See this beauty of a vegetable that we got in our Poplar Ridge Farm CSA box? I didn’t even know what the heck it was at first. Once I figured out that it was
an eggplant, a little bit of excitement was lost because I don’t recall ever cooking (and probably barely ever eating) an eggplant in my life. So I settled on the idea of making some lasagna with it. It was the day after our fun dinner club evening, and I was still feeling a little out of it (okay, hungover) so I decided to wait until the very last minute to act on this plan. With our childrens’ hunger growing by the minute I finally moseyed on over to the grocery store at 5:45 P.M. to obtain mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta cheeses for the dish. This is when things suddenly came to a halt because I learned that all brands of ricotta cheese (at our grocery store) contain at least SIX ingredients!
If it weren’t for 3 of the 6 ingredients being random (like guar gum and xantham gum) I probably would have broken that damn 5-ingredient rule. It was frustrating to have to change gears so late in the evening, but I just left the ricotta at the store and went home. I knew my girls were hungry so I ignored all of our fresh and perishable produce (that would require creativity and time to prepare) and instead boiled some frozen butternut squash raviolis that I’d made weeks ago. The following day my husband and I ended up grilling the eggplant and following a recipe for Baba Ganouj. Our girls at least tried it, but both of them thought it was “disgusting” to say the least. And while we thought the flavors were quite opinionated we enjoyed this variation to the typical hummus spread.
Later in the weekend, I started feeling more like myself and once again got motivated in the kitchen. Here’s some of what we’ve been eating over the last couple of days and a few pics as well (click to enlarge)…
Breakfasts:
- Egg soufflé (pictured) with a side of biscuits and fruit
- Lots of granola cereal topped with berries, of course!
Lunches:
- 90 second brown rice (Uncle Ben’s bag) mixed with avocado and a little soy sauce
- “Toast pizza” which was whole-wheat sandwich bread toasted after being topped with plain tomato sauce, a little oregano, a dash of salt, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses (which my children devoured and asked for seconds and thirds of) served with grapes and apples
Dinners:
- Vegetarian tacos (which my 3-year-old hated so I gave her granola cereal for dinner instead)
- Spaghetti sauce with homemade whole-wheat noodles (which everyone loved!)
- Fish, squash fritters topped with goat cheese, and potato gratin (both of my girls despised everything except the potatoes…my 3-year-old was even showing off her gagging skills)
I had to get my last few “hot lunches” out of the way this week since my 5-year-old will be starting (…gulp) kindergarten on Friday! I cannot believe my baby is going off to the big school, and at the same time I can’t help but wonder…what in the world am I going to pack in her lunch box every day?! And to further complicate things she is going to a peanut/tree nut free school. So stay tuned because once I figure things out myself I will definitely be posting updates in regards to her lunches.
On a completely different note, my dad has been bugging me to offer some sort of 10-day pledge alternative for those readers that aren’t quite up for our “boot camp” style pledge. Let’s not forget that he didn’t even come close to finishing his own so-called pledge, but I suppose he’s just thinking in the best interest of those that may feel equally challenged. While I am taking him up on his suggestion, I do want to put one last plug out there for the pledge (which close to 400 people have signed up for by the way). My husband and I both maintain our belief that the 10 Days of Real Food pledge is the absolute best and most eye opening experience out there. And we do think it should be a realistic goal for most…it is temporary after all.
Plus, did I mention that we are doing our pledge for 100 days just to make a pledge for only 10 days sound even more attainable? Don’t get me wrong, we understand that people have different challenges such as busy jobs, picky kids, limited budgets, no interest in cooking, and maybe even not as many real food resources as we have here in Charlotte. So I would like to invite you to check out our new list of alternatives, but at the same time can you please leave me a comment as to what’s holding you back if you happen to be one of those people? Just curious…
If you are looking for lunch ideas for the kiddos – I found this great site a couple of years ago: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
There are pages and pages of previous posts highlighting fresh, whole foods that are portable. I borrowed the book from the library too (wish it had more pictures though) which has many, many recipes.
Looks like a good place for inspiration…thanks!
Okay! That is an odd looking eggplant. No wonder it threw you for a loop. I enjoy hearing from you, all your trials and tribulations. I too, had to give up a recipe when the sour cream had at least 6 ingredients. Who would have thought?! I think that being mindful about food is gaining quick momentum. This week, the mainstream media is giving a lot of press about the contaminated egg recall. The source of the eggs being a mega industry, is under scrutiny for it’s conditions. Hopefully, more people will look to the small local producers for their eggs after this. Peace to you, I wish you were my neighbor in Chicago! Lots of urban farming and use of local foods going on here. Much fun
I know the egg recall made me so happy that I buy ours locally! Thanks for your comment!
