Do you have any idea how many problems this solves?

1. Recess is often being taken away, meaning kids who need activity to keep their minds going are languishing behind stationary school desks in classrooms that reward quiet inactivity (leading to obesity, diabetes, etc.).
2. More and more kids are on the free and reduced lunch programs (as well as free breakfasts in many states) because of soaring unemployment leading to scores of people on food stamps. These programs – while necessary – are draining much needed funds from overstretched education budgets. Gardens that supplement food available to the schools (while unlikely to be considered self-sustaining) would certainly make a dent in school food purchases.
3. Most kids think they don’t like veggies. Some think they don’t like fruit. What do we think? We think they’ve been told they don’t like veggies. “Here, honey, I’ll douse those peas in ketchup till they swim. Then you won’t have to taste them.” “I didn’t give you many carrots. If you’ll eat what’s there, I’ll give you ice cream later!” But kids who are involved in growing and harvesting food are much more willing to try the fruits of their labor. Get those veggies in, and they just might discover that they like them!
4. French fries are often the only vegetables some kids eat in a given week. Why? It’s cheaper to buy potato chips and ding-dongs than fresh produce. And junk foods require zero prep. Open bag, stuff mouth. Repeat. Hard working families have little time for meal prep and reach for tummy-filling foods that are sure to please. Kids get to school, receive their free lunch, and pick at what resembles what they think they like. Obesity rates and diabetes sky-rocket. At school we have a captive population, and they’re much more likely to eat healthy if they are involved in the process.
5. And yes, kids learn that peas aren’t made in a can, cucumbers can be more than just pickles, and produce doesn’t start its lifecycle on the shelves of Super Walmart.

My kids’ school has at least an acre or two of unused land. On rare occasion it provides extra parking space for school events, and once a year it’s used as the location for ‘field day.’ Think of how much daily use – and education value – would come from converting 1.5 acres into a food-producing garden. And being in Florida, the garden would be viable year round.

Honey has been used globally in home remedies for ages. Where I am in Eastern Europe, they slather it on your back when you get sick, cover it with raw cabbage leaves and let you sleep on it overnight. Sticky. Seriously sticky. In India they use it to heal burns.

I use it with my kids, mixed with lemon juice, for cough and sore throat. Eastern cultures use it to enhance fertility. It’s said to cure fatigue and insomnia, help you sleep or give you energy. It can cure any type of digestive problem, heal the skin, eradicate acne, prevent aging.

It would seem to me that if we all took a few teaspoons a day, bathed in it, and slathered it over ourselves we’d cure most of the illnesses in the world. And then Obama wouldn’t have to deal with the health care system, right?

Seriously though, Manuka honey is the superbug-killing sort and it’s gradually becoming more widely available. If you happen to see some, give it a try. I’d love to know how you use it and hear your stories of health. I like the fact that it’s an all-natural antibacterial.

If however you accidentally put raw meat of unknown quality in your mouth, you may avoid food poisoning by gurgling straight vinegar and chasing it with a shot or two of vodka. This is a rather unpleasant process, and the best medicine is prevention. Raw meat should not be consumed…  (in case you were wondering…)

I won’t mention that I fed my kids peanut butter crackers for a snack today… Apparently we could all be headed toward salmonella poisoning because I was a nay-sayer… No, surely this isn’t for real. It must be a hoax… Here, kids, have some salmonella.

I guess tomorrow’s snack will have to be a little less peanut-buttery. Or, I could be industrious and slather real (untainted) peanut butter onto actual crackers. Now there’s a novel idea.

As for actual information about the recall, the FDA is keeping the public up-to-date on their website.  At this point we know that the effected peanut butter was not sold to retail stores in jars, so that’s safe. But it was sold to institutions for consumption and for use in the manufacturing of other products, including crackers, cookies, ice cream, cereals, etc. Efforts to identify effected products are ongoing and the FDA currently urges the public to avoid peanut butter containing products. So there you have it. I’ll have to put the Moose Tracks back in the freezer and leave the Peanut Butter Puffs on the shelf, at least until further notice.

 What can you do? If you do use infant formula, go for the powdered version or the plastic bottles. For other things, purchase glass bottles rather than cans when possible. Sure, the lids may have some BPA, but it’s a lot less surface area than a can. And the bonus? You can reuse the bottles for other things.

Did you know that 17% of the American diet comes out of cans? That’s an awful lot. In fact, the chili I’m making tonight uses canned beans and tomatoes. (At least the meat isn’t canned…) Reach for fresh or frozen foods, use some more creativity in cooking, and you might be surprised by what you can do in the kitchen.  Cook dinner instead of just heating it up. And yes, I’m aware that schedules can lend themselves more easily to a popped can than to made-from-scratch coq au vin, but start with baby steps and go from there.

