Optional Ingredients

Dear Aviva, I was curious about whether the optional ingredients (like the chicken, steak or beef in the Fiery Texican Casserole) are included in the nutritional information?
Thanks, Sally W.

Dear Sally, That’s a great question! Generally, the optional ingredients are not included in the nutritional information for the recipe, however, we are working on a way to indicate more clearly when they are.
Warmly, Aviva

Why Doesn’t The Scramble Include More Tuna Recipes? 

Dear Aviva, Please add a few recipes for cooking tuna steaks.  I’m amazed that there aren’t any!
Thanks. J.R.

Hi J.R., Thanks so much for your note and I appreciate your request for more tuna recipes. About 5 years back I decided to stop suggesting new tuna steak recipes for The Scramble (and stop serving it to my family) because of both the high level of mercury in tuna and because it really isn’t sustainable and is terribly overfished. However, I am going to ask other members if they would prefer I include a few tuna recipes in our menus. In terms of canned fish, I have mostly switched to canned wild salmon in my kitchen and for The Scramble because it is generally considered much safer and more sustainable. Here’s a little more information about kids and tuna consumption.

Keep in mind that tuna can be substituted for many of the fish preparations I recommend, especially the salmon and halibut recipes, because those are thicker fish, too.
Warmly, Aviva

Hi Aviva, Thank you for your response. I appreciate your concerns and the reasoning behind your choices. Please understand that I respect that, if anything in my response comes across as harsh or disrespectful.

I am very aware of the mercury issues with tuna and the concerns about sustainability and over-fishing. In my opinion, and as someone who has been debilitated by endometriosis, I am more concerned about the hormones pumped into our chicken and beef supplies. For that reason, we purchase chicken that is raised and slaughtered humanely and we don’t generally eat beef.

I also feel that I’d rather choose the food for my family based on my own preferences and concerns. Since we pay for The Scramble subscription, I’m not sure I agree with giving you (or anyone else) the moral/ethical right to determine what food I prepare or how I prepare it. A subscription to The Scramble does not tie my hands, but as someone who is trying to rely on your service to feed my family home-cooked healthy meals, I don’t want to have to find alternate sources for recipes, etc.  I want everything in one place.

We are now able to get tuna that was caught in Barnegat Bay, NJ, flash frozen and distributed through local farm-based resources. We live in NJ, and are trying as hard as we can to support those still trying to overcome Sandy’s devastation. So, for us, this is a wonderful opportunity. It doesn’t hurt that we love seafood. In addition, we don’t have children. My reason for subscribing is because for years I have been unable to cook or food shop and now that I’m starting to do that again, I need some help remembering how/what to cook.

You could add a note to each recipe that could use questionable ingredients, but honestly I think you’d be adding notes for vegetables not grown organically, fish, beef, chicken, etc.

I sincerely hope this reads without malice, because I don’t intend it to be rude or negative. I like the service and hope to continue using it.
Kind regards, J.R.

So Scramblers, what are your thoughts about whether I should include tuna, swordfish, and other fish that are high in mercury and/or are threatened and overfished species? Please share your thoughts here or on Facebook.

My dear friend Jessica Honigberg, whose daughter Clara is a vegetarian like Celia, told me about a beet and potato soup she had made that Clara loved. When my CSA delivered beets and potatoes that same week, I had to try making my own version. The whole family was mighty surprised by the deep pink color when they saw it but they actually loved it and had fun helping me name it—you may prefer telling your kids it’s called Dragon’s Blood or Fairy Princess Soup. Scramble recipe tester Maxine Silverman said, “This soup is a winner!  It is super filling and beautiful. It feels like a farmer’s market in a bowl.” Serve it with warm Italian bread and hard-boiled eggs (we like the eggs sprinkled with curry powder and salt).

