How could the cafeteria get any better?

The USDA wants to know!

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recently sent out an alert asking concerned citizens to contact the USDA with our input on how the National School Lunch Program needs to change:

The Child Nutrition Act includes legislation for the National School Lunch Program, which provides federal assistance for school lunches. This act is being reauthorized in 2009, and the USDA would like your input on what needs to change. Submit your recommendations for improving vegetarian options by fax at 703-305-2879, or online. They are accepting comments until October 15, 2008.

PCRM has put together a list of recommendations that would make school lunches more veg-friendly and healthier for everyone, including offering nondairy milk alternatives, plant-based meal options, and more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Shmoo Review: The Sneaky Chef

Not long after I posted my review of Deceptively Delicious a reader brought to my attention the existence of another popular cookbook with an identical mission -- to sneak vegetables into children's food unawares. It's The Sneaky Chef,and the author Missy Chase Lapin has a pending lawsuit against Deceptively's author Jessica Seinfeld for stealing her idea.

It may be true that Seinfeld ripped her off, or it may be a case of two people coming up with the same idea at the same ripe time. The question for me isn’t who thought of it first (scores of parents over the generations have resorted to sneaking a bit of something into the mashed potatoes or muffin batter). The question for me is, which one does it better? If you're going to buy just one sneaking-mashed-vegetables book, which one should it be? After reading them both, I would recommend The Sneaky Chef.

The author has really done her homework and most of her advice is right on: find fruits and veggies your kids like "straight up" and serve them that way (Method Six, page 76); slowly incorporate more whole grains into the diet (Method Two, page 67); avoid frying (Method Seven).

Best of all, her purees actually sound yummy, with a touch of lemon juice and a wide variety of vegetables (the Green Puree, for example, includes broccoli, spinach, and peas). I actually want to whip them up and add them to meals, even in a not-sneaky way.

But still, the initial bewilderment that I had when reading Deceptively still hits me as I look through the recipes here. Are children really so resistant to eating any fruits and vegetables that a tablespoon of orange vegetables hidden in boxed macaroni and cheese is a triumph? Sneaky even excitedly proclaims on its cover, "Blueberries hidden in cupcakes!"

Blueberries? Really? Who needs to hide blueberries? I need to hide the fresh blueberries away from my son so he won't eat them all in one sitting.

But Lapin's personal story of mealtime struggle brought home to me just how hard it is to get some kids to eat healthy foods, and caused me to cheer for her when she finally hit upon stealth techniques that worked and brought her some relief. Hey, whatever it takes sometimes! More power to you, sneaky momma!

Lunch Box Contest Winner #3

This contest entry from Sherrila in California won my heart with a beautiful lunch container and a meal fit for a king -- or, in this case, a very hungry vegan husband!

I really like this Nissan Stainless Steel Lunch Totewith its nesting containers tucked into an insulated carrier. (I noticed in researching this lunch container that they have discontinued the current model and are coming out with a new one soon; I'm not sure what the changes are as it looks identical in the pictures...)

Let's start the description on the bottom left with heart-shaped melon salad with a trio of adorable strawberry mousies on top.

Next to it is a bell pepper filled with tofu salad and a salad of flower-shaped carrots, peppers, and zucchini, and a container of dressing on the side.

The hearty main course is a "Tuscan-inspired" pot pie filled with spinach, cannelini beans, and apple-sage vegan sausages from Field Roast. That pie sounds sooo good right now -- I love Field Roast!

For more pictures of lunch and lunch box, along with a more detailed description of contents, check out Sherrila's contest entry pdf.

It's so beautiful, Sherrila! You have one lucky husband. Keep up the good work!

Lunch Box Contest Winner #2

Here is Winner Number Two in the Vegan Lunch Box Contest: the Amazing Aracelis from beautiful Puerto Rico! Aracelis had by far the most entries in the contest, but any one of her artful vegan lunches would have won it for her on its own.

To give you just a taste, here are my four favorite entries from Aracelis:

1. "This is 'Chinese Take-In'. Home made Szechwan eggplant, barbecued tofu stir-fry (with broccoli, tri-colored peppers, cauliflower and mushrooms), white rice garnished with pepper flowers and black sesame seeds; and to round off the lunch: more broccoli. This was a nice and decadent lunch."

