Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Collab- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs...

I am so thrilled to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) in delivering one of my ultimate family favourites- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs on their recipe web-site. Juicy Ontario greenhouse tomatoes mingle with softly scrambled eggs in this comfort saucy dish that's scrumptious over rice- a classic in Chinese home-style cooking. Plump red vine-ripened tomatoes in the store always seem to beckon me to make this lovely dish 🍅. 

Did you know 63% of the Canadian greenhouses are in Ontario? Of the approximate 220 greenhouses, many are situated around the Leamington, London and Niagara area with bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, the three produce most popularly grown. Being a big advocate and educator on food waste reduction primarily at the consumer level, I am ecstatic to see that greenhouse growers do their part to eliminate waste in the food supply system from the get-grow. See, the controlled greenhouse environment enables them to grow a uniform product that minimizes waste with pest control and natural pollination, and maximizes yield and quality by growing in a nutrient-rich drip irrigation system. Also, majority of the markets are within a one-day drive so produce arrives to customers freshly picked- at their optimum best!  #GreenhouseGrown  #FromOurHousetoYours  #Ontario

They've done their part, so how do we as consumers do ours? #LoveFoodHateWaste

We often waste good food unnecessarily because we buy too much and don't store it correctly.

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

BUYING: Select tomatoes that are round, full, feel heavy for their size, and that are free from bruises and blemishes. The skin should be taut and not shrivelled.

Voluptuous round tomatoes means juicy!

KEEP IT FRESH: Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Storing tomatoes in the refrigerator can ruin their texture and flavour. Leave tomatoes on-the-vine intact until just before use. This helps maintain their freshness and allows them to fully ripen.

Wash produce right before eating. All produce should always be washed, but it is important to not wash produce too early as moisture sits on it, and can cause decay. Cut it just before cooking or eating.

Tomatoes and eggs- two ingredients on hand that marry harmoniously in this satisfying dish. Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes grown February to December means fresh and local at its best almost year round!

Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs over steamed rice, a meal to enjoy any season, any time!

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

NOTE: I am honoured to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers @ongreenhouseveg to develop recipes using their products. I love supporting Ontario farmers and growers, and often use local produce in recipe experimentation and home-cooking. The information I share is completely my opinion, as are all my posts.

Further Food For thought: Staggering. Shocking. How does a nation obsessed with eating, eating out, food shows, cookbooks and food sites/blogs waste billions of dollars of good food every year (31 million pounds in Canada which is mainly 50% household waste-- what we buy, not eat, and throw out)?

Waste occurs at various points of the food supply system. There are lots of gaps, according to experts, but the biggest source of waste are households. Consumers can actually make a significant difference just by changing some of the things we do on a daily basis:

* Make a list before you go shopping and sticking to it. Waste comes from overbuying.
* Do not go shopping if you’re hungry or you'll impulse buy.
* Check your cupboards and refrigerator – what do you have and what do you really need? 

* Store your food properly to extend their shelf life. Look up storage tips for specific produce.
* Eat up what you have first rather than what you're in the mood for.
* Be creative and re-purpose leftovers.
* Donate too much food, or if you know you won’t use it.

Imperfect perfectly edible foods-- just eat it already! Check out this thought-provoking film on Food Waste.

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Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs
Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 eggs
sea salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) - oil, divided
2 - green onions, cut into 2” pieces
4 - medium Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes, large diced
1 tsp (15 ml) - sugar
1 Tbsp (30 ml) – Chinese cooking wine
¾ cup (175 ml) - chicken or vegetable broth, hot
2 tsp (5 g) - cornstarch dissolved in 1-1/2 Tbsp (22 ml) - water
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) sesame oil (optional)
sliced green onions for garnish

Note: Use dry sherry to substitute for Chinese cooking wine.

Beat eggs; season with a little salt and pepper. Cook in skillet or wok with 1 Tbsp. oil on medium-high heat until cooked. Break the eggs up into pieces. Remove onto serving plate and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet or wok on medium-high heat and add the green onions. Cook for a minute; add tomatoes and sugar. Continue to cook for two minutes until soft and juice is released.

