By 100 Days of Real Food, on March 30th, 2012 Today I’ve asked a fellow “real food” blogger to share her natural Easter egg dye method with us…so please “meet” Christina with Spoonfed (a Jamie Oliver blog of the month)!
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My name is Christina Le Beau, and I write a blog called Spoonfed, which is about raising food-literate children. My goal with Spoonfed (and its companion Facebook page) is to raise awareness of our food system, make kids part of the conversation and, importantly, encourage people to rethink their assumptions about kids and food. One topic I’ve covered frequently is the importance of eliminating petrochemical dyes from our food supply. As Lisa noted in her own recent post on the subject, artificial colors are all risk, no benefit. And who needs that in their Easter basket?
So here’s what we do come Easter time, egg dyeing at its simplest (with recipes inspired by my friend Kris Bordessa of Attainable Sustainable):
1. Hard-boil a bunch of eggs. Doesn’t matter if they’re white or pastel or brown. Each one lends itself to great color variations. (But choose local, pastured eggs if you can. Check out Local Harvest for why that’s important and where you can find good eggs near you.)
 2. On your stove, set out four pots* with two cups of water each.
3. To one pot, add a hefty teaspoon of turmeric powder (that’s your yellow). To another, add a couple handfuls of chopped red beets, either fresh or jarred (that’s pink). To a third, add two cups of frozen blueberries or blackberries (your blue). Bring the pots to boiling, then let them simmer five minutes. Continue Reading »
By 100 Days of Real Food, on March 15th, 2012 Eggs for breakfast, eggs for dinner, eggs for lunch…we definitely eat our fair share of eggs around here. And how can you blame us when eggs can so easily be reinvented a hundred times over whether you’re frying, boiling, scrambling, baking or poaching them. So here’s yet another way to make eggs and if you haven’t already tried this, definitely add it to your list the next time you’re entertaining guests. This dish will take a little extra time since you have to whip the egg whites, but the end result is oh-so-fluffy and delicious. And feel free to make this soufflé your own by adding bits of ham, cheese, herbs or even veggies. It’s the prefect weekend brunch treat! Continue Reading »
By 100 Days of Real Food, on March 5th, 2012 This recipe is super easy and somewhat of a deviation from the typical lemon-juice flavored seafood entree. Get ready to enjoy some unique flavors and impress your family without spending hours in the kitchen!
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By 100 Days of Real Food, on March 1st, 2012 Until I had kids in school I never realized how many holidays and special occasions could be celebrated. Aside from the standard ones like Halloween and Valentine’s Day there’s also the 100th Day of School, President’s Day, and Football Fridays. And apparently tomorrow is Dr. Seuss’s birthday, which means it’s yet another day filled with fun themed activities including food of course! Plus who can resist bringing one of Dr. Seuss’s most legendary books to life…Green Eggs and Ham! No need to break out the nasty artificial green dye though, see below for a much more nutritious (and delicious) alternative. Eggs and kale make a surprisingly good combination and once you’re done you can check “eating your greens for the day” off your list. But whether you are a Dr. Seuss fan or not you can still enjoy this dish for breakfast (lunch or dinner). I promise it will taste just as good without the colorful toothpicks.  Enjoy!
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By 100 Days of Real Food, on February 23rd, 2012 Everything is more fun on a stick, right? Well, that’s what I thought then I confirmed my suspicion as I sat and watched my family (yes, my husband included) practically fight over the last two of these chicken skewers the other night. Before my girls even knew what this dish was called they desperately needed more of “those things.” And the best part was that it took me no time at all to put this fancy-looking dinner together, which means it’s definitely “good enough” for company!
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By 100 Days of Real Food, on February 1st, 2012 Is it just me or has anyone else noticed how so many holidays seem to be centered around junk food? From Halloween candy to Christmas cookies to Valentine’s Day treats to Easter baskets it feels like my daughters collect enough candy from the holidays alone to feed an entire army (and we actually did help feed the army by shipping our Halloween candy to them one year!). And since holidays, which seem to pop up every other month, are intertwined with birthday parties, school rewards, and other special occasions (King Cake for Mardi Gras anyone?) I often feel like I don’t even get the chance to “treat” my kids to something special because everyone else does it for me. But that’s because we aim to let treats truly be a “treat” at our house, which means not getting one every single day (or even every other day), and it sometimes feels like the rest of the world isn’t quite on board with that idea. This post is not about that though…it’s actually about how “treats” can be fun and exciting without also being full of sugar or artificial colors (or from a factory)!
I know people get caught up in wanting to give kids something special – and some people even think I am “depriving” my children when I don’t want them to have highly processed junk food – but how special is it really if it’s also not good for their health? Sure a piece of candy here or there probably won’t hurt anything and my kids certainly eat junk food like that on occasion, but the point is I can offer something that’s better for them and just as exciting! I think it’s up to us to decide what foods are deemed as “special.” If I put a little extra thought into how a certain food is presented, and I tell my girls it’s extra special then guess what? They agree and get pretty excited about it. They are young (4 and 7) so I’m not sure how long this will last, but you should have seen how they were clamoring over the pictured heart shaped fruit (on the kabob sticks with ribbons) while I was busy taking a million pictures of them. Continue Reading »
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