We Got the Beet Soup

Prep (20 min.) + Cook (25 min.)
6 servings, about 2 cups each

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 lb. beets, peeled and chopped (about 4 beets)
1 lb. white potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 2 potatoes)
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. dried dill, or 1 Tbsp. fresh
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 – 1 lemon, juice only, to taste
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese or sour cream or plain yogurt

(Prepare the eggs first, if you are serving them.)  Heat a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the oil, and when the oil is hot, add the onions. Sauté them for about 3 minutes until they are tender. Add the beets, potatoes, parsnips, dill, pepper and broth, cover and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, keeping it covered, and cook it for 25 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.  (Meanwhile, warm the bread, if you are serving it.)

Puree the soup with an immersion blender or a standing blender until it is smooth. Return it to the pot, if necessary, and stir in the lemon juice. (At this point you can serve it immediately or refrigerate the soup for up to 3 days.) Top the bowls of soup with the goat cheese (highly recommended!) or sour cream, and additional pepper, and garnish it with additional dill, if desired.

Do Ahead or Delegate:  Chop the onion, peel and chop the beets, potatoes and parsnip, juice the lemon.

Tip:  If you’ve got extra lemons or limes sitting around and don’t want that flavorful juice to go to waste before they go bad, freeze them.  (Yes, you can freeze them!)  Just cut them into quarters and put them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Place them in the freezer until frozen.  Once frozen, you can place them in a freezer-safe bag and remove and use as needed.

Scramble Flavor Booster:  Top the soup with the additional dill and a few drops of hot sauce.

Side Dish suggestion:  Warm the bread in the oven at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes. Serve the bread with olive oil for dipping, if desired.  For a treat, stir grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and a touch of balsamic vinegar into the oil.

Side Dish suggestion:  In a medium saucepan, cover the eggs in cold water and bring the water to a boil.  When the water boils, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes (no peeking).  Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water, then peel them, starting by cracking the skinny pointed end and peeling down from there.

Nutritional Information per Serving (% based upon Daily Values):
Calories 211, Total Fat 6g, 9%, Saturated Fat 2.5g, 13.5%, Cholesterol 6.5mg, 2%, Sodium 183.5mg, 7.5%, Carbohydrate 30.5g,10%, Dietary Fiber 5g, 20%, Sugar 8.5g, Protein 6.5g

Meet Bright Horizons and its Well Aware initiative.

If you are committed to feeding your family healthy meals and snacks at home, wouldn’t you love to have your kids attend a child care center or preschool with the same priorities? I remember when my kids were in preschool I was frustrated because the teachers were feeding the kids too much candy, cookies and juice, filling their small tanks with empty calories so they were less likely to eat well at home afterwards, too.

That’s why I am so excited to partner with the nation’s leading early childcare company, Bright Horizons, which makes fitness and healthy eating a priority for their families (and now is working with The Scramble to tackle healthy family dinners, too.)

This month Bright Horizons is helping families learn more about their commitment to wellness through their annual Well Aware events. Following is my interview with Melissa Myers, Parent Marketing Project Coordinator for Bright Horizons about the hows and whys of Well Aware.

What is Well Aware?
Well Aware is the Bright Horizons approach to health, fitness and overall wellness for young children.  More than a set of policies and practices, it is a part of our curriculum that teaches children healthy habits and fosters positive attitudes toward healthy living.

Well Aware enables children as young as infants to gain an understanding and awareness of how their bodies work, what their bodies need, and how to protect them.  Daily activities include things like gardening, helping to prepare healthy snacks, practicing family-style dining, following safety rules and exploring fitness through structured and unstructured movement activities.

Why is nutrition and fitness such a big focus for Bright Horizons?
We have always set high expectations for creating healthy and safe places to develop and learn. Beyond practices and policies designed to keep children safe, we have long recognized the significant role that early educators have in influencing the behaviors that children adopt at an early age.  Well Aware was introduced to our curriculum in 2010 to ensure fitness, nutrition and wellness were a part of a child’s daily experience at Bright Horizons.

As parents and educators, we all feel a sense of responsibility and concern about tackling the issue of childhood obesity.  It’s important for us to continue improving our menus, our programs and our practices to ensure we are giving children the best education possible to help them build the foundation for a healthy life.

