by Alexandra on January 27, 2012
(Photo Credit)
It’s been over 13 months since I last wrote about the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, which is legislation that sets standards for all meals served in school and funds programs like the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
In that 13 months a battle in Congress began about a number of the changes to nutrition standards for school meals. The new bill increases the amount of fruits and vegetables served, eliminates any fried vegetables, and reduces the number of starchy vegetables that can be served in any school receiving federal funding. Unfortunately, Congress block several provisions and decided that pizza is a vegetable.
On Wednesday, the First Lady revealed the new regulations as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that align the nutrition of school meals to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Schools are now required to:
- Offer fruits and vegetables as two separate meal components
- Offer fruit daily at breakfast and lunch
- Offer vegetables daily at lunch
- Require students to select a fruit or a vegetable as part of the reimbursable meal
- Offer whole grains: half of the grains will be whole grain-rich upon implementation of the rule and all grains will be whole-grain two years post implementation
- Offer a daily meat/meat alternate at breakfast
- Offer fluid milk that is fat-free (unflavored and flavored) and low-fat (unflavored only)
- Offer meals that meet specific calorie ranges for each age/grade group
- Reduce the sodium content of meals gradually over a 10-year perio
- Prepare meals using food products or ingredients that contain zero grams of trans fat per serving
These standards, which mark the first such changes to school meals in more than 15 years, go into effect July 1st and will be phased in over a three-year period. The regulations will improve the food nearly 32 million children eat every day.
Just looking at the before and after comparison of meals shows how big of an improvement this is. This is a huge step forward for nutrition policy and the attempt to improve the health of all kids.
by Alexandra on January 23, 2012
I never know what to say when people ask me what my favorite food is. There are too many choices and how can I really just pick one. But the truth is that pho is my favorite food. It’s what I wanted for my birthday dinner, it’s what I want when I have a cold, it’s what I want when I’m having a bad day. Pho is just good food. But it’s not something that can easily be made at home.
While flipping through the Whole Foods flyer I found a $1 off coupon for Pacific’s soup starter. Pho in a carton? Why not.
It couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Cook rice noodles. Heat broth and add thinly sliced steak once boiling. Put noodles in bowl, pour broth and meat over noodles, top with whatever you like.
I wish that I could say this was the best darn pho ever, but it’s not. The broth is darn close, a little too sweet and missing some depth of flavor. I think adding a bit of soy sauce or fish sauce would make it. But let’s be real. I ate one of my favorite meals on a cold January night with little preparation and time involved. Until I move to Vietnam and have unlimited pho access, this broth is easily going to be one of my new staples.
by Alexandra on January 20, 2012
This was the first week of my last semester. It’s kind of hard to believe how quickly the time has gone, but the new wrinkles, lolling headaches, and regular student loan e-mails remind me how much has gone into this journey.
I realized in my first week back how quickly I feel the pressure of school, two jobs, trying to stick to a running schedule, and all of the basic responsibilities of life. But after running between both jobs and a meeting about my thesis, I realized how lucky I am to be able to do something I love. It doesn’t happen every day, but there is usually one moment in a week to remind me of that.
I might not love everything about school, but the little moments in work keep me going. And I realized that I need to do more little things for myself to make this semester a little more cheerful. I rarely make breakfast for myself beyond reheating large batches of oatmeal or throwing together a bowl of cereal. But pancakes have always been my favorite breakfast treat.
Oatmeal Pancakes
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla (omit if you used vanilla flavored milk)
To make a batch of oat flour, measure 1 cup of rolled oats and blend in either a mixer or food processor until a flour develops. This takes a few minutes, but you don’t need a great blender to do this. Mix it regularly to break up any clumps of larger pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Combine all dry ingredients and mix together. Add wet ingredients and whisk until well combined. Allow batter to sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Pour batter into the preheated pan and allow pancakes to cook until the edges are set and bubbles in the batter are uniform. Flip and cook the second side for another 2 minutes.
Top with whatever you prefer. I stuffed my pancakes with peanut butter and banana slices, topped with a little drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Because we all need to celebrate the little things in life.
by Alexandra on January 16, 2012
I’m starting to think that becoming an adult means acquiring kitchen gadgets. During college, I had a pretty simplistic kitchen. The basic pots and pans. But then I got an Artisan mixer, the ice cream maker attachment, a rice cooker, and crock pot. Then came multiple sized muffin pans, loaf pans, and this Christmas brought a food processor and doughnut pan. Did I really need a mini doughnut pan? No… I don’t really even eat doughnuts. But after making pumpkin doughnut holes this fall, it seemed like an appropriate thing to ask Santa for.
Trying to find a simple gluten-free recipe was a challenge. These old fashioned doughnuts also happen to be vegan. You wont find that at Krispy Kream.
Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts
- 1/2 cup original almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1 tablespoon Earth Balance stick, melted
- 1 teaspoon ground Coffee, chocolate, sugar grinder
- 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 mold mini-doughnut pan with cooking spray.
In small bowl, make “buttermilk” by combining the almond milk and cider vinegar. In another small bowl, mix together the water and flaxseed meal and allow to thicken for 3 to 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the flaxseed mixture and the “buttermilk” mixture. Gradually add the baking mix and almond meal, and stir until the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined but the dough is still soft.
Fill a large plastic storage bag with dough and cut a hole in one end to create a pipping bag. Pipe dough into the pan and bake for about 14 minutes, or until the doughnuts are golden and firm.
Remove the donuts from the oven and turn out onto cooling racks to cool.
Prep the toppings by mixing cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, or girding the coffee + chocolate beans.
Brush the donuts with melted Earth Balance and coat doughnuts with toppings. Serve immediately.
Yea, I guess that mini-doughnut pan was necessary.
