Flowfit

I love a good deal!

Nothing beats the feeling of getting something for nothing.  Well, for the months of May and June you can do just that!  JC’s Hot Bagels is celebrating their 15th Anniversary and are offering 8 bagels for the price of 6!

That’s right, buy a half dozen bagels and receive two free!

Gotta love that.

Also, you can get a coffee and a bagel for just $1.99.  Breakfast to go anyone?

If you’ve yet to try a JC’s bagel, you are truly missing out!  Take this opportunity to get something for nothing and stop in JC’s for your free bagels!

For those of you with kids at John T. Tuck, these bagels are TOP pick for Healthy Snack.

As I sit here eating my lunch, I am in awe of how beautiful all that green looks.  Something about green makes me think spring, life, energy and health.  All that would explain why spring is one of my favorite seasons.

This salad will take you less than 2 minutes to throw together – perfect healthful lunch!  Grab a plate and add a good handful of washed baby spinach, a whole avocado (TIP – cut avocado in half lenghtwise, remove pit and make cuts into flesh going both directions – so you’ve made little diamond shapes – now squeeze the avocado in the palm of your hand facing down.  All those little diamonds will spill out and you’ll be left holding nothing but the rind – COOL!).  Squeeze a quarter lemon onto entire thing, add a table spoon of hummus on the side, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and you’re done!  I added some left over roasted organic chicken breast as well.  A can of tuna or some garbanzo or cannelli beans would also be great.

Try it!  Time yourself… betcha it’s 2 minutes!

The Hummus on this plate is from Sunflower Kitchens.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a bit of a love affair with their products.  This Wednesday April 20th, Marilou’s Market in Burlington will be carrying a new selection of all of their wonderful products.  They will have pestos, hummus, soups and dips.  I highly recommend the Oregano and Kale Pesto, the Cilantro pesto and of course all of the hummus!  Hurry in, they won’t last long!

To read about Sunflower Kitchens, go here:

http://www.sunflowerkitchen.com/about.html

Yesterday was snack day at John T. Tuck school.  We served (surprise!) – Hummus with french green beans, organic baby carrots and Mary’s Rice Crackers.  A hit overall, especially with the younger students.  What was interesting to me is that a couple of the moms commented that they considered raw green beans to be an “odd” choice for a snack.  Surprising?  No, but it still a little discouraging to see such old fashioned thinking.  In all honesty, the green beans were a bigger hit than the all too familiar baby carrots.

I so didn’t see that rant coming….but I feel a little more on it’s way….

For me, there really isn’t anything “odd” about eating a raw vegetable – even one that is typically eaten cooked.  But that’s me.  From where I’m standing (on my apparent high horse at the moment), this is the proverbial miss in why there are so many picky eaters out there.  Well intended parents feeding their children only a handful of choices (albeit healthy ones) because “it’s what they like”.  Sadly, what they are creating is a limited pallet reluctant to trying new things.  What they are missing is introducing their children to so many more wonderful flavours, textures and nutrients.  A shame really.

Rant complete.

I guess that’s one of the GREAT things about the healthy snack program.  Not only does it offer nutrition, healthful education and sustenance but it also gives some students the opportunity to try something they may have never been introduced to before – like raw green beans.  I can’t tell you the high I get when one of the students approaches me and says, “what were those green things called?  I love them and want my mom to buy them“.  BIG SMILES. Or when a parent writes to me asking what I served at snack because their son or daughter is raving about the new vegetable or fruit they’ve tried.  Awesome, isn’t it?!  I think so.

Lastly, something so important to remember, especially when introducing new foods… everyone EATS WITH THEIR EYES FIRST.  I put it in caps and bold because I think it is so important.  A little more effort, yes, but I really do believe that if it looks good, kids especially, are more apt to try new things.

Go ahead, make it pretty…. have fun with it!

Peace.

When I was in school, I remember any reason to get out of class was exciting, especially when it was as a class, or entire school population!   Popcorn, veggies n’ dip and all your friends watching Toy Story 2 sitting together on the gym floor… for kids, it doesn’t get much better than that!

Last week, John T. Tuck’s snack day fell on the same day as winter carnival movie day.  Since a snack would be offered during the movie, we decided to combine them!  And oh what fun it was!  The veggies and dip were served standing upright in individual dixie cups.  Kirkland brand Ceasar dressing from Costco was the dip at the bottom with cute little carrots and cucumbers poking out the top.  Easy for little hands to carry and eat while sitting with friends (sorry no photo).  On their way into the gym they were also offered individual bags of Kernel’s butter salt popcorn.  Always a favorite!   

BIG kudos to the grades 6-8 students who were my incredible helpers!  You were efficient, energetic and eager!  I really appreciated all your hard work.  And the most impressive part was your awareness to what needed to be done and doing it …. sweeping up the popcorn without being asked – amazing!

And of course… to my steadfast Healthy Snack volunteers – as always, you make any little bump in the road seem like nothing at all.  John T. Tuck’s Healthy Snack Program truly is a community.  How lucky are we!!?