Add cooking wine. Stir tomatoes and cook for one minute. Pour in broth. Cook until sauce is simmering, then add cornstarch mixture; stir to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Place the eggs back into the skillet. Toss and remove onto serving plate. Drizzle with a little sesame oil and garnish with sliced green onions.

Serve over steamed rice.

Taste of the Place-- Cantonese Steamed Fish...

Honoured to have my Chinese steamed fish recipe featured on my friend and Food Revolution Oregon Super Ambassador Julie Ann Kimball Cockburn's Tasteoftheplace.com food site... Looking forward to seeing my chapter contribution on China in her upcoming global cookbook soon d (^‿^✿)! For her original post, see it here.

Cantonese Steamed Fish with Ginger & Green Onions

Published On March 24, 2016 | In Appetizers, China, Course, Entrees, Gluten Free, Julie's Blog, Region, Specialty Diets,Taste Of The Place, A Global Food Experience Cookbook By Julie Cockburn | 

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Moment of truth – I’ve always been kind of intimidated to cook Asian food! The unique (to me) ingredients, sauces, and techniques scared me away! :-/

Hooray-Hooray, my friend Susan Ng, from Susan’s Savour-It, has come to my rescue with a series of wonderfully tasty, easy to prepare, and not-intimidating recipes from China for the upcoming cookbook. Thank you, Susan!

This particular recipe is for a super simple, flavor filled, steamed fish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or entree. Susan tells me that Cantonese cuisine is not complete without a dish of steamed fish, usually done whole and served in an oval dish. Opting to use frozen fish fillets, as she has done in this version, is convenient, just as delicious, and a cinch to prepare with no fish skin and bones to contend with at the table!

Cantonese Steamed Fish Fillets

What you need for 4 to 6 appetizer size servings:

• 3 frozen white fish fillets (about 1 pound total), thawed overnight in the refrigerator, drained and patted dry – use basa, cod, rockfish, or any firm, white fish you like
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (Substitute dry sherry if Chinese cooking wine is unavailable.)
• A few dashes of ground white pepper (Feel free to substitute regular black pepper, it will just leave little black flakes that might not look quite as pretty)
• 3 – 1/8 inch slices of ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchstick strips
• 2 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces, then cut vertically into thin silken strips
• 4 sprigs of cilantro, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoons canola oil or other neutral flavored, high heat oil
• 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup seasoned soy sauce for seafood (If you can’t find seasoned soy sauce for seafood make your own mixture with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine, 1 tablespoon water, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar.)
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

What to do:

1. Pour an inch of water in a wide skillet with a well fitting lid. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat until just simmering.
2. Cut the fish fillets into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Lay the pieces on a heat-proof plate that will fit easily inside the skillet (this same plate can be used for serving, if you like), or a steamer insert. Drizzle the cooking wine over top, sprinkle with white pepper, and scatter over ginger strips. Place the plate or steamer insert into the skillet or pot with the simmering water, cover with the lid, and steam until the fish is flakey and almost opaque throughout. The time this takes will vary significantly depending on the thickness of your fish – anywhere from 5 to 12 minutes. Carefully remove the plate or steamer insert, discarding the water and ginger strips. It will continue cooking after it’s removed from the heat, so be sure to pull it from its steamy pan when the center still has a touch of translucency.
3. If using a steamer insert, move the fish to a serving plate. Scatter the onions and cilantro over the fish.
4. Heat the canola oil in a small skillet until just beginning to smoke. Carefully pour the hot oil over the steamed fish. Sparingly drizzle everything with the seasoned soy sauce and sesame oil.

Enjoy!

For more on Julie's Taste of Place Global Food Experience Cookbook, read it here.

Staying Healthy With Workplace Health Hacks...