How do Bright Horizons families respond to its wellness initiatives?
Families look to their child’s teachers for support and guidance, so the partnership with parents on our wellness programs is quite natural.  Whether related to potty training, nap routines or meal times with a picky eater, family partnerships are integral to our ability to help children build healthy habits. We know that families are the primary influence on children’s attitudes and behaviors, so they play an important part of the Well Aware program. Teachers and parents work together to build children’s awareness of healthy lifestyles and develop ways for families to extend the Well Aware curriculum at home.

As part of our ongoing efforts, we have joined First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to make a commitment and serve as an open model for other child care providers nationwide. Parents have been very receptive to our commitment and the programs that have been developed throughout our partnership.

How can families get involved?
We are celebrating the Well Aware curriculum throughout the month of May and encourage families to join us!

All of our centers are hosting ‘Well Aware Open House’ events to provide families with an opportunity to experience the Well Aware curriculum in action. It’s a celebration of our commitment to children’s health and an invitation for families to join us in that effort. We are really striving to show parents how we are building healthy habits in young children and educating them on why it is so important to develop these behaviors at a young age. Families that are interested can contact a center nearest them for event information.

We are also encouraging families to engage in our celebration on our social media channels—we will be hosting a ‘Family Fitness Challenge’ on Facebook where families can participate in a photo contest to share how their families enjoy fitness together. We will be offering prizes including a Whole Foods gift card, Yumbox bento-style lunchboxes, and a Movement Matters prize basket filled with our favorite children’s fitness equipment that we use in our classrooms. Our bloggers are also participating in a ‘Well Aware Challenge’ on our Mom-to-Mom blog. Readers can follow each blogger on their month-long healthy living pledges, and are encouraged to join the conversation as well!

We also recently collaborated with our friends at PHA to create a webinar about children’s nutrition called ‘Food for Thought: Nutrition Tips & Strategies for Growing a Healthy Eater’. Families can watch the recording to learn more about how to handle picky eaters, child nutrition facts, kid-friendly recipes, how and when to introduce new foods, and how to create healthy meals that fit into a working parent lifestyle.

After the kids leave Bright Horizons for the day, how can we help make mealtimes easier and healthier for busy families?
It’s all about taking the stress out of mealtimes so they can be more enjoyable. Our programs emphasize the importance of enjoying nutritious meals together, which we incorporate through family-style dining at our centers/schools. Giving families the support and resources to make that a part of their routine is important to us, which is why we’re thrilled to be partnering with The Six O’Clock Scramble!

We love that the Scramble acknowledges the challenges that busy working families face when planning family meals—especially when you have picky eaters, or family members with food allergies.  The flexibility of the program and helpful tips make it easy for families to adapt it to their unique needs, which is really important. Bringing back the family dinner is a cause that we’re happy to support with The Scramble. Meal preparation and enjoyment can be such a wonderful opportunity for families to learn, connect and grow together.

“Laundry, they could do the laundry.”

“Clean the house, top to bottom, mow the lawn, and take me out to dinner!”

“Let me use the bathroom in peace from potty time all the way through a shower.”

“Leave me home in peace and quiet”

“Let me enjoy a day of gardening, make dinner and CLEAN up the dishes.”

“Let me sleep in until 7 a.m. and not scream for me outside the bedroom door.”

“Pick up their socks!”

“Plan a tasty picnic and whisk me off to the beach or park with all of them!”

To help you feel indulged this Sunday, I encourage you to print out this recipe for Baked Blueberry French Toast. (Shhh, don’t tell your family that I picked a recipe that takes a little longer to cook so you can get some extra zzzzzs.) Leave the recipe in a conspicuous place for your family to find, or take the straightforward approach, and just tell them that you would love it if they would make you this special dish for Mother’s Day brunch.

If you want to pamper any of the wonderful moms in your life with a gift of healthy, stress-free family dinners with The Scramble, I would be so grateful and I will make a donation in your honor to Sinai House, which helps low-income single mothers live independently and raise their children in a safe and nurturing environment.

I still crave their kisses and cuddles, but when I get the rare hug and kiss, I get the sense that they are indulging me, rather than fulfilling any need of their own. Once our kids are teens, we are no longer the center of their world like we once were. This is a natural, healthy progression, but not always easy for us parents. At least we have affectionate pets.