Hi! By any chance did you ever post your recipe for the butternut squash raviolis? I would love to make them sometime, but I cannot seem to find the recipe. I have looked on your other blog, too, with no luck. Thanks!
Sara – I am actually going to be posting it later this week (on Food Illusion). Let me know if you need it before then and I can email it to you once I type it up.
Thanks so much, Lisa! I can wait until you post…not a big deal. It is just every time you mention it, I start thinking about making it! Thanks again!
It is actually very easy to make your own ricotta, I bought a mozzerella making kit a few months back and although I have yet to use it, I will be soon (yeah-I have been saying that for weeks). Does White Vinegar get the nod for you as real food? I still use it though I am pretty sure it is processed from corn. Take a look here http://italianfood.about.com/library/rec/blr0949.htm
Also in regard to what keeps people from the challenge, I would say for me the biggest difference between what you eat and what we eat is refined sugar or sugar of any kind. I know that sugar is a processed food for sure but it still qualifies as food in my mind. I must admit I don’t se it as a ‘non-food’ substance. However my biggest beef with it is how MUCH we eat. So I have been making my own jams, muffins, cookies, pasta sauces, etc, because we can control our intake better that way. I stopped buying flavored yogurts and I look for granola that has low or no sugar. Honey and maple syrup also reside at our house but it falls in the same category as sugar to me too and should be limited.
I think for us, a family also with two small kids where both parents work full time, I want to do this every day and we are committed. But to cut all refined sugar out would require me to be cooking and baking alot more than I do. Every day I work a 9 hour day and commute an extra 2 hours. I have found time to make sure that we are eating real food, cooking almost every breakfast lunch and dinner from scratch. But I have reached my limit and do rely on high quality bakery breads. My child will eat sugar free artisan breads (think hard crust eurpoean breads), but he only eats a little whereas with a soft sprouted grain wheat bread that has some kind of cane syrup he’ll eat the whole slice crust and all.
I commend you for going the distance and eliminating it completely. What you and your family are doing is awesome.
My husband heard about making your own cheese and wanted us to try it as well. But, we have haven’t gotten around to it yet either! And yes, since white vinegar has less than 5 ingredients it is fine…there are definitely some things out there with only a few ingredients that have additives, but we have to draw the line somewhere. At least you know you will be getting a lot less of the junk this way.
I agree that sugar isn’t too far from honey and maple syrup…since they are all sweeteners that are high in calories and low in nutrients. The point is that sugar is incredibly overused if you are buying items that already include it. Avoiding it all together was just a good way to not consume any of those products. I am sure I will bake with sugar again once the 100 days are over…just very much in moderation of course!
And you sound like one busy mommy…I do want to dedicate some future posts to those working moms out there! I worked full time for the first 4 years of having kids so I will just have to think back and come up with some suggestions for those that don’t have as much time to cook!
Thanks for your comments!
LOL! Sorry for the essay!
One thing that might help your five year old make the transition to other kinds of lunch sandwiches is sun butter, made from sunflower seeds. It would be allowed: kids with nut allergies eat it. Just make sure the lunch monitors know what it is!
A great investment is a stainless steel thermos. Then you can send a wide range of healthy dinner leftovers that you already know your daughter loves, for variety, and also develop quick throw-together thermos lunches (noodles with grated cheese, e.g.). It’s easy to eat the contents of a thermos quickly in a short lunch period with many distractions, and putting in a favorite ensures that she’ll be comforted and well fed for her afternoon.
In general I have found that having a set of stainless steel lunch containers with compartments and good lids that my kids can open gives me many many alternatives, and them many choices. Steel water bottle, steel sandwich box, steel thermos, steel snack container with two compartments, small round steel containers that can hold wetter things (as long as they’re not totally liquid). I try for a main course (thermos or sandwich), a fruit or veggie (or both if there’s none in the main course), a snack containing protein (half sandwich with bean spread cut into little squares? cheese and crackers? yogurt? sunflower seeds?) and sometimes a healthy treat (raisins, cookie, corn bread?). It all goes in an insulated lunch box (avoid linings with lead or phthalates) with a cold pack. Thermos in the noninsulated compartment.
There are some great bento sites online where you can get ideas, too. Starting to serve more of the sorts of things you plan to put in school lunches BEFORE school starts will ease the transition.
Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions! I did already buy a few stainless steel thermoses/containers so I am glad to know I am on the right track.