We spend so much of our time and life at work, whether we're working for someone or for ourselves, these hours can have a profound effect on our overall health, well-being and our relationships. One personal example stands out. A close friend recently changed her job from working long hours and some weekends managing multiple projects, years of ritual 10-minute desk lunches, near zero breaks to an office that puts employees' health first with an emphasis on family-work life balance. Talk about change.... how does a play room equipped with a ping pong table and board games, catered Monday lunches, accessible healthy snacks and free daily fitness classes, with a 9 to 5 work day sound? Her husband tells me the change in his wife's personality and stress level have been significant, and their relationship as well as with their kids have improved dramatically. Well, let's think about it for a minute... when you are so wrapped up, busy producing and meeting deadlines with no time to come up for air, what little energy is left to consider your well-health (even with the best of intentions); we know that taking care of ourselves can feed the mind and soul with nourishment and replenishes, and help better our productivity but when you're in the thick of things, the reality of pulling away can prove difficult. Happy for my friend and lucky for her, but not everyone works in a Google-type office where employees are lavished with countless health-in-mind perks, so what are some of the things we can inspire ourselves to do to improve our health while at work? When Nuts.com approached me to collaborate on sparking a conversation about workplace health hacks, I couldn't be happier to jump on board. They're gathering various ideas on ways to staying healthy during the work week and along with other bloggers, we're sharing our top tips to improving the work-life. Here are mine:

With an emphasis on the top three listed hacks, #1-- Find a workout or walking buddy. Set up a week-by-week schedule (pre- or post- work day or lunch) and stick with it. Hold each other accountable by keeping one of the other's workout shoe. No show, means your friend doesn't get her steps in either. Since I work out of my home and more and more people do these days, I think it's even harder to follow a workout routine. It's so easy to make an excuse and not make the commute to get the work out in-- I'm kinda tired; my son hasn't been eating well, soooo...; it's colllld out there!! When you're at your workplace already you might as well (you need to take a break anyway), you'll have to meet your friend about the shoes and it'll be harder to dodge why you were thinking of not (so much for motivating each other). I was toying with this idea with my girlfriend who's joined a yoga membership for three months, and I desperately need to get back at it, so let's see what happens... I would hate her to miss her workout because of me, but I guess that's the point here right? 

#2-- Stand more. If possible elevate the height of your desk/working table/work station or suggest to have a designated shared area where people can take turns working upright. Research says that sitting, especially for prolonged periods of time is just plain bad for your health for a variety of reason and also due to lack of movement. My friend Florence tells me, her new job has an office meeting room equipped with a walking station that her and her colleagues have access to. It's set up so that they can walk and work at the same time-- great for one person to make conference calls or when you need to read something. She says, it's a great benefit to 'urban' offices because it allows them to still feel active. Having not to commute anymore, she gets less steps in so this is a great 'excuse' to go for a walk now. I say, that's super fantastic-- look at that cool space!

Photo Credits: Florence Wang

I have been fortunate in that my culinary profession required me to stand, walk, and speed walk most of my workday. Recipe development, testing, cooking, baking, product developing, presenting and catering needs you on your feet, and so for me it was about wearing the proper comfy shoes, outfitting the workspace with good flooring or mats (at Kraft, the homestyle kitchens we worked out of had cork board flooring) and industrial kitchens always had safety and feet-friendly mats for long standing; sitting becomes brief, enough to rest, stretch and rotate the feet, and at times for longer periods working on administration in the office (typing up recipes, research, etc.,). Now, as a food blogger, I am often stuck at the computer hours at a time, typing away and the time seems to disappear. Before I know it, it's noon and I haven't got off my chair for over two hours. When I do, I walk around and stretch, rest the eyes and grab some food or fruit. I always have water within reach (my office desk is my dining table :)). I am hoping to find a suitable bar table soon (been looking for one like forever) for the corner spot in my kitchen to pair up with my bar stools, so I see myself moving my laptop to work in that new space occasionally and blog while standing instead of constantly hunkered, back-crowned sitting down.

If you want to see my life and day as a Food Blogger read it here.

#3-- Get a shared blender. Take the challenge with your peers on rotation to make a healthy breakfast or break-time smoothie for everyone. This leads to trying new foods and open the discussion on healthier eating. For Food Revolution Day in previous years, I knew of people who brought a blender to work to make healthy beverages for their workmates to honour the day of real food awareness and celebration, and people loved it so much they end up keeping one there permanently.

