s not the point.  What I’m trying to highlight here is the importance of educating our kids on the benefits of eating Real Foods such as broccoli, and that perhaps we need to be as aggressive about this as the junk food companies are being!  These particular broccoli ads are targeted at adults, but what if there was an ad campaign developed to market Real Food to kids, highlighting the awesome things that Real Food can do for them?  Kids should know that Real Food is going to keep them strong and healthy so that they have lots of energy, can do well at sports and have fun with their friends.  It’s one thing for a parent to try to tell this to their children (Okayyyyyy Mom, I knowwwww kale is good for me, blah, blah blah), but it’s another thing for them to see a fun and colourful commercial that makes broccoli (or kale, or apples) look cool and fun and delicious.  Am I crazy here?

I know, I know – the big question on everyone’s mind is “Who would pay for this?”  I’m thinking with childhood obesity rates on the rise, this might be a good investment for our government as a preventative healthcare measure.   What an innovative approach to help curb healthcare costs down the road related to the health implications of all the junk food kids are eating today.

What do you think?  I’m serious – I really want to hear other people’s opinion on this topic.  Is banning junk food ads the answer to this problem, or could a more innovative approach work?

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P.S.  Looking for some strategies to help your kids avoid the negative influences of junk food advertising?  This article has some great tips.

Party Snack Trays for Kids

Hello everyone!  Spring is in the air, and with the recent time change the days are getting longer and I am starting to get excited for the warmer weather to arrive.  Am I getting my hopes up, considering the fact that there is still snow on the ground?  Maybe.  But I am going to choose to believe in the power of positive thinking!

At the end of my last post about Tyson’s First Birthday, I mentioned that I wanted to share a fun project that my sister Julia and her husband Fraser put together for the kids at the party.  I was so busy planning the party menu for the adults (and trying to perfect Tyson’s cake recipe) that I actually forgot to consider what all Tyson’s little friends were going to eat.  What kind of nutritionist/kids food blogger am I?  Obviously the kids would have been fine sharing the adult food, but the chili was a little on the spicy side and the other appetizers were not overly nutritious.  Luckily Jules was all over it.  Being pregnant herself, she clearly has children on her mind.

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She offered to make some snack trays for kids and fill them with nutritious and delicious bite-sized finger food.  I said “YES!” without hesitation – this was right up my alley.  I wanted to share this project on the blog because I think it is such a great idea to help make meal time fun for the little ones.  This would be a hit at any party with lots of kiddos.

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This project involved a bit of crafting (Julia is by far the craftiest of the Carere sisters).  She purchased some bright polka-dot plastic trays from the dollar store, as well as some foil muffin cups.  She then put some puffy sticker thingys (I’m sure there is a more technical term here that I am not aware of) on the bottom of the muffin cups and stuck six of them to each tray.  You could use a glue-gun for this but she wanted to be able to easily remove the muffin cups so she could re-use the trays.

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Then they simply filled each muffin cup with a different snack!

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From left to right there was strawberries, carrots, kiwi, rice puffs, peas and quinoa kale patties (which they made these ahead of time using this recipe but used gluten-free bread crumbs and left out the parmesan cheese).

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There are sooooooo many possibilities of what you could fill them with.  You could also use ice-cube trays or muffin trays, or even little bento boxes for a similar effect.

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If you google Bento Box lunches, you will be blown away at how creative some people are.  I sure was, and  I now feel pressure to channel my inner artistic ability when it comes time to make Tyson’s lunches for school in the future!

As predicted, the snack trays were a hit with all the kids at the party, ranging in age from 10 months to four years old.  Some of the kids had never tried quinoa or kale before, so it was great to see some Real Food introductions happening.  I’m starting to realize that kids are very visual when it comes to food.  If it doesn’t look good, they will probably assume it doesn’t taste good and refuse to eat it.  So presenting healthy food in a fun and interesting way goes a long way in making it more appealing to them.

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Thanks for the great idea Auntie Jules and Uncle Frase!

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What creative presentation techniques do you use to make food more appealing to your kids?

Tyson’s “Healthy” First Birthday Cake

A whole year.  A year that seemed to go by way too quickly, yet I can’t remember what life was like before Tyson was part of it.  An incredible year full of ups and downs, full of new experiences that were both exciting and stressful, but most of all a year full of falling in love with an amazing little guy.  I can’t believe Tyson is ONE!

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Jon and I were really torn about whether to throw Tyson a big first birthday party.  We reasoned that it was a lot of work and that Tyson wouldn’t really get a whole lot out of the experience.  In the end we decided that this is the only time our first baby will turn one, and that it’s a big milestone we wanted to celebrate with all the people who love him.  And hopefully he’ll look back at the pictures one day and appreciate the fun shin-dig that we put on for him!