Yesterday at Healthy Snack we served broccoli, cauliflower and carrot sticks along with cheese wiggles (new white cheese curd-like thingies) and crackers.  The grades JK to 5 loved all aspects of the snack, however, the six, sevens and grade eights dissed ALL the veggies.  Really!! This is the second week in a row our fresh veggie offerings have been met with harrumphs and grumbles….I have no idea what has changed!  Hopefully this is only a temporary set back.  Perhaps it is time to survey these grades… ask them what has changed?

Sigh…

Thankfully none of the food goes to waste.  We do pass any leftovers to the Halton Women’s Shelter, who are always happy to receive our produce.

Speaking of waste… I really do not like to see food going to waste.  I am one of those people who thinks of starving children every time I throw food in the recycle bin.  I can still hear my mother repeating over and over again….”do you know how many starving children there are in this world that would give their right arm for that food?!!”

Ah-hem

In keeping with that thought, I couldn’t throw out the broccoli stems left from the lovely flowerettes cut for the children’s snack now could I?  Nope.  I bagged em up, brought em home and made soup!  And Broccoli Stem Soup was born!  YUM!

Broccoli Stem Soup:

• broccoli stems, peeled and rough chopped
• onion
• celery (I used celery root)
• potato
• garlic
• broth
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and cracked black pepper

No measurements here.  Into heated heavy bottom pot add olive oil, onion and celery.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add broccoli and potato.  Cover whole lot with enough broth so that nearly all veggies are submerged.

Bring to boil, stir and reduce heat to medium low.  Cover and cook for 45 miinutes or until all veggies are soft.  Remove from heat and puree (I use a hand blender but you can use your blender if you prefer – if using blender you must let it cool further).

That’s it!  Ladle it up, add salt and pepper to taste, serve with fresh bread, pitas or croutons and side salad.  Dinner is served!  And nothing went to waste )

YUM!

This past Wednesday was the first snack served post  holiday break at John T. Tuck School.  I have found in the past (read Healthy Snack – Veggies and Hummus) that the best intentions aren’t always successful.  When it comes to healthy snack, my best intentions usually include pumping the kids full of essential vitamins and nutritents, especially after a holiday break.   A good idea, yes?  Agreed.  However, it is not always so well received when their pallets have been used to such decadent fare.  When in doubt, go with tried and true. What is the number one most requested snack at John T. Tuck School? – JC’s Bagels and fruit.

Mention this post and receive 8 bagels for the price of 6! (for a limited time only)

If you’ve never tried a JC’s Bagel, you are truly missing out.  They have that perfect texture, chewy, dense (but not too dense), and when toasted create the perfect crunch!  You can dine in JC’s and try one of their made to order bagel sandwiches and home made soup or you can buy bagels to take home.  Joe, one of the owners of JC’s kindly offered this limited time deal.  Just mention this post and receive 8 bagels for the price of 6.  Wonderful!

IDEA!!  Kids lunches are always a struggle… 5 days a week trying to come up with something creative that they will actually eat.  Here is an easy one – simply cut up one of JC’s bagels into quarters (which is how we serve them at school).  Add in some fresh cut up veggies and hummus and fresh fruit and lunch is done!  How easy is that?!

Win win!

Speaking of winning…. Flowfit is doing it’s first GIVEAWAY!!  Respond to this post with your idea of a healthy snack (could even be used at our school!) and one lucky winner will receive a dozen JC’s Bagels delivered right to your door!  Nice!

Another wonderful thing happened last Wednesday while perparing healthy snack.  As the six of us were busily washing, chopping and plating the bagels and fruit, a little knock was heard at the door.  When I opened the door, there were three smiling faces holding handfuls of colourfully decorated paper.  They handed them over explaining they were thank you cards for the volunteers of the healthy snack program.  BIG SMILES!

How AWESOME is that?!  Never underestimate the power of giving thanks.  These lovely little gems were very well received indeed.  We all enjoyed taking a moment to stop and read through the carefully written and decorated cards.  It is nice to know your hard work is appreciated.  Big Thanks right back at ya grade 4′s!!

It’s the week of Halloween, and everyone is excited and chatting about costumes, candy and Halloween tricks. This week’s healthy snack focused not just on healthy choices, but also on fun! The theme was “All About Orange” and gave the kids at John T. Tuck school some fun shapes to be creative with!

What did your little ones come up with?

Our incredible team of volunteers, washed, peeled, and chopped  50 pounds of carrots, washed, cut, scooped, peeled and sliced nearly 50 cantaloupes and opened 40 boxes of Triscuit Sweet Chilli crackers!  What a team!

You might be surprised to hear that every tray from JK through to grade 8 came back with not one piece of cantaloupe.  The cantaloupe was definitely the favourite of the day.  Most of the carrots were gone, and only a few crackers remained.  

Consider shapes, colours and textures when making snacks and lunches… it doesn’t have to be gourmet or fancy for them to eat it.  Sometimes it’s just the simple things that are the biggest hits.  Fresh, simple goodness ;o)

YUM!