Other things that could be awesome when it comes to food, request that vending machine suppliers or in-house cafeteria offer healthy snack options such as nuts, granola bars, fresh fruit, and yogurt. I find that more and more companies that provide food offerings to their employees are becoming health-aware, and if these things are not already there, just ask the right person to get it going. Better yet, make your own and bring from home. Here are some great healthy work snack recipes to try brought to you by Nuts.com. For more information, check out their healthy snacking page for tips and recipe ideas on a range of snacking scenarios from low-carb, high-protein snacks to late night and road trip snacking.

As a blogger and such as the work life of many of us relying on the computer and digital gadgets, I try (I really do try) to rest my eyes in every 30 minute intervals away from the computer screen for about two to five minutes. Staring outside my window, a photo or a paper with an inspirational quote and meditating away from what I'm working on helps to take a mental break, and I like that you really get in tuned with your breathing- it goes deeper and is more relieving. My artist brother Dan working hours on end, sometimes well into the earliest of mornings on his hand-crafted double-hand-sized statues tells me he gets his break by stepping outside, going for a walk, driving out to get a coffee, and to get some real people interaction. Working from home can be lonely, and social media as much as we are engaged on it, is still not a live person you can see, hear and talk to. You come back to your work with fresh eyes, a new energy and we both believe our products will result better for it.

My brother Dan aka Marten Go, founder of Preserved Dragons was not aware 

I took a shot of his work-in-progress a while back, but happy he approved I can use it :)

Ironically, this past weekend I walked into my much-anticipated macaron-making class with friend and city famous macaron instructor Mardi Michels, and a big bag of ground almonds was sitting on her counter with the big label across Nuts.com :). Mardi swears by their superfine ground almonds and only uses this brand for her macarons. And here I am partnering with Nuts.com to get the word out about healthy workplace practices, which is really translating back to my own blogging/work life from home. Working for yourself inside the home requires I think even more discipline to be health- and well-being-aware because it's just too easy to fall in your everyday home routine and forget. I read somewhere, maybe it's The Happiness Project where the author knew of a woman who worked out of her home office-- she never failed to put on her work wardrobe, make up her face and take a walk around the block on a daily basis before returning home to start her work day. Clever right?!  I may just adopt that--- but you know, maybe when it's not so cold out.... brrr!! :)

What are your top tips for staying healthy at work?

Nuts.com

Muddy Hands-- Celebrating Real Food...

I am so excited to reintroduce you to my lovely dear friend and fellow Food Revolution Ambassador Singapore Way Ling Wiesser. She has graced my blog in the past with her gorgeous recipe for popular Singapore hawker dish Hainanese Chicken part of my Southeast Asia Street Food Series. I've been admiring Way's unwavering passion on creating a healthier food scene in Singapore-- the tremendous work she's done educating and cooking with her community and family. I remember her excitedly telling me she was embarking on a food project; and with tireless energy and effort her dream Muddy Hands was born. Food awareness, education and a discussion forum are at the core of what she has built on this recently launched web-site. Hear Co Founder Way speak about the inspiration behind starting up her new company with a focus on where food comes from, cooking fresh and eating behaviours. 

What was the main inspiration behind Muddy Hands?

I’ve always been really interested in food.

I grew up in the UK where our family owned a Chinese restaurant and my father is a chef. I think it would be fair to say that my father is the inspiration behind my love of real food. Our best family time was spent around a noisy dinner table laden with numerous delicious dishes. Whilst eating one meal, we would discuss what to have at the next… we really loved our food.

My palate was trained from a very young age - I have happy memories of guessing the missing ingredient if my dad was too rushed and the dish was missing a certain taste. As I grew older and became a mother to two children, I carried on the tradition of home cooking and eating fresh well-balanced meals. When my children were babies, I would spend my weekends filling ice cube trays full of fresh organic purées and they have, thankfully grown up to be really great eaters with a very open attitude to food.