Hi! I am currently on my 3rd day of the 10-day challenge (yay!). I’m very excited about it because I honestly have never in my life gone this long without consuming SUGAR!! I just wanted to say that, even though to some the 10-day challenge sounds daunting, it’s really not that bad!! My biggest complaint is the amount of money that I have spent on groceries, although I think this may get better as I become smarter in the “real foods” department, LOL. The amount of time I have spent in grocery stores this week is also daunting, although this should get better with time too!
I couldn’t agree more about getting better at doing this on a budget…that part definitely takes time. I have lots of room for improvement in that area as well! Good luck with the rest of your pledge!
i am enjoying your blog….when i saw the eggplant i wanted to share a recipe…..i made last week and just made again today….i’m doing a “roman dinner party”
caponata….saute cubed eggplant,garlic, onions, celery, tomatoes in olive oil…..when all is softened add some chopped green olives…..let flavors develop….add chopped fresh basil and toasted pine nuts…..it’s very flexible…..add or leave out…..serve warm, or room temp.
Sounds great…thanks for sharing!
The thing that is most preventing me from taking the pledge is the locally grown meats. It sounds difficult and expensive. I think I could do everything else but this. I am also interested in whether or not you feed your kids nuts. I have two young children (4 and 2) and they are not picky eaters, but I do not give them any nuts due to the choking hazard. My pediatrician was very very adamant about not giving kids nuts.
Have you found a source for local meats yet? Are the prices a lot higher than the organic options? Also, we eat a lot less meat to help off-set the cost. Here is a post about our meat consumption: http://thefoodillusion.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/becoming-a-%E2%80%9Cflexitarian%E2%80%9D/
And I do feed both my kids (ages 3 and 5) nuts. I fed it to them when they were 2 and 4 as well. I waited until they were at least 2 years old to start and especially for my younger daughter I am sure to give her small pieces. They both absolutely LOVE nuts and it is obviously a great source of protein. I am certainly no pediatrician, but I would think that choking is less of a concern if it is cut up small (or mixed into things like granola bars or oatmeal).
just to let you know ….you might want to check out Hillbilly Produce Mkt. on e indeoendence blvd. they carry all naturally raised pork fron grateful growers in denver nc……baucom’s best, (the beef is all grass fed)
beef and chicken.(monroe, nc) i think it is priced reasonably and it is delicious.
I went there recently and loved it!
Between your blog and other information I have recently dug up about the current (and sad) state of our food industry, I have really been inspired to change what I eat and the way I think about food in general. While I could never be a vegetarian, I would like to know what questions we should be asking to ensure that our food is “prepared” in the most humane way possible? Just because we buy something from a local market, does that automatically mean that the animals lived the ideal farm life? Also what questions should we be asking about the fresh produce? Thanks!!
Buying meats from a local market certainly does not guarantee anything, but I do believe that it greatly increases your chances of getting a high quality product. The best part about going to a market is that in most cases you are buying directly from the farmer so you can ask them any question you want about the meat before you purchase it! In the case of meat I usually ask what they feed the animals and if they are given anything (like growth hormones). In the case of produce I usually ask what they do to deal with bugs and if anything other than organic substances are used to treat the plants. A lot of smaller farms operate like they are organic they just can’t afford to get USDA certified.
You can substitute tofu for ricotta. It’s actually quite good. We make eggplant parm and it’s very good. The secret is to salt the eggplant. Prior to my healthy food switch, I thought eggplant was gross, but if done right, it is quite tasty.
As for the peanut free school, we picked up this new soynut butter at Walmart, and it is one of the best soynut butters we’ve ever tried. (my son has peanut allergies.) It does contain cane sugar, but maybe when you are done with the 100 days you can add it. It’s called Wow! Tastes Just Like Peanut Butter (yes, that is the name)… it is “school safe soybutter”. Non-GMO Canadian Toasted Soy, soy oil, cane sugar, Monoglyceride (from vegetable oil – prevents separation) sea salt. (that’s 5 ingredients) Unlike peanut butter, soy butter needs a little honey or something in, or it tastes too earthy.
Thanks for the tip…I did look at some sunflower butters and they all have some sort of sugar in them. I will definitely have to look at the soy one you recommended after our 100 days!
I’ve been eating a lot of the Ralphs Grade AA Large Eggs and a couple days before I heard about the recall I started getting stomach pains. They have gotten a LOT worse, I already went to the ER once, and if they could actually do anything for me I would go in again. This is literally the worst pain I have ever been in. I’ll know by tomorrow if its salmonella or not, the doctors have no idea as of now.
