Shmoo Review: Lunch Lessons

Activists, start your engines! Authors Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes are here with Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children,and they’re ready to draft you into the battle they are waging for healthier school lunches for all!

Depending on who you are, I think this book will either have you ready to shout it from the rooftops, or leave you feeling like improving your family’s health is too daunting a task, tying it as they do to the larger work of social and environmental activism and widespread public education and policy change.

First, I want to point out that this is not a vegetarian book. Even so, vegan parents can still find much here that is inspiring or enlightening. The recipes section includes chapters for every meal of the day, not just lunch, and offers many recipes that are vegan or could easily be veganized. A wide variety of vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains are used in many delicious-sounding dishes like "Spinach Salad with Tangerines", "Corn and Black-eyed Pea Stew", and "Vegetable Lo Mein".

The authors take a strident tone when talking about proper nutrition, although their messages seem a bit mixed. I was most saddened by the fact that, although the nutrition chapter wisely advises parents to avoid cheese because of its high level of saturated fat (p. 28), the authors then go on to include recipes for "Three Cheese Vegetable Strata", "Mac and Cheese", and burritos, frittatas, and casseroles that all call for hearty amounts of cheese.

They also mention the frightening and very real dangers of mercury contamination in fish, especially tuna (p. 22), but urge parents to not cut fish out of their children’s diet because of its heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They don't mention that foods like flax, hemp, and walnuts can provide mercury- and fish-free sources of omega-3s.

On a happier note, the authors do point out that calcium can be obtained from non-dairy sources. There are many other instances here where vegan and omni parents can find common ground, joining forces to encourage a more plant-based diet for everyone.

Going beyond mealtime, the authors include information on gardening, composting, healthy cleaning products, plastics, recycling, and making a difference in your cafeteria and your community. So, if you're ready to make a change in more than just what your kid is packing for lunch, Lunch Lessonsis ready to show you the way.

Shark & Goldfish

This big shark is looking to eat up all the little goldfish it can find. I hope there are some left at lunchtime...

A shark sandwich made with Vegenaise, vegan mozzarella-style cheese, and Smart Deli Bologna on a whole wheat bun. I affixed his green olive eyes and fins with a touch of Vegenaise. The shark is surrounded by lettuce, cucumber, and grape tomatoes -- not shmoo's favorite vegetables, but we'll see.

In the side containers are pineapple wedges, homemade Vegan Goldfish Crackers, and a dessert of colorful kosher mint chocolate lentils.

And to drink today I packed shmoo a Tropical Punch Hint. Oh, Hint waters are one of my new absolute favorite things I never, ever want to be without. More about them later -- they deserve their own post!

Verdict: As expected, shmoo ingnored the veggies this time, but he certainly had fun playing with the little picks they were on. He also had fun with the sandwich, fruit, crackers, and candy-coated chocolate mints. 4 stars.

Vegan Lunch Box Playlist

David at the Largehearted Boy music blog asked me if I would be interested in taking part in his "Book Notes" feature. In "Book Notes", David asks authors to create a list of songs that relate in some way to their book -- an imaginary soundtrack, music that has inspired the book, or music that has been featured in the book.

I must admit that I spent waaaay too much late night time on the computer putting this together, but what a lot of fun it was! I wanted to put together a list of songs that was bubbly, fun, kid-friendly, and smile-inducing -- the same way I think about my lunch boxes!

Read all about my song choices at Largehearted Boy, then listen to samples using the iMix screen below.

While you're at it, you might also want to check out the "Book Notes" playlist for Vegan With A Vengeance.

Flickr Vegan Lunch Box Group

Hey, That Bohemian Chick and her cohorts have started a Flickr Vegan Lunch Box Pool to share pictures of foods they have made from the cookbook. Check it out! That Blue Ribbon Bread looks fantastic.

The Amazing Kale Occurence

Last year I shared the story of our Salad Miracle. This year, I must report an Amazing Kale Occurence!

This afternoon, for the first time ever, my son knowingly, willingly, and happily ate kale! Granted, he's eaten it before; he's just never known he was eating it (visit the Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce on page 170 of Vegan Lunch Box and you'll see what I mean). He's always adamantly turned his nose up at any identifiable bit of cooked greens.

As I warmed up some pasta for shmoo today at lunchtime, I also contemplated some cooked potatoes and well-steamed, chopped kale I had leftover in the fridge. I decided to make them into an easy colcannon: I mashed the potatoes and kale together with plain soymilk, onion salt and freshly ground black pepper. When it was hot, I topped it with a nice pat of Earth Balance margarine. Simple, but very satisfying.

As he ate his pasta, shmoo kept shooting glances in the direction of my colcannon. Although I had given up all hope years ago, I decided to ask again. "Would you like some? It tastes like mashed potatoes."

"NO!" he shouted, then turned his head slightly away and shrugged. "Oh, okay."

I put a small scoop on his plate, added a special little touch of salt, and sat back. He ate a small bite, then another, and another, and soon was asking for a bigger helping. He ate most of the colcannon himself, then finally remarked, "Well, mom, I guess you finally found a way to feed me kale." WOO HOO!