Through various happenings in our family life, I have become increasingly convinced about the need for everyone to eat better. The food in our current food system can often do more harm than good. I am a huge fan of Michael Pollan and in particular, two of his phrases have really stuck with me. That is that processed food is not real food, it is “edible food like substances” – although actually quite inedible in some cases ;-). And secondly, “The best marker of a healthy diet was whether the food was cooked by a human being. Even poor people who still cook have healthier diets than rich people who don’t.” I truly believe that one of the best ways to improve our diets is to cook for ourselves and that is one of the key reasons why I signed up to become a Food Ambassador for the Food Revolution (Jamie Oliver Food Foundation).

As I have become more actively involved in the real food scene, I have discovered that there really is a genuine lack of awareness of what is going on in our food industry. There is no lack of information out there but sadly, it is not always reaching everyone who needs it. This is a very real gap that needs to be addressed.

Way hosting cooking classes with her kids and their friends.

You are already an avid real food advocate in your "adopted" home Singapore along with being an Ambassador for Food Revolution. What are some of the positive changes you are seeing in your community over the years in respects to eating fresh and healthy. And the biggest challenges?

I feel that home cooking is a tough sell in Singapore. It is often cheaper and easier to eat out rather than eat in. Also, there’s a whole generation who seem to have lost the ability to cook as they have been brought up eating take-out food or at the hawker markets.

Singapore offers huge options in terms of dining out and there are very cheap hawker stalls which sell cheap and tasty meals. Whilst there is an element of fresh preparation to the hawker meals, they are often laden with thick sauces, oil and a lot of processed ingredients. That said, if people no longer know how to cook, then this really is their only option.

There has been a little progress in this field with the odd stall, offering a healthier option such as brown rice, but this is not common practise and the changes are very slow in coming.

What are some of the things you hope to achieve through Muddy Hands?

Muddy Hands’ aim is to spread awareness and education to help people make better food choices. My aim is to encourage people to ask questions and to effect behaviour change, both big and small. I truly believe that no positive change is too small and am realistic enough to acknowledge that it often takes lots of small changes in order to achieve real change. Through my recently launched website www.muddyhands.life where I have developed a very user-friendly discussion forum, users can browse and post questions and answers to a huge range of topic, ranging from recipe tips to specialty diets, through to food politics. There’s something for everyone.

As you can see fresh and home cooking can`t be beat!

What is the one food issue Muddy Hands is passionate about right now?

I really feel very strong about food waste, especially at the production level where perfectly good food is being produced but never makes it to the consumer. I really admire the work being done by Tristram Stuart’s group at Feedback, an environmental charity that raises the awareness of food waste.

I see an ever widening gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” and sadly, the latter group are the ones without the education nor the financial means to better their lives. I feel a very real need to rectify this inequality.

My dream would to be open up a store which channels unsellables (the “Uglies”) to those in need. It seems criminal to waste so much food when there are so many people in need. A store to sell the produce at accessible prices, with an area that teaches people how to prepare and cook the food. Rental of physical space is a huge challenge in Singapore where land is amongst the most expensive in the World.

Muddy Hand's philosophy is deeply grounded on accessing fresh food, eating organically, and growing your own food. Are there plans to collaborate with local farmers and food justice organizations to further your cause? 

Muddy Hands is currently working on collaborations with other companies and organizations with shared values. Inspiring change is not a job that we can do alone, it requires teamwork, persistence and not ever taking “no” for an answer.

Way invites each and every person to join her in this exciting journey of discovery as Muddy Hands talks, eats and cooks its way to an all-round tastier way of eating. If you are hungry for change, please join her and engage with like-minded individuals on Muddy Hands' discussion forum! 

Thank you Way for the opportunity to speak to you about your wonderful endeavours with Muddy Hands. Congratulations and I look forward to seeing some of the wonderful things come to fruition! Plant the seed, nurture it and it will grow....

All photos provided by Way Ling Wiesser.

Kids in the Kitchen: Susan’s Savour-It!...

