Veggie Fajitas and the Politics of Feeding Children Vegetables.

                                              

 

 

I'm not a believer in hiding veggies from your children. True, there are many celebrities with best-selling cookbooks that tout the benefits of pureeing veggies into things like brownies and spaghetti sauce. I think that's a neat idea. But as a way of life, I believe in presenting children with food that looks as much in it's natural state as possible. If they never know that they are eating a vegetable, how will they ever choose to eat one voluntarily?
 

Hear me out.

 

It's useful to add nutrients to a picky eater's meals. But overall, the real value is teaching kids that veggies are delicious, and an important part of their diet. Give a kid a zucchini and he's probably going to turn his nose up at it a few times. But be persistant. Eventually it will take. How do I know? Because we've lived this ideology again and again.

 

Tonight I made veggie fajitas for my family. No tofu. No seitan. Just carmelized veggies in a tortilla. Even I was skeptical that it would take with my kids, particularly my youngest.  But all three of my kids ate, and ate well.

 

We have a philosophy in this house that what's for dinner is what's for dinner. There will be nothing else. I am not going to cater to you. It's a hard line to draw. But if you don't eat, you go hungry. ( A big, BIG part of this is preventing too much snacking before dinner. Hungry kids EAT).

 

Let's just say it's a power struggle. And I win, almost every time.

 

Don't get me wrong. It didn't happen overnight. It took a long, LONG time. All I ask is that they try. Try the veggies.

2-3 bites at least. Then you can eat your beans and rice and tortillas.

 

And over time, those 2-3 bites turn into 5-6. And then a whole meal. It works. Try it. And let me know how it works out for you. What challenges do you face in the kitchen? Do you think my rules are too strict?

 

 

Veggie Fajitas

 

Ingredients:

1 onion, sliced

1 bell pepper, sliced

6 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 small zucchini, speared

 

 

 

In a large skillet saute the onions and mushrooms until soft. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper. Cook until the onions and mushrooms are caramelized. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warm tortillas with rice and beans on the side.





Red Quinoa Salad with Feta and Cucumber.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a super-trendy, super-food. Almost as popular as kale. And rightfully so:

Did you know it's actually a seed , not a grain, and is more closely related to beets? Plus it's full of protein, calcium and fiber and is as easy to cook as any other grain.

As my kids head back to school today after their long winter vacation, I'm once again treated to the pleasure of tea with friends and lunches that consist of something other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's nice to have this time to myself for a small portion of each day, to find a moment to practice, to cook and to clean, or simply take a 10 minute savasana.



Ingredients:
(Serves 8)

1 cup red (or white) quinoa
2 cups water
1 English cucumber, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of chopped kalamata olives
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup of crumbled feta

For the sauce:
scant 1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of red vinegar
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the quinoa and the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine all of the ingredients and whisk together until well blended. Set aside.

Once your quinoa is cooled, combine the rest of the veggies and feta, stirring to combine. Toss with the sauce. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Vietnamese Style Noodle Stir Fry

What an eventful week this was. First, I had my initial meeting with the University of San Francisco on the study I'm involved in, testing how yoga can improve female pelvic health. It's really exciting to be a part of this work and I am so grateful that my mentor Leslie Howard has brought me in to teach the study group. But driving from Monterey to San Francisco is a 2+ hour drive, (each way!)enough time to get bored with both NPR and music.  I'm thinking I need to invest in some books on tape. Got any good ideas?

Second this week, my eldest son got his report card and not liking what he saw, he threw it in the garbage. I am so disappointed. Not especially with the grades, but with his behavior. So we're spending a lot of time talking about satya and the way that being honest creates better relationships and better lives. It can be difficult to face the truth, but it is always a better choice than lying. I have seen this to be true in my own life, through all kinds of situations, and honestly believe that it is always worse when you lie.

 Part of the hard part as a parent (or a spouse, etc) is that you have to create a kind of trust when it comes to truth, an expectation that though you might be disappointed, the value in being told the truth is enough that you will be a reasonable person upon hearing it. Does that make sense? So I always tell my kids what my mama told me, "if you tell the truth, it might be bad. But if you get caught lying (and you will, eventually, be caught) it is going to be much, much worse."