I guess it goes to show, there is always hope! If you keep eating healthy foods with enjoyment and consistency, some day your child may finally open up and give it a try.

Of course, I've been putting kale on the table once or twice a week for the last 8 years or so, so be patient. It may take a while.

Good Food Interview

You can now listen online to my recent interview on KCRW's Good Food, where host Evan Kleiman and I talk about Vegan Twinkies.

Speaking of Vegan Twinkies, I notice that the Hostess Twinkies Bake Set is once again available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, along with a Hostess Cupcakes Set. Can Sno Balls be far behind?

Food Blog Award!

I couldn't believe it recently when messages saying "Congrats on the Food Blog Award!" started coming in. What?!? It turns out that Vegan Lunch Box has won again!

VLB won a 2006 Food Blog Award from Well Fed Network in the category "Best Food Blog - Family/Kids".

I'm thrilled that so many families -- both vegan and omnivorous -- are enjoying the healthy, cruelty-free, kid-friendly lunches I try to put out there each week. I hope that if all of us out there take steps to make our meals just a bit healthier and a bit more compassionate day by day, that we will make a huge difference in our family's health and in the greater world around us.

Thank you so much to Well Fed Network and to everyone who voted!

Spinach Bacon Salad

Shmoo has this Monday off, so it's time for another Mommy Lunch!

Those of you who read the summertime posts know I pack my lunches in this stainless steel container, which I strongly recommend for holding big veggie and fruit salads like the kind I usually have for lunch.

During the cold winter months I still make lots of salads but add creamier dressings and richer toppings to make them a bit more filling. Today it's a Spinach Bacon Salad: baby spinach, romaine, radicchio, and lots and lots of sliced fresh mushrooms, with a stack of fried
Fakin' Bacon and a Creamy Shallot Dijon Dressing to toss on at lunchtime.

Citrus fruits are at their peak in the winter, but eating plain oranges is getting a little boring. Today I jazzed them up by making Oranges with Raspberry Sauce and Ginger, packed in a scooped out orange bowl.

On the side are some pistachios, and my happy glass jar is filled with Very Veggie Juice.

Verdict: I had never tried Fakin' Bacon before, although I love fried tempeh. These smoky strips were fantastic, easy to prepare and great on a spinach salad.

Just before taking this picture my inner Cooking Muse told me to sprinkle pickled ginger on the top of my orange salad. At first I was extremely doubtful ("Pickled ginger on oranges? Are you sure?" "Yes! Yes! You must add pickled ginger!"). Turns out it was perfect -- exactly what the salad needed to make it sing. 5 stars.

Pot Stickers and Chop Sticks

What a difference a year makes! Last year shmoo wouldn't have touched a spring roll, pot sticker, or pad thai noodle. Now he eats them all with gusto.

I found Ling Ling Vegetable Pot Stickers in the health food freezer section at my local grocery store. They even come with a dipping sauce, which you see here packed in the tiny container alongside.

On the right is a dish of Stir-Fried Soybeans with Garlic and Chile, a recipe from this January's issue of Gourmet magazine (I simply left out the oyster sauce). Above that is some brown rice with a little soy sauce fish, and next to it is a colorful fruit salad made with pineapple, apple, banana, and some of the biggest green grapes I've ever seen.

Verdict: Shmoo ate every bite here with gusto, especially the luscious pot stickers. Certainly the biggest hit of this lunch box was the soy beans, loaded with garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. We all loved the flavor of these edamame, but were confused as well: when you pop the baby soybeans out of their pods and into your mouth, most of that wonderful flavor gets left behind, and the oil and soy sauce makes them messy to eat. Not that shmoo ever minds getting his fingers dirty, but next time I'd like to stir-fry shelled edamame instead for more flavor and less mess.

I even included a kid-sized set of green, sparkly chopsticks with this lunch. Shmoo was excited about showing off his new chopsticking skills. He's been getting pretty agile, although in the end he gave up on the slippery banana and used one stick to stab each piece of fruit and bring it to his mouth. Rudimentary but effective. 5 stars.

A New Year, A New Shmoo

Welcome to 2007! Next week we'll be back with our first lunch box of the year. In the meantime I want you to know that I haven't been sitting on my laurels over the holidays (what are laurels, anyway, and why would I sit on them?)

First I created a complete Recipe Index listing all the free recipes available over on my recipe blog, Shmooed Food. That should make the recipes a lot easier to find; I could never get the "previous post" and "archive" lists working on the blog the way I wanted them to.

(Gee, until now I never noticed how many dessert recipes I've featured on the blog. I guess my sweet tooth is showing! At least a few of them are reasonably healthy...)

I also added a little Photo Gallery to my website with some of the fancier lunch box pictures from the book. At first I thought I would make a gallery with a picture of every single lunch menu in the entire book. Then I up and realized the amount of work that would require. Suddenly, laurel-sitting is starting to sound mighty attractive (whatever it is).

Finally, I updated my Blogger Profile with an actual picture of my actual self. That's right, I'm not really a pumpkin!