I am delighted to share with you that I have been featured as a guest blogger in Kids in the Kitchen Series on Orange Kitchens-- an inspiring food blog founded by my lovely friend and fellow Food Revolution Ambassador Dubai, Prachi Grover. Prachi and her beautiful daughter Sara she calls chefling, star together in making lifelong memories by sharing their love of cooking and real food. Orange Kitchens is their scrapbook to capture and relive those memories while inspiring others to join them along the way. 

Thank you Prachi for having us-- I am deeply honoured. See here for the original post.

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Published On December 8, 2015 | In Kidsinthekitchen By Prachi Grover |

Today my guest in the Kids in the Kitchen series (where we meet parents and children who bond, have fun and make life long memories in their kitchens) is Susan and her three adorable boys! Susan shares her how she "cooks" with her precious boys, involves them in the kitchen during meal times and grocery shopping and how their getting involved in all of the above has altered their food habits. She also shares how she deals with chaos that comes with them being in the kitchen.

Thank you Susan for dropping by with Étienne, Sébastien and Matias. For the past one year I have seen so many pictures of your children and you in the kitchen but it is only now that I can say I have finally “met” them.

From managing a restaurant to organizing food events, from catering to product development, from recipe development for small and corporate organizations to writing for food magazines, from food-styling to working behind the scenes of a cooking show, even a few gigs on-camera, Meet Susan who I admire dearly and have immense respect for. And if what I told you about her wasn’t enough, this lady here also writes a fabulous food blog called Susan’s Savour-It!, is the Food Revolution Canada and Toronto Super Ambassador and loves teaching kids how to cook. She is also a Lunch Club Coach for Real Food For Real Kids where she encourages kids to eat their catered school lunch while inspiring them with food education along the way. Come Spring 2016, she will also be teaching adult culinary classes and which is when we will also get to try her recipes from A global cookbook– Taste of the Place; a cookbook collaboration where she has contributed heritage Chinese recipes. Phew!

Say hi to Susan & her little boys and their daddy!

Please tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a mom and have been a proud culinary professional for 15 years. Nothing brings me more joy than to feed bellies and bask in the diverse multicultural foods we are lucky to have in my hometown Toronto in Canada. Food to me is a connector to everything– it connects us to our Mother earth, it brings people together, and bridges cultures as a universal language that bonds. With such a smorgasbord of fabulicious global delicacies to experience, my life’s motto is to sip and savour to the fullest by taking the family and whoever wants to come along, on a lifetime of taste adventures– and that starts at home with cooking. My food blog Susan’s Savour-It! is about savouring scratch-cooking and sharing our family favourites.

Please tell us a little about your children?

My three boys are as rambunctious and silly as they come. My six-year old twins Étienne and Sébastien are cut from two different cloths. Étienne is like his engineer dad– methodological who dots his i’s and crosses his t’s. He has amazing penmanship, loves arts and science, and telling jokes; if he could he would hug his soccer ball to sleep every night. He dislikes being told what he is doing is wrong, and we’re working on that. His twin brother Sébastien, on the other hand is whimsical and all over the place (just like me). He loves reading, arts and drama– singing and dancing is his thing, and he would cook with me every night if I let him! He’s not a fan of structure, and we’re working on that. My baby Matias is four and can hold his own against his older brothers. He loves drawing, cute things and bananas (I truly think he is a minion in disguise). He dislikes being told he is not cute…. He wants to stay cute with chubby cheeks forever!

Do your boys “cook” with you? How do you involve them in the kitchen/during meal times/grocery shopping?

My older boys cook with me occasionally, but as they gain new skills and confidence I would like to involve them more. My meals tend to take some time to prepare as I cook mostly everything from scratch and enjoy making different cultural dishes on a regular basis. They help me with simple tasks rather than cook from start to end. When grocery shopping, I would take the kids out individually or in a pair to keep the chaos in check. Supermarkets are a plethora of sights and smells– I encourage them to use their senses to look, touch and smell the produce if possible and to ask lots of questions. To distract them from fighting or running off, I like to quiz them on the produce– what they’ve tried and what things are, and also keep them busy by asking them to help me choose and bag fruits and vegetables. They just love the trip to the store and helping me grocery shop! 

