November 2007

Full Plate

Eat Local for Thanksgiving

Want a simple and delicious way to support our local farming communities, reduce greenhouse gasses and help maintain a regional agricultural system that benefits us all? Take the pledge to “Eat Local for Thanksgiving,” and commit to serving at least one locally-grown food product on your Thanksgiving table.

Wendy Dore of Puget Sound Fresh explains how simple choices like the “Eat Local for Thanksgiving Campaign” can help support the vitality of our Puget Sound community. “Buying local can lower the carbon footprint on our area by reducing the need to transport food from farther away. We are very lucky to live in an area that produces a wide variety of wonderful products,” says Dore. “It’s easy to buy local; we just need to educate ourselves about what’s grown here and then seek out and ask for these products. If you’re making an apple pie, make sure the apples are local. If you’re adding oysters to your stuffing, make sure you purchase one of our many wonderful local varieties.”

Make your pledge to eat locally online at www.pugetsoundfresh.org or look for “Eat Local for Thanksgiving” pledge cards at participating QFC and PCC Markets starting Nov. 1. Pledges received by Nov. 15 will be eligible to win one of five raised-in-Washington Heritage Turkeys or other prizes.

For more local farming news, farmer’s markets schedules and seasonal events, log onto to www.pugetsoundfresh.org.

Local School Wins “Golden Carrot Award”

The Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle (JDS) has won a national “Golden Carrot Award” for innovation in school food service. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) presents the annual awards to food service professionals who approach child nutrition in an innovative way that encourages children to eat more healthfully. JDS’ Food Service Director Dana Rigato receives a $500 prize with another $500 going to the school’s food service program.

The awards are based on programs featuring low-fat meals, lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and vegetarian selections. PCRM recognized JDS’ new healthier lunch menu featuring healthy, kid-friendly foods and also the school’s commitment to using the healthy lunch initiative as a platform to expand its health and nutrition curriculum.

This year, JDS students are enjoying their favorite familiar foods such as burritos, burgers and chix nuggets (vegetarian entrees from Morningstar) and pizza but they also are able to make selections from the fresh salad bar featuring lettuce, fresh vegetables, whole grain and lentil salads, cottage cheese, yogurt, granola and fruit. New items are added and rotated and once a month, the kitchen serves a unique rice bowl which includes brown rice, oven-roasted vegetables and flavored tofu. Students have a beverage choice of water or 1% white milk.

The 150 lunches served each day are made fresh – none of the food is fried and they use no canned goods, white flour or sugar. The new healthy lunch initiative has resulted in several items being removed from the JDS menu including bagels, tater tots, fish sticks and chocolate milk.

For more about the Golden Carrot awards, go to www.pcrm.org or www.healthyschoollunches.org.

Magic Veggies!

Cooking is magical, isn’t it? A mysterious process whereby heat, flavor and shape transform what, in this case, are two vegetables that would ordinarily be rejected into something delicious. Cooking them is a leap of faith – especially in the case of the Brussels sprouts, if your only experience with them has been soggy, smelly orbs shoved around the plate. But give these a try. Both dishes are perfect accompaniments to the turkey day meal.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (or ½ butter and ½ olive oil)
½ teaspoon salt (vary to your taste)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons water
Juice of one lime (optional)

Wash Brussels sprouts, then trim off outer leaves and the ends.
Cut each in half lengthwise, and then slice thinly across width. (Note: This is a tedious job perfect to delegate to your spouse/older child assistant.)
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté sprouts with salt and pepper until they start to brown. Add water and cook until barely limp, about four minutes.
Stir in lime juice and serve.
I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, City Cuisine by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (Hearst Books, 1989).

Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut squash
Olive oil
Salt and pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Peel the squash and cut it into small cubes (about ½ inch).
Spread the cubes on a baking sheet so they are not touching and lightly coat them with olive oil.
Season, if you so desire, with salt and pepper. I usually skip it.
Roast in oven for about 20 minutes, but start checking after 10 minutes to make sure they don’t burn. The cubes should be just turning crispy brown when you pull them out of the oven.
All ages of kids in our house, from toddler to teen, pop these in their mouths like candy.

Kids Picks: Kids Vote for Healthy Favorites

By Riki Mafune

When I was a kid the family made our weekend pilgrimage to the local Food Giant. The first stop? The bakery department, where we kids would smile sweetly and ask for our free sugar cookie, which was usually stamped in the shape of an upcoming holiday motif and garnished with day-glow sugar crystals. Nutritious? No. But that cookie did keep us quiet, happy and out of our parents’ hair for a few precious minutes.