2. "This has been my favourite lunch so far. The contents are: steamed broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas and tri-coloured peppers. Edamame; with a BBQ sauce container. Strawberry and vegan chickn bits; and lastly onigiri (omusubi) filled with mushrooms sauteed in hoisin sauce. I could eat this every day!"

3. "This is a simple lunch, but it really hit the spot. Lentil soup, rice, broccoli, watermelon, and black bean mini burgers. The soup was made by my mom, specifically to accommodate me. She's really sweet!"

4. I call this 'TGIF Bento'. Everything (except the tofu dog) was home-made. The contents are: sesame noodles, maki sushi (avocado, carrots and cucumber), char siu seitan steamed bun, broccoli, tofu octodog, mango, blackberries and a tomato. It was a really good lunch and good way to end the work week."

Congratulations, Aracelis! Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful creations with us!

Lunch Box Contest Winner #1

I am pleased to present you all with the First Place Winner and youngest competitor in the Vegan Lunch Box Contest!

"My name is Abraham and I am 9 years old.

"Like your son, I am homeschooled so I usually don't pack a lunch for school. My mother often shows me your pictures and told me about your contest. I decided to make one of my favorite vegan lunches and enter it.

"Like you, I have a blog. I put up a lot of pictures of the meal there: The Little Giant.

"I call this lunch 'Artist's Palate'.

"In addition to my bamboo spreader and a cloth napkin, I took rice cakes, peanut butter, raisins, dried coconut, two blackberries, a few cherry tomatoes, some sweet red pepper slices, and a few green beans.

"I also packed two tiny "donut" peaches that we found at the farmer's market. Everything was organic except the raisins and all of the vegetables are local, too."

Thank you so much, Abraham, for entering the contest and showing us the artistic side of fresh fruits and vegetables. Lunchtime at your house looks like fun!

Abraham's free autographed copy of Vegan Lunch Box is on its way. I'll introduce you all to the second place winner next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Just Peachy

One of my tips on finding cheap fruits and vegetables this summer was to pick your own. Shmoo and I put that into practice this morning, picking peaches and nectarines at a local U-Pick farm for 60 cents a pound. Not a bad price, especially when you consider that U-Pick combines buying fruit with an hour of enjoying a shady stroll in the orchard and watching kids having fun. Shmoo was a most enthusiastic picker, determined to search tree to tree to find me the biggest, heaviest, prettiest peaches.

Here is my car trunk filled with fresh fruit, at a total cost of $22.00. We plan to gobble up the nectarines, then I'll be peeling and slicing the peaches and freezing them in a single layer on baking sheets. When they're frozen I'll put them in a smoothie bin and enjoy peach-blueberries smoothies all autumn long.

Contest Update

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my Vegan Lunch Box Contest. The deadline for entry was yesterday. I've been enjoying looking at all the yummy lunch pics and reading your wonderful, creative descriptions. Good job, everyone!

Wow, it's going to be tough: there are over 50 fabulous entries and I'm going to have to narrow it down to 5. It makes me wish I had more books to give away!

The five lucky winners will be notified via email on September 1st (my birthday!), and their lunches will be featured here on the blog throughout the month of September. So stay tuned!

"Shmoo"...hey, I like the sound of that one!

Sorry, but you'll have to squint to read this Sunday's Sally Forth (why is Sally Forth always so darn small on Sunday?)



P.S. In case you're not sure, no, shmoo is not my son's real name. It was just a family "term of endearment" I decided to use as a web alias when I started blogging. Little did we know!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Little did I know when I planted 12 tomato vines this spring that they would eventually take over my kitchen and my life.

Saturday morning:



Saturday evening:



Ah, here's ten quarts of canned tomatoes and three quarts of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup ready for the freezer.

But look what's sitting next to them: more tomatoes! I've won the battle, but not yet the war. My next weapon of mass tomato destruction: Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce.

So that's what my weekend looked like. How was yours?

Apple Cozy Pattern

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, but my medium apple cozy was at the county fair this week (blue ribbon, baby!) and I wanted to wait until it came home so I could include it in the picture.



Here is the Apple Cozy Pattern (with pear variation) to go with the Banana Cozy and Orange Cozy patterns I already posted. Knit up a whole fruit bowl!

You'll notice I wrote up this pattern in three sizes: small for those wee two-bite apples that are just right for the preschool set, medium for your average apple eater, and large for the biggest of apples or Asian Pears.

Knit on!