Family & Home

Over the last two months, ABC aired Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, a six-episode reality series documenting the English chef's mission to improve school food in Huntington, West Virginia. (The preview episode was the subject for one of my previous posts for Simple, Good and Tasty.) Was it a success?

Friends, the time has come. We laughed. We cried. (Okay, mostly we cried.) We shared great stories and strong feelings. We ate lunch with our kids and lived to tell engaging stories about the terrific lunch ladies (and cook managers) in our schools; our country's restrictions, policies, and prices; and how much ranch dressing you can put on a piece of pizza.

Well before its connection to Easter, the humble egg has long been a symbol of spring and renewal in various cultures and religions. Now that Easter is over, it is re-emerging from beneath the bright dyes and artificial chocolate shells to display its true colors as a healthy, hearty food.

From bad to better

Asparagus makes me smile. For starters, being one of the first vegetables to show up after a long, dark winter, asparagus is the courageous harbinger of spring – more so than the robin, who I’ve seen pecking around in the snow with nary a clue as to just how many weeks away spring really is. And although I’ve never eaten a robin, something tells me it isn't nearly as tasty as fresh asparagus.

Wow, wow, wow! What terrific photos you sent! What great stories you told! The school lunch challenge that began just over a month ago with an open letter to our children apologizing for the current state of school lunch ends right here, right now. Many of you have done the hard part: you've eaten lunch with your kids, taken photos, and sent them to us (so have we, by the way). You've done this in the name of research, in the name of love, and in the hopes of winning valuable prizes from great companies.

Unless you’re in a professional kitchen where a non-stick pan doesn’t have a chance of survival then there’s a pretty good chance that you have at least one Teflon™ or non-stick pan in your cupboard.  Just as we revisited the plastics in our drawers and the cans in our pantries, it’s time to look at our cookware, too.

Today is the deadline for entries for the “Eat Lunch with Your Kids” contest. Thanks to all of you who have sent such terrific stories about your school lunch with your sons and daughters. If you haven't sent us your entry, please do so today -- or you’ll miss your chance to win a one-year supply of Organic Valley milk and much more!

Although I’m not allowed participate in the contest, I did commit to eating lunch at school with my twin eight-year-olds. And taking pictures and writing about it. So two weeks ago, I packed their lunches (as I usually do) and planned to meet them at 12:00 sharp in the school cafeteria -- only they would be eating Annie's organic, whole-wheat macaroni and cheese with peas; Gala apples; Minneola tangerines; local carrots; and organic lemonade, and I would be eating:

Savory waffle from the top kid-friendly restaurant in the Twin Cities

Eden Organic: A BPA-Free Option
The slogan goes “Plastics make it possible.” and there is no question that the invention of plastics over the past century has greatly changed our lives in so many ways. But starting in the late ‘90s research began questioning the perfect world of plastics. As a result, consumers are looking for alternatives to plastics -- Bisphenol A (BPA) in particular.

thedailygreen.com

When I was young, there was a great deal of pomp and circumstance around Easter. Not coming from an overly religious family, this fussing typically had more to do with food than ritual, though the reflective and celebratory nature of the day carried through. In those years, it was about Easter dresses, patent leather shoes, and Grandma’s good china. And as often as possible, our whole family gathered together -- grandparents, their daughters, and us, the daughters of the next generation -- for a good meal.