In the kitchen, my rule of thumb for engaging my children is with less time, do smaller tasks such as tearing up lettuce for salad, peeling carrots and beating eggs, and with more time on the weekends, they can perform bigger tasks such as cooking and wrapping (like dumplings), and participate more in the entire process, even if it’s just observing me. Matias gets involved too with husking corn, scooping seeds out of melons and cutting ends off green beans with a kid’s knife. Preparing meals are so educational; children quickly pick up new skills when they’re having fun- they learn about weighing, measuring, mixing, spreading, pouring, chopping, sautéing, organizing and following instructions, as well as finding out how ingredients work together. As important it is to immerse my kids in the meal preparations, it has been invaluable to teach them good meal-time habits- setting up the table and clearing their dishes at the end of meals, and eating without distractions. They learn proper etiquette and it helps me out too!

How do you think their getting involved in either or all of the above has altered their food habits?

Cooking absolutely helps with their eating habits. I find cooking together as a family greatly contributes to healthy eating. When they were involved with the grocery/meal/snacks decision-making and the cooking process they were more likely to eat and enjoy it. Making the change from cooking for your kids to cooking with your kids can feel like a chore. Of course, it’s easier, faster and less messy if you just do it yourself, but if you allow your children to take part in some of the preparations, you will give them a sense of ownership and pride, and the results are a cleaned off plate or empty lunchbox. Before you know it, they will be trying new foods, getting creative and helping to bring a positive and healthy attitude to the family table. And it can be a superb way to motivate fussy eaters to try new tastes and gain confidence with a variety of foods.

How do you deal with mess/chaos that comes with them being in the kitchen? More importantly how do you maintain your sanity?

I admit I don’t have a high tolerance for mess in general. So it was a challenge initially, to have my kids cook with me when they were around four. I never understood parents with the food-splattered toddler spaghetti bowl over the head, or relate to parents who give their young children free reign in the kitchen. To keep my mess threshold in check, I always set parameters to manage my expectations and sanity. Organizing or knowing where all the required ingredients and equipment is key to focus on the task at hand. Our kitchen is small, and it can get really crowded with the kids huddled at the counter. If they are chopping, we let the twins take turns, and we set a big bowl out to collect the waste. Knife skills are big for them right now! For more space, we move to the dining table which has a plastic cover that makes wiping up easy. We spread the kids within an arms-length of each other and give them their own cutting board and paring knife. For baking, they take turns at scooping, measuring, beating and forming the dough. Everyone gets a task so no one feels left out or under-utilized. Then I am able to throw caution in the wind, and let it go. 

I believe that our time together engaged in food regularly, whether it was discussing where food comes from, how to shop for fresh ingredients, getting them involved in the meal preparations and just having them try new foods and cuisines has set them up for being food smart, curious and excited about what they eat and what they put into their bodies! And as a parent, I know I am doing my rightful duty to teach important culinary literacy to my children that will last a lifetime! This translates to everyday life- trying a new recipe is not unlike learning math or problem-solving skills. It takes persistence, resilience, patience and creative thinking- life lessons that are worthy of a messy kitchen!

Is there any recipe that your boys would like to share with all the young chefs out there?

A simple recipe my kids love making from scratch to finish is guacamole which lets them just do it without much assistance. From washing, prepping the fresh ingredients, scooping the avocado seed, mashing and seasoning to enjoying the fruits of their labour, they adore this healthy dip.

Read how Susan helped her children compare the ingredients in a store bought guacamole vs. the one they made at home and get the recipe here.

Easy Peasy Guacamole

For more Kids In the Kitchen, see here.

Keeping It Real At Real Food For Real Kids (RFRK)...

I remember when I first came across their trademark blue and green catering delivery van. It was three years ago on a sunny morning having just dropped off my three-year old twins to Montessori, and driving my husband to work with my newborn asleep in the back. The name Real Food For Real Kids (RFRK) instantly struck me and I had to know more. Doing a search, I was awe-inspired reading about founder Lulu Cohen-Farnell-- her story, her company's mission, their awesome lunch program, and the positive real food influence they were making in the community. I told myself when my kids are older, RFRK would be a place I would want to work for and/or collaborate with. 

