My first post

This blog was created because my husband's cousin thought I would enjoy writing about my passion for healthy food and cooking. Last week, while at the beach, we were having a glass of wine after enjoying a ladies lunch and movie screening of "Julie and Julia" when she suggested that I start a blog. I am currently reading Robyn O'Brien's wonderful book, "The UnHealthy Truth".

This book links Asthma, Autism, ADHD, and Allergies to the U.S. Food Supply. I hope to share what I learn so other mothers can be aware of the dangers in our food supply and keep their children safe. You can't control everything. I know that. I have to admit that when I got pregnant (almost 11 years ago) with my daughter I started thinking more and more about what I was eating, drinking, and breathing! My passion was beginning to develop I suppose. This was a time when Organic was just not available. Local was not associated with food, really. The more I learned about the benefits of going organic (reduced exposure to pesticide and increased nutrition content) the more passionate I became. I went a teency bit overboard. My husband said to me "modulate"- how about 80/20. I was familiar with this concept. It worked. I could finally eat out again, I could stop being hypocritical. Robyn uses the 80/20 concept in her book as a guide for mothers, too.

Yesterday, was my daughter's second full day at school. She is in fifth grade. I noticed a few years back that in fifth grade the eating habits of the kids were taking a back seat to who sits with who at which table. So, I am extremely motivated to have snacks that are appetizing, healthy and yummy and let's add economical. I want to avoid "UnHealthy" foods (as described in the above mentioned book ) which includes any GMO (genetically modified organisms) food, food with additives such as msg, yellow #5, sodium benzoate, etc., partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, soy anything and I seek to avoid processed foods whenever possible. Remember the 80/20 rule? I participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that is a network of local farmers. Every Wednesday, I pick up locally and sustainably (not necessarily certified organic but not heavily pesiticided either) grown fruits, vegetables and also free range eggs.

Given the rise of peanut allergies, you CAN'T send any form of peanuts or other tree nuts. We eat a ton of peanut butter and other nuts for protein so for school I shift gears.

Day one of school I sent a snack that included sunflower seeds (seeds are allowed), cut up plums, and home-popped organic popcorn. After school, my daughter ate her snack. This was very frustrating, but apparently with all the excitement of the first full day, they forgot about snack time.

Back to Day 2 snack prep. The night before Day 2, we had a very simple dinner of caprese salad (tomato slices, buffalo mozzarella slices and basil from my garden dressed with balsamic vinegar (in this case a special bottle of fig balsamic purchased at the beach) and olive oil. Along with that we roasted root vegetable rounds including turnips, potatoes, and beets. My daughter begged for any leftover rounds to be sent in for lunch. Not having any leftovers I made a fresh batch of potato rounds (chips) in the oven after dinner. This was a wonderful surprise in her snack bag! I also included slices of Grass-fed cheddar and crackers from Trader Joes's. After school, she reported that her snack was good. Not a huge fan of the cheddar (she prefers blue cheese) but still good. Whew!

Last night at dinner, I thawed some of my husband's chili, and roasted some more beets that I had received in my CSA share yesterday. The beets were a huge hit so I asked my daughter if she would want them in her snack for Day 3 (today). She sort of rolled her eyes and said don't make me look like the freak in the classroom. Okay- I get it. Add that to my mommy responsibilities. Good tasting, healthy, fun to eat, not freakish.

So, this morning as I prepared Day 3 snack, I considered the options. I decided to put something processed, normal, and very economical only because I didn't buy it. Mott's applesauce in pre-packaged container leftover from our beach trip. Thank you to the sister in law who purchased it! Of course, this is not really in keeping with my stated goals, but sometimes you have to use what you got. I will probably catch myself later doing research on Mott's applesauce and what their statement is on GMO's, pesticides, etc. In addition to the "forbidden" fruit, I also packed her favorite blue cheese and crackers, and little carrots and cherry tomatoes from my CSA share. (www.moorefarmsandfriends.com) I wonder what her reaction to snack will be today!

I hope to post recipes, pictures and more. Join me in my pursuit of healthy food!