Lastly this week, and most exciting, my husband finally broke ground in the backyard and started the long task of building my own little yoga shala. I am so, so, SO over-the-moon excited! A nice little place for myself, maybe some private lessons, which will double as a guest house for the many yogis and midwives that we have stay with us. (We seem to attract wandering vagabonds and adventure seekers, and love it).

This week's most popular dinner was Vietnamese style noodle stir fry. I don't actually know if this would be considered "Vietnamese" but it was the best approximation of a dish I order at our local Vietnamese restaurant.

I don't usually "shop" for stir fry ingredients,  opting instead for what's on hand, but I did go searching for some good noodles for this dish. I ended up choosing Chuka Soba noodles, and they were a big, big hit with the family.

Ingredients:
1 package Chuka Soba noodles
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 each red and orange bell pepper, chopped
Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
lime juice
5 tbsp unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1 cup of napa cabbage, chopped roughly

Heat oil in a large wok and saute the tofu until browned. Add in the garlic and the ginger. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add in the bell pepper and peas. Cook another few minutes, until the bell pepper is just beginning to soften. Add in the soy sauce, lime juice and peanuts. Stir and cook until combined..

To cook the noodles, you simply boil them for three minutes then drain.

Serve the stir fry over the noodles, top with fresh napa cabbage and extra lime wedges for garnish.

Kale and Red Pepper Tartine

Tartine is a just a fancy way of saying "open faced sandwich." I was so excited about this dish, and it really stood up to my expectations. I'm already thinking of a thousand ways to vary it: with roasted eggplant, or fresh tomato, or maybe artichoke hearts. Goat cheese gives it a tangy bite and the better the bread, the better the taste of this little sandwich.

These little sandwiches are served on toasted bread, best paired with the hearty, seedy type (of bread, not person).

Ingredients:

6 slices of toasted whole-grain baguette
herbed goat cheese
roasted red bell pepper, drained and sliced
3 cups kale
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt

Saute the kale, garlic and red pepper flakes in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil until wilted.

Top the toasts with a layer of goat cheese, followed by bell pepper and then finally top it all of with the kale mixture.

Asparagus and Pecan Pasta

What an unlikely combo for a pasta: asparagus, peppers and pecans?  But I bought a huge bag of pecans this month and tonight what seemed like a crazy idea turned out to be one delicous dinner hit. You can use any pasta you like and it will be just as amazing.

I did use chicken-less strips in this dinner. As a general rule, we don't eat much in the way of these kinds of things, as they tend to be very processed, but it can be a special treat every now and then.

Ingredients:
1 package pasta of your choice
1 tbsp. olive oil for cooking veggies
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bunches of asparagus, roughly chopped
1 cup veggie broth
3 tbsp. pesto
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. olive oil for sauce
1 pound of Chicken-less strips (optional)
1 cup of grated parmesan (optional)
1 cup pecans

Boil pasta according to directions.

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pan and saute garlic, pepper and asparagus for about 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, bring to a simmer and add the pesto, the rest of the olive oil, salt, pepper, chicken-less strips (if using).

Cook until everything is cooked through.

Serve over the pasta, tossing to coat, and fold in the parmesan and pecans.

Vegan Philly

It usually happens that the best meals come from an empty fridge and some ingenuity. Such is the case with this one! I love this meal so much I could eat it every day for lunch and never get tired of it. It doesn't look like much, but the taste is phenomenal, plus if you do eat meat, you won't miss the cheese, or the steak, but you'll have to try it to believe me!

1 onion, halved and sliced

1 red bell pepper, halved and sliced

5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup (or to taste) of Soyaki teriyaki sauce, or similar

Saute the onion until soft in a few tbsp. of olive oil. Add in the mushrooms and bell pepper and continue to cook until it begins to caramelize. Then add in the teriyaki sauce and stir to coat. Cook about one more minute, then remove from heat.

Serve on top a bed of greens and your favorite bread.