They’ve grown so much that Celia now borrows my clothes and shoes and Solomon loves to spend time with me as long as I’m letting him do the driving around town.

At the same time, the loads of laundry, caloric intake and carpool distances have increased, so I still feel needed…and often exhausted from getting it all done, or at least trying to.

No matter how worn out I get or how busy their schedules, we still come together for family dinners most nights (even if we don’t always manage to make dinnertime “sacred”). In fact, it is these times together I look forward to most. Additionally, this is when I feel I have the most impact on their diets and social development, and I learn important tidbits about what is happening in their worlds.

If you are still in the phase of wrangling squirmy children to the table and facing puffed out lower lips or mad faces when they don’t want to eat what you are serving, I encourage you to stick with it!  Keep making family dinner a priority, keep serving healthy food and teaching your children manners and the art of conversation. It won’t be too long before they’re finishing everything you make and then pouring themselves a bowl of cereal because they are still hungry, or asking your advice over a heartfelt conversation at the table.  Maybe they’ll even thank you for dinner… But first we need to make it a habit to get and keep them at the table.

Happy Mother’s Day to you and the loving, hard-working moms in your life.

So this week, please give me your feedback about the Freebie Friday giveaways, and two people who leave comments will win 3-month memberships to The Scramble, which can be added on to your current membership or given to someone else as a gift. Please leave a comment on the Scramblog by Friday, May 3^rd at midnight or between 9 a.m. and midnight on May 3^rd on Facebook telling me what you’d like to see more or less of in the newsletter. The winner will be chosen from the entries using random.org and will be notified by Monday, May 6^th and must respond by May 2^nd or another winner will be chosen.

Thanks so much for helping me make The Scramble the best it can be for you and your family!

But what if family dinner is more than something we “scramble” to make happen amidst our hectic days, and is actually a sacred ritual, something that recharges our spirits as well as filling our bellies?

Yesterday I was sitting in the bleachers at my daughter Celia’s middle school soccer game chatting with some other moms.  Each of us has kids, pets, jobs and generally very full lives. So I was amazed when one of the women, Libby Mullin, told us about her family’s dinner ritual. Every evening Libby sets the table for her family with flickering candles and a bottle of wine. (She has a full time job as a health care consultant, and 3 kids, the oldest of which is in 8^th grade!) Before the family eats, they each take 3 or 4 cleansing breaths, which she feels helps them separate from the stresses of the day and improves digestion. She referred to it as a way to make dinnertime “sacred”.

In almost every talk I give to parent groups, at least one person tells me that she lights candles at dinner, sets fresh flowers on the table, or finds other ways to make the family meal feel special. So many of us, including me, are focused more on getting the food made, on the table, and trying to get the whole family seated around it, and then scurrying to clean it all up and start the bedtime rituals, that perhaps we forget about adding more pleasurable elements to the meal that would make it feel like an even more important part of the day, and even more of an oasis.

So tell me, how do you make dinnertime special or sacred in your house? Is this something that you even aspire to? I’m anxious to know. Please share your thoughts here.

The beauty of this baked French toast is that you can get it all ready the night before, so you just need to assemble and bake it in the morning.  I got this recipe many years ago from a parent at my son’s school, and I wish I knew the original author so I could thank them personally for all the successful brunches where this dish has taken center stage.

Ingredients for main dish

• 1 small loaf day old challah or French bread
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups milk, any variety

• 1/2 cup flour
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

Nutritional Information Per Serving (% based upon daily values)

Calories 318, Total Fat: 8g, 12%; Saturated Fat: 5g, 21.5%; Cholesterol: 86mg, 28.5%; Sodium: 393mg, 16.5%; Total Carbohydrate: 52g, 17.5%; Dietary Fiber: 3g, 12%; Sugar: 13g; Protein: 11g

My favorite positive motivational tool for picky eaters is called Today I Ate a Rainbow.  This tool, designed by the parents of a formerly picky eater, is designed for kids ages 3 and up and contains a colorful chart and cheery, brightly colored magnets that allow kids to keep track of the fruits and vegetables they eat each day.  The chart is a fun, positive and colorful way to encourage your child to eat a variety of produce, and I’ve seen it work miracles.