And a fun shin-dig it was.  We gathered a small group of Tyson’s close family and friends for a casual birthday gathering – Superbowl style!  For those who know me well, you know I love a good theme and since Tyson was born on Superbowl Sunday last year, a Superbowl party with a football theme was perfect.

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We planned the menu easily and decided on making two types of chili (meat and vegetarian) with all the toppings and a variety of other finger foods.  Superbowl comfort food at it’s best.

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However when it came to dessert I was a little anxious.  I was excited for Tyson to “smash” his first birthday cake, but I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of filling him with refined sugar and gluten for the sake of tradition.  Listen, I’m not naive enough to think that Tyson will never ever eat sugar, nor would I want him to live such a restricted life!  But at his age, he gets just as much enjoyment out of ripe banana as he would from a cake loaded with sugar, so I’d rather wait to expose him to the bad stuff when he is actually asking for it (and when we can discuss the differences between healthy and non-healthy choices).  Besides, as an aspiring nutritionist I was up for the challenge of coming up with a delicious alternative!  I decided that I wanted to create something that everyone at the party could enjoy – not just Tyson – so it couldn’t be (in the words of Jon) too “weird”.

Let me start of by admitting that baking is not my strong suit.  I don’t do it very often because I much prefer to cook savoury dishes, where you can be a little more willy-nilly with the measurement of the ingredients.  I tend to cook by taste – adding a bit more of a herb or spice if the dish needs it.  Baking is an entirely different story – you really can’t assess whether you have been successful until you try the final product.  So let’s just say that there were a lot of failed attempts in my quest to create the perfect healthy first birthday cake for Tyson.  I think I ate more baked goods in the two weeks leading up to Tyson’s birthday than I have in a long time.  Luckily they were full of healthy Real Food ingredients :)

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Eventually there was success.  The final healthy first birthday cake recipe is something I like to call a muff-cake.  It’s a hybrid of a muffin and a cupcake in my opinion – sweet enough to put icing on, but also delicious on its own or topped with some almond butter for breakfast.   They are gluten-free, dairy-free and refined-sugar free and contain ingredients that I feel good about letting Tyson dig into. And they are pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  For the party  I topped them with a coconut cream frosting that was light, fluffy and delicious.

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So without further ado, the recipe:

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Real Food First Birthday Cake (or Cupcakes!)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 9 cupcakes or one mini-cake*

Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup date paste**
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
6 eggs

Directions

1.  Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2.  Mix coconut flour and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
3. Combine all wet ingredients in another mixing bowl, ensuring that eggs are beaten well.
4.  Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, blend dry ingredients into wet ingredients until ingredients are well combined and reach a smooth consistency.
5.  Grease a cake pan or muffin cups with coconut oil.
6.  Pour batter into cake pan or muffin cups.
7.  Bake for 30 minutes or until spongy to the touch.
8.  Ice, decorate and enjoy!

*I know this is an odd number for the recipe to make but once I had the flavour right I didn’t want to mess with the quantities to try to make exactly 12, so you will just have to double it if you need more :)
**Date paste is basically just softened and blended up dates and is a great natural alternative to standard sweeteners.  For more details on how to work with date paste, see Gena’s post.  Have some date paste left over?  It makes a great food for babies!  Tyson loves it mixed in with his morning oatmeal.

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Do they taste like a normal cupcakes?  No they do not, but they aren’t supposed to!   I think it’s important to appreciate a subtle sweetness in food.  Most people’s taste buds are accustomed to such large amounts of sugar, that fruit doesn’t even taste sweet enough to them anymore and that is a shame!  Trust me, try cutting out sugar for a few weeks and you will start to see how amazingly sweet and delicious an apple can taste (especially a local one when they are in season).

We served the healthy first birthday cupcakes alongside some super cute chocolate-dipped strawberries made by Jon’s sister (thanks Bobbi!)

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We decided to make Tyson his own personal mini cake instead of just giving him a cupcake.  Truthfully, Jon was inspired by some mini football player figurines that he picked up at the party store that day and decided that Tyson needed a mini football field for a cake.

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My surprisingly artistic husband worked on this cake for over an hour until everything was just right.  This was a last-minute project so I did concede that we could use a bit of real food colouring since I didn’t have time to come up with an alternative.  Everything in moderation, right?

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Tyson definitely enjoyed the masterpiece.  Seriously, our boy can eat.

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I’m so glad we decided to throw a party for Tyson.  Everyone had a great time and I think we put on a party he will be proud of.  And though there were a few times I was almost ready to throw in the towel during my baking adventures, I’m so glad I stuck it out so that Tyson could mark his first year of life with a delicious treat made of Real Food.

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Oh, and I just realized that I didn’t talk about the amazing Kids Snack Trays that my sister and her husband put together for the party.  At the risk of making this post WAY too long, I will share that fun project in my next post!

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