healthy

It is true. I'm obsessed with gourds, and to be more specific, I'm obsessed with having my eldest child relish in the culinary excitement of a stuffed gourd. Accordingly, this kid-friendly version was born. . . WITCHES BREW: hollowed out real pumpkin placed in the freezer for one hour then dusted with wheat germ and filled with Stonyfield Farms Organic Chocolate Yogurt (cut with Nancy's plain yogurt to cut down on the frightening amount of sugar), gummy eyeball (I know, more sugar - -but this is Halloween and I just couldn't figure out how to create an eyeball out of the swiss chard in my vegetable drawer). The bugs on top of and under the lid are plastic toys that were party favors we received. Mi-Del Whole Wheat Graham Crackers wrapped in a cloth napkin with a Halloween sticker; banana; roasted pumpkin seeds; water in a SIGG bottle; and a plastic spoon made larger and more interesting with bits of cardboard, paper, and stickers I scrounged up from the kids' art cabinet. The lunch sack in the back is a re-useable Trick-or-Treat bag that will double as a lunch bag today.

waste generated: :( lots. stickers, bits of paper, cardboard and tape, disposable plastic spoon (however, if it finds its way home and will be washed and re-used); 3 toothpicks

Yes. Pie for lunch.

Miniature Squash pie (like pumpkin pie, just made with winter squash and a little less sugar & spice) with a whole wheat crust; almonds & dried cranberries; chunks of chicken (a breast stolen from the dinner crockpot with all identifying sauce stealthily removed and chopped into kid friendly bites).

waste generated: 0, :) the little pie tin was purchased at a yardsale and can be used over and over again

This lunch was met with much more enthusiasm. Corn on the cob and red bell pepper strips from Fully Belly Farm (yes, the summer veggies are still finding their way into our CSA box - - gotta love California!); whole wheat and rainbow shells with olive oil and a little wheat germ sprinkled on top; Boca Meatless Chik-N Nuggets and ketchup (a cop-out, I know, but a gal starts to lose interest after her stuffed acorn squash is rebuffed).

waste generated: nothing evident, but I will refrain from my diatribe on the packaging and other waste associated with processed foods

As I assembled this masterpiece my son came barreling through the kitchen and scoffed at me. . . "Mom, that ISN'T for ME, is it?" I begged him to try the delicious cold green beans with almonds in a lemon viniagrette, thinking for sure I'd convince him that indeed this lunch was for him. Even the vegan lemon cookie from Sunflower Baking Company wasn't enough to persuade him that acorn squash stuffed with quinoa, almonds and cherries is both attractive and delicious. However, he did request the small slice of homemade wheatberry walnut bread to eat as a snack. Consolation prize: a yummy lunch for me.

waste generated: one plastic cookie wrapper

You've probably heard that processed foods are bad for you. You may have even cut back or cut them out for the most part.

New research, published in the Journal of Obesity in September, shows that eating processed food is causing liver disease in children.

"According to an article from CanWest News Service, a 10 year old girl became the first child diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 2000. Now in 2007, liver disease is being found in 5-7 year olds with the youngest child reported being two years old. Fatty liver disease is now showing up in approximately one in every three obese children."

Read the full article here.

Learn more about healthy eating and how to get your kids to eat healthy food.

Wheatberry and greenbean salad with oranges, dried cranberries, blue cheese, candied pecans and a balsamic olive oil vinaigrette; lettuce leaves for filling; carrots; and crackers.

waste generated: none :)

Well, apparently, there are some things my son will not eat cold, namely, scrambled eggs. Lesson learned, but they sure did look pretty. The rest of the lunch was well received.

Scrambled eggs with a side of ketchup (topped with a Halloween muffin tin liner, solely for visual effect); whole wheat toast with cinammon sugar cut into flower shapes; mango with 2 maraschino cherries; cashews and raisins.

waste generated: 2 muffin tin liners

Chicken skewers (chicken stolen from the browning pan at dinner and speared with pumpkin toothpicks); cranberry sauce; sliced pears; and homemade cake with chocolate ganache.

waste generated: 3 pumpkin novelty toothpicks

O.K., so truth be told, I have no idea what one might eat on a picnic in Tuscany - -and I assure you I did not send my son off to school with a flask of red wine. . . .but, well, it FEELS like a Tuscan Picnic to me.

Pizza Sandwich - - crusty Pugliese bread with leftover spaghetti sauce and melted mozarella, kalamata olives, apple, and a flask of . . .

waste generated: 0 :) (sandwich wrapped in a re-useable wrap-n-mat from reuseablebags.com)

This lunch was created with leftovers from last night's dinner of Huevos Rancheros - -o.k. Huevos Ranchos for the adults. Scrambled Eggs and tortillas for the munchkins.

Bean and cheese tacos (homemade organic corn and wholewheat flour tortillas with black beans and melted cheese - -it is surprising what my son will eat cold); spinach leaves with spicy yogurt sauce (yogurt with a little enchilada sauce mixed in); blackbean tortilla chips; and organic grapes (fyi: conventional grapes are on the top ten list of fruits being high in pesticide residue). The limes are simply there for photo presentation. Unnecessary? Yes. But I think it shows a part of my personality. The crazy part, but a part nonetheless.

waste generated: 0 :)

The government agencies that are supposed to be protecting us are doing just the opposite!

I have always recommended that when you buy strawberries, you should choose organic because of the pesticides used on strawberries.

The EPA has just approved a new pesticide and fumigant, methyl iodide, to be used mostly in fields growing strawberries in California and Florida. It is also approved for use with tomatoes, peppers, ornamentals, turf, trees and vines.

Methyl iodide is a carcinogen; it causes cancer. It is a neurotoxin; it causes damage to your nervous system. "In a letter sent last month to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, 54 scientists, mostly chemists, warned that "pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk."

Full story...

More healthy eating information...

I'd love to start this blog with something a bit more creative. . perhaps a savory pumpkin soup served in a minature hollowed out pumpkin, complete with carrying handle. However, this was devised in the real world where I was probably putting it together while simultaneously wrestling something dangerous out of one of my toddlers' hands.

Pumpkin shaped Almond Butter and Sliced Apple Sandwich decorated with apple pieces; Homemade Pumpkin shaped Whole Wheat Sugar Cookie with sprinkles; Whole Wheat Organic Pretzel Sticks; grape and apple skewers; and orange juice.