Take from Home

The school cafeteria sent me a bill. A big bill.

A bill for $45.23.

Impossible I think.

The boys take from home daily, and we only indulge them with a rare opportunity to "buy" their lunch. I also pack abundant choices - plenty of carbs like bagels, breads, pitas and proteins like chicken, hummus, almond butter, fruit, homemade goodies, multiple organic milks ... they eat plenty and well.

I called the cafeteria lady.

"There must be a mistake," I say.

"Let me check their codes," she says. "Well, Patrick ordered pizza on Friday with a milk. And Aidan ordered pizza, milk, cookies, popcorn and chips."

"What?"

"Yes. That's the only order I have for Patrick. On Thursday, Aidan ordered popcorn, chips and a cookie. On Wednesday, popcorn and a cookie ... "

"Ok, Ok, I get the picture. This is all unbeknownst to me. They're only supposed to 'buy' once a week," I say.

The cafeteria lady who works for corporate food giant Aramark laughs and we say goodbye.

I immediately call Aidan in to the room.

"Hey, Buddy, are you ordering lunch every day?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Not lunch."

"Right, you're ordering lots of chips and popcorn and cookies."

"Yeah."

"Why? Are you hungry?"

"No, the popcorn and cookies are just so delicious I can't resist them."

Now, I realize that this is a wildly kid-like thing to do, but I emphasize to him that this is an expensive way to eat and not a very healthy one. And I ask what about Fresh Mouth?

"Mom, don't worry. It's Smart Food and hot chocolate chip cookies just like homemade. And you just have to enter a code. I don't need money," he says.

You just have to enter a code.

The cafeteria never turns a child away. They can always eat even if there's no credit on their balance sheet. So, weeks pass and parents can pay a hefty price. It's an American credit fairy tale in the making. I explain to Aidan that the food has a price. He listens. And I tell him that Smart Food is nutritionally vacant and that hot microwaved cookies aren't like homemade just because they're warm. We agree that once a week is the rule, and that we'll pack our own delicious popcorn - one that's healthy and inexpensive. I give him a pinch and kiss and send him on his way.

Teaching kids moderation and health in the modern food system is a daily battle.

So, I baked some homemade oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries for the upcoming lunches and made two pizzas for dinner - one straight up plain and the other pesto and spinach. I enhanced "Dolbeare Dough" with flax seed meal which made the crust spectacular.

Dolbeare Dough
1 tablespoon yeast
2 1/2 cups flour (50% whole wheat, 50% white)(I add about 1/2 cup of flax, and when I do, I reduce the flour amount by a corresponding 1/2 cup. Play with your dough ... you may need to add more if it's too wet.)
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey

1. Add yeast to a large bowl. Pour warm water over yeast and stir with a fork until yeast is completely dissolved. Add olive oil and honey. Stir.
2. Add flours and mix.
3. Knead dough until it becomes a shiny ball.
4. Let rise for about two hours. Form into desired shape - pizza crust, baguette, rolls ... bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.

I defrosted leftovers from our pesto festo several weeks ago. I added cooked frozen spinach, mozzarella and parmesan and cooked the pizza at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.



Nugget o' the Moment: "Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food." More.. Michael Pollan who wrote an open letter called "Farmer in Chief" to the next president of the United States published in the NYTimes on October 9, 2008.

What's Wrong With What We Eat

Watch food writer Mark Bittman give an insightful talk on what we're eating and what's wrong with it.

How Do You Feel?

We want to hear from you.

If you're reading labels and making conscious choices about what you put in your Fresh Mouths, tell us how you feel.

Does it make a difference? Are you happier? Do you have more energy? Are you sick less?

Have you achieved a Zen-like mind-body relationship with the universe?

What's the biggest change in your life?

If you're not even a little Fresh Mouth, why? Too much money? Too much trouble? Long live Krispy Kreme?

Let us know!

Fair Fare & Halloween Intake

The aroma of peppers and onions from the cheesesteak stand mixed with the notes of a Mayan sundance, a Texan/Czech polka and some Kentucky thumb-picking. The Richmond Folk Festival was a postmodern mix of ethnic cuisine and music, and we indulged in the food and the tunes.


The heat of the fried fish paired with cool, fresh lemonade balanced a moment. Then we added funnel cake. Ah. More sugar. But we couldn't resist. The kids have never tasted a funnel cake, and they begged to have the white powdered dough. So, the five of us split one. We constantly reinforce moderation with the kids, and they really are getting good at self-regulating and making better choices.

"Just a few bites. That's good, right, Mom?" Patrick asked with powdered sugar on his nose and in his eyelashes.

"A few bites are okay, Buddy," I said.


Patrick even declined a final bite and said he had enough.

Now, I'm trying to come up with a Halloween strategy. The kids amass a tremendous amount of candy. Last year, I slowly "disappeared" their stashes and made Dirk take it to the hospital staff for snacks. I've researched a few plans for this year, and here are a few of the best ideas for managing intake the night of Halloween, as well as the remaining candy in the weeks to come.

Halloween Night
1. Explain the situation. Our kids realize that the candy collection and consumption is extraordinary on this holiday night. So, we're going to let them play with their spoils because they like sorting and trading with each other. But they can choose five of their favorite pieces to eat that night, and then the rest goes away for rationing.

It's that teachable moment about portions, sizes and choices. I'm also going to make them label read to look at ingredients and sugar grams.

2. Serve a healthy dinner. Give kids a healthy start to the night and sate their hunger with real food before they take off on the Halloween hunt.

3. Consider alternative "treats." Dole out dried fruit, pretzels or other non-edibles like little Halloween decorations.

4. Make a plan for actually eating the candy that night. We don't eat on the run. We wait until we get home, and I serve them milk as they sort and indulge themselves.

5. Brush 'em. We ceremoniusly brush, floss and rinse on Halloween

The Candy Glut
1. Ration it. Make a pre-holiday plan with the kids. We're going to give them one piece a day for two weeks and then donate the rest. I'll "hold" the candy for them and be the candy key master. Otherwise Patrick would sleep with it under his pillow. It's happened before.

2. Freeze it. I save all the chocolate varieties for cooking during the year.

3. Donate it. It's not the healthiest donation, but give it to a food bank, community center or church.

Nugget o' the Moment: What are the presidential candidates eating? NPR highlighted the politico's faves.

McCain: Pusser's Caribbean Grille in Annapolis, MD for Haitian Creole Seafood Gumbo.
Obama: Rick Bayless' restaurant Topolo in Chicago, IL for Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos With Caramelized Onions

A Father's Feast

This morning at breakfast I reminded the kids it was Dirk's birthday.

"We have to make him a feast," Patrick screamed with urgency and arms in the air.

"Yeah, his cake and a special dinner. And balloons. Daddy loves balloons." Aidan added.

Birthdays are big doings for the boys. If food is love and love is Daddy, then food is Daddy. That's how our Socratic logic plays out here. The boys love to cook meals and "treats" for Dirk. For Father's Day, they bought him salt and pepper shakers shaped like chickens and organic cheddar popcorn seasoning for their movie nights.

Dirk made a special request for shrimp risotto and a chocolate cake tonight, but the boys have other plans for him. They insist he needs his cake paired with "Crock Pot Chili" to properly celebrate. So, Dirk will be eating twice tonight. Chili and cake with the kiddos, and risotto a little later after little ones are asleep.

I know our previous post highlighted our reduced sugar consumption so please excuse the cake today. Birthdays are exceptions, and we'll all eat moderately. Maybe.

Crock Pot Chili
This is a hodge podge recipe that includes whatever we have on hand at the moment. It's a great option for the "New American Frugality" way of family cooking.

1 lb organic ground beef

1 onion (diced)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

2 cans tomato sauce

2 cans pinto, kidney, navy or other beans
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
dashes of salt and pepper

1. Brown ground beef until cooked.

2. Add all ingredients in crock pot and mix.

3. Cook on high for four hours and serve.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE"

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Nugget o' the Moment: "With the cost of food rising and moms everywhere cringing over their grocery receipts, one mom has found a way to save her family thousands of dollars ... " -- from Oprah.com's "5 Ways to Save Money on Groceries."

Give Me Some Sugar

When we lived in Little Rock, I heard a grandmother called "Meemaw" say to a child, "Give me some sugar." The little one ran over and hugged and kissed her.

I'm addicted to this expression. I think it's the sweetest thing since ... sugar.

But I think of it every time I drop a teaspoon in my coffee or add a cup to baked goods.

"Give me some sugar ..."

Ever since the beginning of Fresh Mouth, we took heat for still including sugar in our diet. I vowed once we got rockin' and rollin' on the initial phase of our experiment to address the sugar issue. With Halloween around the corner, I'm trying to get a handle on family intake.

I seem to have the secret sweet tooth. I drink straight up sugar in my two-to-three-cup coffee habit in lieu of artifical sweeteners. I may be saving my brain and body from the unknown or alleged effects of aspartame and the like, but my teeth are suffering. Since I gave up the artificial stuff in February, I've had three cavities. Before this, I only ever had two. And I floss and brush at least twice daily. It's my sweetened coffee habit that's killing me.

The baby eats the least amount. He indulges in the homemade baked goods, but his diet is primarily fresh produce, meats and dairy. Aidan and Patrick get the most in everything from organic peanut butter and cereal to dried cranberries.

Our single biggest family sugar source is yogurt.

This week I capitalized on seasonal pumpkin puree sales for a lowfat pumpkin bread that's healthy and spicy. We're eating it for breakfast with yogurt with less added sugar - the new Fage brand yogurt with 7g of sugar per serving versus our old Stonyfield Farm vanilla with 34 g per serving. We really love Stonyfield, but it's because it has more sugar than our Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream that has 21 g of sugar per serving.

One cup of sugar equals about 200 grams. With our pumpkin bread of 10 slices, each serving has about 15 g. Add that to the 7g of Fage yogurt, and we're still coming in less than the Stonyfield yogurt serving.