This Friday, we are giving away two rainbow kits (retail value of $19 each).  To be eligible to win, please leave a comment here by Friday, April 26^th at midnight or between 9 a.m. and midnight on April 26^th on Facebook letting me your child’s favorite fruit or vegetable. The winner will be chosen from the entries using random.org and will be notified by Monday, April 29^th and must respond by April 30^th or another winner will be chosen.

As the parent of a formerly picky eater, I also know that there is hope, although it requires lots of time and patience (and probably a few screams or tears).  This aforementioned child now snacks on roasted seaweed, makes himself chocolate, cherry chia smoothies, and enjoys Swiss Chard with Garlic and Parmesan cheese—I never would have imagined this was possible when he was younger. One thing I’ve learned is that it takes many kids 10 or more tastes of a food before they will start to enjoy it.

Over the years, I have also found some incredibly helpful tools and techniques to encourage children to try new foods. Today I am sharing some of my favorites. If you’ve found (or created) other tips, tricks or tools, please share them with other Scramblers on the Scramblog.

Today I Ate a Rainbow: I love this magical magnetic chart because it gets kids excited about eating a rainbow of produce every day, and makes it a positive and fun experience for the whole family (and you can potentially win your very own kit in this week’s Freebie Friday).

Crunch a Color: These award winning table games turn healthy eating into a challenge and reward adventurous eating with points.

Toothpicks, cocktail forks and ketchup: Some food is more likely to make it into kids’ mouths if it has a fun vehicle to get there—either something fun to dip it in, like ketchup, barbecue sauce or ranch dressing,  or something cool to dip it with, like toothpicks or cocktail forks (beware of these sharp objects with babies and toddlers, of course).

Make it fun: When our kids were younger, we would sometimes make funny faces out of the food on their plate and dare them to eat an eye or an ear.  My husband Andrew would also tell them that green beans made their fingers strong and if they ate 10 of them they could push him over using just their fingers.

Continue to offer foods: If your child turns her nose up at a food, don’t focus on it too much and just serve it again the next week. Kids seem to have food moods and it’s best not to get discouraged or stop serving any food until they’ve had plenty of chances to like it.

Eat socially: Many parents tell me that when they eat with other families, especially with older kids and more adventurous eaters, their kids will eat foods they would never touch at home.

One bite rule (also called a “thank you or no thank you” bite):  How is a child supposed to know if he or she likes something if they won’t even taste it?  Many families have success with this technique, where each child needs to try everything on their plate, and either says “thank you” or “no thank you” depending on how they like it. Keep up your end of the bargain by not making them take more than one bite, if they don’t want to.

Keep focus off food: Keep mealtime a positive experience by focusing on the company and conversation, rather than who is eating how much of what. Family dinners are about so much more than the food.

Involve them in shopping, gardening, cooking and meal prep: Often picky eating is about power and control, and if a child has some say in what the family will be eating and how it is prepared, they are more likely to eat the food at the table. You could even ask your child to tell the family about what dish they selected or made to increase their pride and sense of accomplishment in the meal.

Don’t label them as picky eaters, leave the window open, and try my favorite line:  If a child tries but doesn’t like a new food, I always say, “Well, your taste buds are maturing so maybe next time you’ll like it,” or, if they don’t want to try something they didn’t like before, I’ll say, “Your taste buds have matured as you’ve gotten older, so maybe this time you’ll like it.”

Shower them with praise for trying: Make a big deal when your child tries a new food and doesn’t say yuck. We had great success with keeping a list of healthy foods our kids liked tacked to the ‘fridge, and whenever they would think a new food was good or even okay, we would add it to the list with much fanfare.

I know it can be incredibly frustrating to live with a picky eater.  I encourage you to try to remember that healthy eating is a continuum, and some kids seem to be born with adventurous taste buds (like our daughter who was snatching my salad at 6 months of age), while others are naturally more cautious eaters. Try to emphasize the positive, exercise patience and remember that mealtime is about so much more than the food we serve, it’s about the lasting connections and memories we make.