Speaking of which, here’s my favorite quick, easy dinner recipe when I don’t have time to ‘cook.’

Boil a pot of water, adding spaghetti noodles when it boils, and cook according to package directions. While you’re waiting on the water to boil, chop up a yellow squash or two and an onion. Saute them with some pre-cut fresh baby bella mushrooms in your favorite olive oil, just until the onions are translucent. Add a large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and heat until warmed through, then crush a clove or two of garlic into it. By then your noodles should be ready, so toss them with the sauce and serve with a side salad.

All right moms and dads. The news that melamine has been found in US baby formulas was indeed disturbing. But how worried should you really be? When you compare it with September’s news about infants in China getting sick and some dying from melamine-tainted formula, it seems grim. But the fact is, the problem here in the US is of a different sort.

The trace amounts of melamine in one out of 77 samples tested (in Enfamil Lipil with Iron, in fact) is thought to be a byproduct of the production process, since melamine is in use in can linings. On the other hand, infant formulas in China had melamine added to them in to mimic high protein additives. They removed proteins from the formulas and replaced them with artificial chemicals. Melamine can combine with other agents in the urine causing kidney and bladder problems, but the trace amounts in the US formula sample should have no adverse health effect.

Read the headlines only and you might get a different idea – I’ve seen everything from “Fatal chemical in infant formla” and “Chinese baby-killing chemical found in US formula” to “Where’s the recall?” The thing is, American companies are super-sensitive to lawsuits. If there was enough melamine to even cause concern, you can be sure American companies would err on the side of caution, isolate the problem, and issue a recall. On the other hand, the situation seems so insignificant (trace amounts in a minimal percentage of formulas tested) that we can feel safe that our formula is far from the rat poison news headlines would have you believe, and since the news about Chinese formulas in September, our formula is going through rigorous testing.

Over 90% of formula comes from 3 manufacturers, and all 3 of them found trace amounts of either melamine or cyanuric acid (a chemical related to melamine). If you’re breastfeeding your infant this would be one more reason to continue – in addition to things like lower risk of childhood obesity, diabetes, lower risk of maternal breast cancer, and on and on and on. But if your child takes formula, rest assured that the FDA and formula manufacturers themselves are testing their products well to ensure they’re safe for our babies. Make your decision based on good old fashioned reason, not on scary headlines meant to sell papers.

I just came across this site, and what actually drew me in was the 1950s communist style illustration of happy workers headed off with their hoes and rakes, with a backdrop of a suburban neighborhood. Something about the illustration and the propaganda-esque name (“Freedom Gardens”) put me off a little to start with. But maybe I’m just overly critical…

As I surfed around the website I came to love it. Here’s what they say about themselves: “Freedom Gardens is an online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.” Who wouldn’t love that? An online community for people who like locally-grown, super fresh yumness straight out of their backyards. They have a little disclaimer – not all the buttons on the site are operational yet as they’re a new site and still working on the details. But go ahead and check out the forum – you may even find something special to bring to the Thanksgiving table!

Studies have shown honey to be more effective to treat a cough than OTC cough medicines. When I first saw the report last year I wondered how I’d get honey into my kids – would they really lick super-sweet honey off a spoon? Mine are too young to stir it into hot water as some people suggested.

This week I got my answer. 2 parts honey mixed with 1 part lemon juice liquifies it a bit and the acidity of the lemon juice makes a spoonfull of honey easier to swallow.  I tried it this week – first on two of my kids (and it worked like a charm) and then on myself when coughing kept me awake. It’s like magic! Honey has the double impact of being high in antioxidants and also being effective at killing certain microbes.

In fact, my Moldovan mother-in-law suggests that I slather some on the kids’ backs and cover it with a raw cabbage leaf to make them feel better. If someone else wants to experiment with that I’d love to hear the results…

Please note: Do not give honey to babies under a year old.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (I use 2 C. whole wheat flour + 1 C. bread flour or unbleached white flour)

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 TBS milk powder

1 TBS brown sugar

1 1/2 TBS butter

1/2 C. plain yogurt

13/16 C. water

1 TBS yeast (I use 2 TBS and put the setting to rapid bake)

Put the ingredients in according to your breadmaker’s instructions. On my breadmaker I put it on the rapid bake, whole wheat, medium size loaf setting.

That’s it! 5 minutes to throw it all in, and 3 hours later I have toasty warm fresh bread and my house smells amazing!