This week Consumer Reports released a report about kids and sugar cereals that noted:

"The bad news is that 23 of the top 27 cereals marketed to children rated only Good or Fair for nutrition. There is at least as much sugar in a serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks and 10 other rated cereals as there is in a glazed doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Two cereals, Kellogg's Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp, are more than 50 percent sugar (by weight) and nine are at least 40 percent sugar. And that's not the only issue. Although Kellogg's Rice Krispies has only 4 grams of sugar per serving, it got only a Fair rating, largely because it is higher in sodium and has zero dietary fiber. Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size earned a healthful cereal score of Good; it has 12 grams of sugar per serving but is also very low in sodium and has a hefty 6 grams of fiber." More ...

We still eat some cereals including "Earth's Best Organic On-the-Go O's" which come in at only 4 g per serving.

Our pre-Halloween blitz is about less sugar. I'm reducing my portions in my coffee, and am making recipes for the family with less. Here's this week's pumpkin bread recipe and a wonderful pesto that I made with bushels of basil I got from a neighbor. He works at a vineyard owned by Italians who picked their plants this week after an early freeze.

Rosie's Pesto
from In the Kitchen with Rosie by Rosie Daley
Note: My changes to the recipe are parenthetical ...

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
2-5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup pine nuts ( I used walnuts)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
(I also added about an 1/8 cup of olive oil to moisten this mixture.)

Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor. Turn the machine on and drizzle in lemon juice (and oil if you choose to use it). Continue to puree until a smooth paste is formed.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Note: My changes to the recipe are parenthetical ...

1-1/2 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour (I used half and half white and wheat flour.)
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar (I reduced this to about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup low-fat or nonfat buttermilk
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I elminated these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, beat pumpkin puree, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and oil together. Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring just until moistened (overmixing will cause the bread to become too tough). Add chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Nugget o' the Moment: "Give me some sugar." Or a little less anyway.

The New Frugality

Jack and I sniff the mums at the supermarket, and we both make exaggerated inhales.

We say, "Mmmmm."

A woman passes us and comments, "They don't smell."

"I know," I say smiling. "We even smell fake ones."

Then she wanted to talk. She had a cart filled with about 20 reduced-price pies and cakes from the day-old shelf.

"It's so cool today. Last night I get cold with windows open."

"Me too," I say and acknowledge her accent with the subtle tones of our old Iranian neighbors. "You're from Iran."

"Yes," she says with a smile.

And then she tells me about coming to America, losing a good job in Iran, becoming a US citizen, helping others here at a local church. She buys baked goods to serve to the homeless.

She tells me she's a caterer, and wouldn't I come to her car to take one of her flyers?

I load Jack up and drive over to where she's parked. She hands me three plain sheets of paper with basic black font. No frills. One says, "Catering - Mid-East Cuisine." There's a simple list that includes:

Beef and Chicken Sheesh Kabob
Grilled Vegetables
Eggplant Khoresht
Gourmet Sabzi with Meat
Alu Khoresht
Zirishk Pulao

The other two sheets are for babysitting and landscape work. One is her husband's, the other her daughter's.

I thank her and she says goodbye with "God blesses."

It's the new economic reality being born out in a parking lot. People are looking for work and ways to save and earn more. I bought only three items at the store - carrots, onions and flour to make a filling stew to stretch out meals for a few nights.

This scene unfolds after I listen to NPR's piece this morning on "The New Frugality." An economic editor for American Public Media, Chris Farrell says:

"I think this is a major transformative moment for families. We're going to go into recession, and we're going to do all the things you do in recession where you cut back on your spending and be more cautious. But when we come out of the recession, that's not going to change. And the reason it's not going to change is lenders are going to be very conservative. Borrowing is going to be tough. The other reason -- you're not going to get big wage gains." More ...

It's the new, old frugality that has pinched American wallets and meals before. I thought of my favorite food writer M.F.K. Fisher and her book, "How to Cook a Wolf." The book was published in 1942 at the height of war-time food shortages. Its stories like, "How to be Cheerful Though Starving" and "How to Make a Great Show" walk readers through eating well with little. The recipes are basic, wholesome and simple.

As a nod to my Iranian supermarket friend with all the baked goods, I'm making Fisher's gingerbread cake for dessert with the stew. Fisher says, "It sends out a fine friendly smell through the house."

Pinch my wallet, but still pinch my waist.

Edith's Gingerbread
from How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger, cloves and salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 teaspoon soda
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 beaten egg

"Cream the shortening and sugar. Sift the spices and flour and baking powder together. Beat the 1/2 teaspoon soda in to the molasses until it is light and fluffy, and add to the shortening and sugar. Add the 1/4 teaspoon soda to the boiling water, and then add it alternately with the sifted dry ingredients. Fold in the beaten egg when all is well mixed, pour in to a greased and floured pan, and bake about 20 minutes, at 325 degrees. This mixture will seem much too thin to make a cake, but do not increase the quantity of flour, as many doubting cooks have tried to do."




Nugget o' the Moment:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without.

— New England maxim