Fast forward to today’s shopping experience at Puget Sound Consumer Co-op (PCC) Natural Markets and the PCC Kid Picks sampling program. Instead of that cookie, kids 12 and under can pick a snack from the cornucopia of PCC’s organic produce. And the produce staff is more than happy to help your child select, wash and – if necessary – cut his healthy selection.

In addition to the free fruit or veggie while you shop, PCC’s Kid Picks program schedules events to give kids fun and interactive opportunities to taste and vote on their favorite natural and organic foods, including fresh produce, prepared deli foods, frozen entrées, snacks and convenience food. After the votes are tallied, the most popular items are flagged with the bright orange Kid Picks logo in PCC Natural Market stores.

Sara Walsh, PCC Kid Picks coordinator, explains: “The products that receive at least two-thirds approval from our judges will be flagged in the stores.”

According to Walsh, from the start of the program in March 2004, “the response to the Kid Picks program has been fabulous. The first year was trial and error, but by year two we really got the program up and running smoothly.” And running it is, with the addition of the PCC Kid Picks Mobile, a self-contained fruit, veggie and nutrition fair on wheels.

The Kid Picks Mobile serves a dual purpose, providing community education as well as serving as a marketing tool for PCC. With three full time staff and several volunteers, Walsh and her crew are passionate about the education aspect of the program and are jazzed that the Kids Picks Mobile is able bring the program’s healthy message out into the community. The Kids Pick Mobile program travels to community events, schools and kid-friendly places like the Seattle’s Children’s Museum, as well as events at PCC Markets.

Leah Olver, an 11-year-old foodie, checked out the Kid Picks Mobile in October at the View Ridge PCC. “I thought it was fun. I tasted around five different foods and marked whether I liked or didn’t like them on a card. I really loved the rice pilaf.” Leah’s mom, Maureen Kostyak, was impressed with the Kid Picks Mobile: “It was well set-up, with clear instructions for the kids. And the woman working in the PCC Mobile was very nice when telling adults that the tastings were for kids only!”

For upcoming PCC Kid Picks events and information on how you can bring the Kids Pick Mobile to your community event, check out www.PCCNaturalmarkets.com or call 206-547-1222.

Riki Mafune, a Seattle area writer and mother of two, is a public health educator specializing in nutrition.

KID PICKS PRODUCTS
Here are the most recent Kids Picks. View the latest picks, and hundreds of recommendations from the past few years, at www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/kids/index.html.

PCC DELI PEAS IN A POD SALAD
This salad is made of ingredients that most kids find appealing: miniature shell-shaped pasta, pesto, peas, Parmesan and Romano cheeses and basil and lemon oil blends.

THAI KITCHEN ORIGINAL PHAD THAI STIR-FRY RICE NOODLES WITH SAUCE
Kids love the rice noodles and sweet and tangy sauce in this low-spice version of a favorite Thai dish.

ORGANIC NAVEL ORANGES
Sweet-tasting and seedless, navel oranges are made for peeling and eating out of hand.

EDENSOY® ORGANIC VANILLA SOYMILK
Edensoy uses only organic soybeans that are grown in the United States, real vanilla extract and unrefined organic sweeteners to make this soymilk.

ANNIE’S NATURALS GODDESS DRESSING
Kids love this creamy unsweetened dressing made with tahini, lemon, chives and parsley. Try it as a dairy-free substitute for mayonnaise in a variety of salads, from pasta and potato to tuna and tofu.

RUDI’S ORGANIC BAKERY® WHOLE-GRAIN WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS
Fill with protein for a high-energy breakfast sandwich or spread with tomato sauce and top with cheese to make a yummy mini-pizza. The traditionalist will prefer these simply toasted with butter.

MIDDLE EARTH ORGANICS ORGANIC TOMATO & BASIL PASTA SAUCE
This sauce is made in northern Italy with 100 percent organic ingredients, including fresh herbs, and no added sugar.

GLUTINO GLUTEN-FREE APPLE CINNAMON CEREAL
Sweet honey, dried apples and a pinch of cinnamon flavor this O-shaped cereal.

VAN’S ORGANIC BLUEBERRY WAFFLES
These frozen waffles simply heat up in the toaster. Van’s uses all-natural ingredients, including real blueberries.

APPLEGATE FARMS TURKEY BACON
This nitrate-free bacon is made from seasoned turkey smoked over hardwoods.

– Sara Walsh, PCC Kid Picks coordinator

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