Photo Credit: RFRK HQ

Fast forward to the now, there I was last week at their facility, getting a kitchen tour with their friendly Communications Manager, David Lutterman and speaking with the great woman herself. I am thrilled to have recently started working in their school Lunch Club program and we're in talks of collaborating on our food advocacy efforts along with my role at Food Revolution Toronto. Our commitment is to help inspire families and education institutions to foster healthier food attitudes with a more conscious, sustainable (and enjoyable) approach to eating.

The Amazing Real Food For Real Kids Team!

Photo Credit: RFRK HQ

RFRK is a Toronto-based caterer since 2004, cooking fresh from scratch and using a fleet of fuel-efficient vans to deliver healthy, delicious meals and snacks to thousands of kids in the GTA every day at 30+ elementary schools and over 200 of childcare centres - and the numbers are growing. The tour in their production kitchen shows why they are relocating to their new 32,000 sq.ft. space in the east end come December-- they are truly working at capacity! David tells me more than half of the ingredients come from Ontario farmers and producers, including grass-fed beef, and sustainably-raised chicken. Founder Lulu is mainly vegetarian, occasionally eating sustainable fish, and is big on grains, legumes and pulses. Thus their catered lunch menu incorporates a large variety of these protein-rich meat alternatives such as beans, lentils, chickpeas; other than commercial bags of these and canned tomatoes, that's pretty much all they get in prepared... everything else is impressively made from scratch down to the simplest sauces! As a recipe developer myself, hearing the extra care and thought in their recipe development really showcases why they truly stand out from the rest. They use nutritious ingredients like flax seeds as a natural thickener instead of cornstarch in their popular Maple Samurai Sauce (scroll to the middle of post), and adding extra healthy goodness and protein such as navy beans in fun and delicious Granola Pucks. So fantastic!

Granola Pucks with navy beans for extra nutrition and protein.

David loves walking clients through their kitchen-- people can see staff bustling, preparing and cooking with fresh ingredients and this transparency let's you know they are the real deal! The equipment is a highlight, including massive tilting horizontal arm kettles to enable cooking from scratch on a grand scale. These cauldrons are $$-- quality equipment is needed to produce optimum food results for the kids!

I had an hour to meet with Lulu, and the time flew by. She is warm with a vibrant personality, articulate and very passionate about current food issues. We talked about their move to the new headquarters, three times larger than their current with a kitchen built to CFIA standards and on HACCP principles. What she's super excited about is that the expanded space will also include health and wellness workshops, cooking classes, tastings and tours for kids-- getting back to what she was doing with food education when she founded the company with her husband, but couldn't keep those activities up with the growing and demanding catering business over the years. As an ambassador for Food Revolution Toronto, furthering the Real Food mission and to bring awareness to food education is my priority and RFRK puts into action everything we stand for! Joining forces seems to be a natural fit-- the reach and impact we can achieve together can be far greater. Looking forward to seeing the fruits of some of the things we discussed :).

With Lulu Cohen-Farnell

So what is it about this great lunch club I am raving?

For more on the lunch club program, which schools are participating and general FAQ's click here.

Here I am at the public  elementary school I serve at. Lunch clubs could run two to five days depending on the school. I am at mine two days a week and I always look forward to seeing the kids. Our priority is to get the kids lunches served, and where we can, we impart some food knowledge-- describing the ingredients, or flavour profile of the dish to get them to try new foods and get them excited about eating it. Here are some great RFRK tried and tested recipes your kids may like. I know I already have my eyes set on Granola Pucks, Madagascar Chicken and Chili Chili Bang Bang.

The changing monthly menu is seasonal and global flavoured-inspired-- super tasty!!

I love how Lulu describes the importance that food plays in our lives “Real food is the foundation of happiness.” (quote in October 26th article in SAM "Local Produce Industry Recognizes RFRK"). Kids that eat better, learn better... With deeper connections and a healthier relationship with fresh food, we can bring back the fundamental experience of what real food brings to the table and the real enjoyment of eating again! Here's to keeping it real!