Weird eggplant! I’m just hoping I actually get one out of my garden this year :( Things are reeeeaaaally behind up here this year. Just wanted to let you know I tried your whole wheat waffles. Omg, amaaaaaaaazing. Fluffiest waffles ever. I think they’re better than the white flour waffles my mom made as a kid. Oh, and about the peanut butter thing… Can you use sunflower butter? It’s pretty yummy too and if you can’t find it, it’s so easy to make in a food processor.
Oh and another thing, lol… What’s holding me back is my husband. He has no ambition to eat any better. I eat a lot of real food as it is, and I’m slowly introducing real food to him. Maybe one day we’ll make it :P He’s pickier than my 3 year old, I swear. At the grocery store he’s the one that gives me trouble, not the kids! Haha
Heidi,
I have the Hubby issue too! What’s a girl to do?
So glad you liked the waffles! And I love to know that I can make my own sunflower butter, b/c all the store-bought ones have sugar in them (of course!). So I will definitely have to look into that further.
And you are not alone with the husband thing…I feel like I have been hearing this a lot lately! I am going to have to put some thought into this and write a post just about/for picky husbands! By the way, did you share this list with him yet? https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/
I’m so glad I’m not alone! What makes matters worse is my hubby is very very thin, so he sees no need to cut out things with added sugar or make the switch to whole grains :(
I haven’t shared the list with him, but I have read Michael Pollans books, and whenever I come across something interesting I read it aloud to him. He always agrees, but it doesn’t motivate him… He even has a history of heart disease in his family so I really want to change how he eats. A post for picky hubby’s would be awesome!
We have also been eating differently since watching Food Inc.
Here is a recipe using Eggplant, that you should try I think it can be made completely within your guidelines.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/trenette-with-eggplant-and-basil-pesto-recipe/index.html
We used whole grain pasta; I think it was Penne rigate since we weren’t able to find the Trenette.
It had a lot of flavor, no meat. It was good the next day as well since it made quite a bit.
Thanks I will have to give it a shot next time we get an eggplant in our CSA box!
A note on the ricotta cheese issue… I was discouraged when I read this post, as I hadn’t attempted to purchase (or yet look at the ingredients of, the ricotta I usually buy). All those thickeners? Horrible.
I have a recipe that calls for ricotta that I wanted to make this weekend, and just went to Trader Joe’s in search of their “Traditional Fresh Ricotta”. Ingredients are: Whole Milk, Whey, Vinegar and Salt. Yay! :)
I am so glad you told me that…next time we want to try to make lasagne it would definitely be worth the trip to Trader Joe’s!
I saw someone else mention all of the Bento blog sites to you. They are great for lunch inspiration! Bento is such a pretty presentation, particularly for real food, that almost anything would be appetizing. It might be a great way to encourage your picky girls to try new things! Here’s my favorite Bento site: http://www.anotherlunch.com/
Thanks so much for sharing…I am definitely going to need some lunch box inspiration so I will check out that site!
Your eggplant was an heirloom variety, I think, called Prosperosa. It is different (and tastier) than the Black Beauty variety usually found in the grocery store. I am a big eggplant fan and grow my own every year. It is definitely worth trying different recipes to see if your girls will enjoy it another way. The great part is that it has a mild flavor that can work with many spices and other ingredients. You may want to look into The Vegetarian 5 Ingredient cookbook by Nava Atlas. You will probably find things in there that you can pack in containers for your daughter’s lunches. I am a teacher myself, and try to only eat whole foods so I ALWAYS pack my lunch. School lunches can be frightening. I am following another blog of a teacher who decided to eat lunch from the cafeteria every day for a year, and as you can imagine, it isn’t going well. I didn’t sign the 10 day pledge because I already eat the way you do for the most part, but I am definitely part of the movement to a better way to eat. :) Thank you for bringing to light that it can be done, even by a busy Mom.
You sound like an eggplant pro! I will definitely give eggplant more of a chance the next time we get one.
And I couldn’t agree more about the school lunches…I checked out that other blog you mentioned about actually eating the lunches every day. Sounds like a very interesting little project!
This is way after the fact, but maybe you’ll see it. I always use cottage cheese instead of ricotta to make lasagna. It’s cheaper and no one ever notices the difference.
Organic Valley Ricotta has only four ingredients: Organic Whole Milk, Organic Skim Milk, Organic Vinegar, Salt.
I know you were pressed for time in this particular story but for future reference it is super simple to make your own ricotta. Bring 2 cups whole milk and 1 cup cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Wait 5 minutes for it to curdle and pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve (i.e. Strainer, colander etc lol) In 15 minutes you have fresh homemade ricotta!! :)