Food,
Glorious Food!
Our world is so very fortunate to
be plum full of delicious, delectable, and diverse culinary
creations that provide the opportunity to expand our palettes, as well as, our
children’s palettes. I adore food; from planting vegetables, fruits, herbs, and
other natural morsels, to creating and sharing wholesome and quick recipes for
all dietary needs. Also I love the
process of growing vegetables & fruits and discussing how to use Mother
Nature’s bounty in a variety of recipes. In fact, I share and cultivate my food
passion with my friends, family, and extended family of children, parents,
grandparents and caregivers at the Marple Public Library and Trader Joe’s. My
absolute favorite responses I hear from my kiddos are how much they enjoyed trying
new foods with their family members and how excited they were to experiment with
these new foods. Continuing to keep these young exploratory minds interested
and involved with what they eat and having them become part of the process is a
large feat. It truly “takes a village”.
The process of encouraging our children to, “try new
things” can be very frustrating, but also extremely rewarding in the same
breath. The
words, “try and try again” are always resounding in my mind. Foods with a variety of taste, texture,
color, and smell can often be an initial barrier to our young chefs as they may
be unfamiliar. Another layer of
compounded frustration may be food allergies. Coming from someone who has food
allergies, it can be overwhelming to find substitutions and alternatives for
our everyday diet. The tables can be
turned in a positive way by fusing the diversity of our food world with
fantastic recipes that can still taste sensational. Learning together, this
process can become fun and hopefully less stressful.
‘Out of the box’ ways to get us trying new foods and
finding substitutions and alternative foods are starting a garden or going to
your local farmer’s market to sample some local fare. These are always creative ways to broaden
that heightened sense of exploration for your children, as well as, us adults. Many
of the Farmer’s Markets have themed days with extra special events, free
samples and great musicians; all free to the public. Pick out an assortment of
fruits and vegetables together to make your own food creations along with
sharing in some memories that will last a lifetime. Ask the farmers and vendors
if they have recommended recipes for their fruits and vegetables. Take some of these recipes home and start your
own cookbook that you and your child can add to over time and continue your
explorations. Also, these farmers and
vendors have alternatives and substitutions for many common food allergies.
One of my fondest memories from my treasure trove of
memories has to be when my grandfather would start his garden every year. He
would include me in every step of the process from tilling soil and planting
the seeds to watering each day and filling the compost pile to create rich and
dark fertilizer. As a child, it gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment
when I saw what we were growing and how these delicious tomatoes, carrots,
lettuce, peas, figs and other goodies could be turned into so many extraordinary
culinary creations. Until this day, thinking about those times still makes my
mouth water; especially when I think of all the homemade sauce that would fill
our fridge throughout the winter to the summer months. I still carry on that
tradition myself with my own family, and with each recipe I make, conjures up
the memories of those that I love oh so very much. My garden still grows every
summer, although not to the size of my grandfather’s garden, but still produces
some natural jewels.
Come and join me this season and every season
thereafter with your ‘locavore’ quest to read about and plant your favorite fruits & vegetables, check out a local farmer’s market, share some tantalizing healthy
recipes, and encourage each other to grow together.
Miss Mel
“We
have a little garden,
A
garden of our own,
And
every day we water there
The
seeds that we have sown.
We love our little garden,
And
tend it with such care,
You
will not find a faded leaf
Or
blighted blossom there.”
-Beatrix
Potter
Check out these fantastic book selections at Marple Public Library for kids and parents:
Websites for food exploration with kids:
