Family Bites

For the Love of Writing

   
     
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As much as I love to cook and spend time in the kitchen, I like to write about it even more.   I feel very fortunate to be able to spend a small amount of my time composing articles for a variety of sources.  I love nothing more than a new writing assignment, and if I can write about subjects I feel passionate about, even better.

Here are a few articles I've written over the past month.  Pour yourself a glass of sweet iced tea, pull up a chair and enjoy a few good - and hopefully helpful - reads.

~  Well-packed snacks are an essential for any family road trip

 

~ Summer sippers to keep you and you little ones cool

 

~ Summer on a Stick: Four Kebob Creations

 

Table Talk

 

In the June 2010 issue of City Parent magazine I read a shocking statistic - twenty-nine percent of all parents surveyed feel that texting and cell phone talking is inappropriate at the table.  Twenty-nine percent! Does that mean - and I think it does - that the remaining seventy percent think it's okay? 

I don't want to get all political and judgy of those parents but I'm really curious as to who is allowing cell phones at the dinner table and, more importantly, why? Are kids home and eating alone so they are conversing with friends for company? Are parents using their phones at the table and the kids are just following their example?

My kids aren't quite ready for portable chatting devices (heck, they don't even like to use the regular land-line at this point) but if they were I can honestly say that phones wouldn't be allowed at the table.  I mean, if they were chatting/texting with their friends how would I know that my eight year old had a tough day because another boy gave his sweetie a kiss on the cheek.  Or better yet, how would I be able to explain the historical background of a certain four-letter expletive to my 10 year old.  And I know I certainly wouldn't be able to talk about friends, books, movies, weekend plans, school, work, our dog, sports, babies and where they come from, chickens, our new fire pit, skateboarding and vegetables ("why do we really need to eat them").  

Essentially there would be no table talk, which for me is the very best kind of talk around.

How about you? What do you think? Do you allow phones at the table?  Texting? What about parents?  Is it okay for them?  How about adults - if you go out for dinner with a girlfriend or on a date with your sweetheart are cell phones invited?

The Best Thing I NEVER Ate (or drank)

 

Time for a full confessional here.  I have never, not ever had a cup of coffee in my life.  I know, I know...how is that possible, right? 

This weekend I also discovered that my mother-in-law tried her first pancake last week.  Her first ever.  Like in her entire life.  An almost-septuagenarian who's never eaten a plate of griddle cakes.

I asked my boys about this last night and Jackson had a long and lengthy list of foods that he has never attempted to eat.  This horrified me as I realize how much I've let him get away without trying (food rules will be changing this week!) and Ben couldn't think of a thing except brussels sprouts, which he has tried and eaten and liked.  He just forgot.  Rob, on the other hand has tried just about everything (including guniea pig) and likes it all. Absolutely everything.  Well, except lima beans, but he has tried them.

How about you? What foods haven't you tried?  Anything incredibly common?

Family Foodie News

 

Here are a few newsworthy stories that have caught my eye this week: 

- Gerber has received the "Salt Lick Award" from The Canadian Stroke Network for the high sodium content in their Graduates Lil' Entrees line of foods.  Read complete article here .

~Parental food choice strongly affect the way our kids eat.  Let's set a good example.  See full article here.

~ Do eggs come from a sheep?  A study was done with some children in the UK, testing how much knowledge they had when it came to knowing where their food comes from.  The results were shocking and funny.  Do your kids know where their food comes from?

Food Watching

 
More and more families are spending time together watching Food Network TV, specifically the competition shows like Iron Chef and Top Chef.  My kids love the Food Network challenges (Dr. Seuss Cakes, The Best Gingerbread House Cakes, etc.).

How about you?  Does your family watch cooking shows together?  If so, what are you watching?

Play, then Eat?

For those of you with school-aged children, I ask - how many times have your kiddies come home from school with many components of their mid-day meal still nestled nicely inside their lunch-boxes?  I know, in my experience, it's often.  Not every day, but often.  When I ask my boys why they didn't eat their lunch, answers range from "I didn't have time" to "I didn't like it" to the most common, "I don't know".

This week, the New York Times published an interesting article on how some schools in the United States are changing their lunch hour format.  Children are playing before they eat, or in other words, enjoying recess before eating lunch, and the results are quite impressive.  In some areas there is less food waste, more consumption of fruits, vegetables and milk and less incidences of headaches and tummy aches.  Interesting.

Your thoughts?