Dharma Feast Cookbook (56 page)
Read Dharma Feast Cookbook Online
Authors: Theresa Rodgers
Children in Japan take a “bento box” to school. It is a Japanese lunch box which is fun to open and take apart and has lots of little compartments that make cut vegetables look inviting. Packaging goes a long way, especially for children. You can order good-quality metal bento boxes online at
www.justbento.com/bento-boxes-week-stain-less-steel
or
www.lunchbots.com.
If your school permits their use, glass containers are a healthier option than plastic bags and containers:
www.locknlockplace.com/
or www. pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageld=14 are good sources.
Raw Vegetable Ideas
| • | Fennel. Cut into strips. This vegetable tastes sweet and a lot of children like it. |
| • | Celery sticks |
| • | Snap peas |
| • | Kohlrabi. Peel it, cut it in half, and then cut it either in slices or in pieces. It is mild and nicely crunchy so many children like it. |
| • | Carrot sticks. Instead of including the well-known small, peeled carrots that you can buy in the grocery store, send a whole carrot that has its green attached. Bringing a vegetable in its natural state (or close to it) can intrigue the other children at school. The child of a friend did this. His classmates were mightily impressed (having never seen such an “original” carrot), asked lots of questions about the carrot, and then actually tried it. He was inspired to bring in lots of vegetables after this, and lunchtime for him became like a show-and-tell opportunity. |
| • | Cucumber sticks |
| • | Red and yellow peppers cut in strips |
| • | Radishes |
| • | Cherry tomatoes |
Fruit Ideas
| • | Apples: |
| — Slice apples and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon. Send along a small packet of additional cinnamon, so the child can add more to taste. The cinnamon brings out the sweetness of the apples. | |
| — Slice apples, sprinkle with lemon juice for freshness, and spread almond butter on the side. | |
| • | Cut up different fruit and put on skewers |
| • | Fruit salad in small containers (see Fruit Salad in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Orange slices, grapes, berries in small containers |
| • | Banana with a small container of gomasio (see Gomasio in Recipes, Chapter 5 ). The banana can be dipped into the gomasio or sliced and sprinkled with gomasio. |
Thermos Smoothies
You can switch up the ingredients of this smoothie in many ways. Our favorites include combinations of:
| • | Frozen banana |
| • | Frozen berries |
| • | Fresh apple |
| • | Plain yogurt |
| • | Almond or other nut milk (see Grain and Nut Milks in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | A dash of honey, cinnamon, vanilla |
For extra punch:
| • | 1 teaspoon ground flax seed |
| • | 1 teaspoon ground sesame seed |
| • | a dash of Udo’s or fish oil (beware—fish oil can taste or smell “fishy") |
| • | 1 teaspoon dried kelp |
| • | 1 teaspoon green powder |
You can also use any of the recipes from the Smoothies section.
Main Dish Ideas
| • | Brown rice, roasted sunflower seeds, and tahini sauce (see Roasted Sunflower Seeds and Tahini Sauce in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Tzaziki sauce and whole-wheat pita bread cut into triangles (see Tzaziki Sauce in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Hummus and whole-wheat pita bread cut into triangles (see Hummus or Fluffy Hummus in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Organic soft goat cheese and cucumbers sticks rolled up in a whole-wheat or rice tortilla |
| • | Cornbread and pesto (see Cornbread and Pesto in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Potato salad—cubed boiled potatoes, chopped pickles and celery, and Simple Vinaigrette (see Simple Vinaigrette in Salads in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Nori “burritos"—strips of nori with the following rolled in: nut butter, tahini, or refried beans. To seal the roll, run wet fingers down the last bit of unrolled edge and press against body of roll. |
| • | Peas with olive oil and sea salt |
| • | Sautéed soft parsnips and/or carrots with parsley, sea salt, and garlic |
| • | Crispy shallots—shallots sautéed in oil and salt until they get crispy. They go over surprisingly well. |
| • | Hand-cut sweet potato fries or sweet potato chips fried in palm oil. This turns a junk food into a healthier food. |
| • | Brown rice pasta with Marinara Sauce (see Marinara Sauce, in Sauces, Spreads, and Dips in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Confetti Rice: In a food processor, chop raw broccoli, carrot, onion, cabbage, and a handful of greens. Sauté this mixture in oil or organic butter. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, tamari, and/or any others your child may enjoy) to taste. Toss with cooked brown rice, adjust seasonings. Serve warm in thermos or cold. |
Soups
In general when making soup for children, puree vegetables into a smooth soup either in a blender or with a stick blender.
Some options:
| • | Vegetable Broth (puree the vegetables) with small whole-wheat noodles (see Vegetable Broth in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Carrot Almond Soup (see Soups in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | German Hokkaido Pumpkin Soup, well pureed (see Soups in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Miso Soup with Udon Noodles. Cook Udon noodles according to instruction on the package and add to soup (see Miso Soup in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Tomato Coconut Soup (see Soups in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Green Soup: Coarsely chop one head of cauliflower and the same amount of broccoli (heads and stems). Put in a soup pot with 2–3 inches of water. Steam until tender. |
| | When soft, add two cups vegetable broth. Puree vegetables and vegetable broth, adding more liquid as desired. Add seasonings to taste. |
| | Keep warm in a thermos. |
Sandwiches/Wraps
Sushi Sandwich
Prepare sushi rice according to instructions on package—generally one cup water to one cup rice. Lay out a sheet of nori seaweed (the kind used for sushi), fill the middle of it with a small amount of rice. Hollow out a bit of room in the middle of the rice and place raw vegetables inside, topped with umeboshi plum paste or with some other sauce, if you like. Then wrap the nori around the rice, creating a square brick-like sandwich.
Pinwheels
Fill a tortilla with colorful foods your child likes, then roll it, slice it, and place it in a container so you can see the spiraled contents. Fillings can include:
Soft goat cheese, cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, shredded carrots (slice with peeler so carrots
are thin and flexible), thin-sliced olives, hummus (see
Sauces, Spreads, and Dips
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
) or Olive tapenade (see
Tapenade
in
Sauces, Spreads, and Dips
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
)
Cookie Cutter Sandwich
Children like interesting shapes. Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into different shapes! Sprouted bread is the healthiest choice. Use ingredients that can be cut easily such as:
Hummus or soft goat cheese with chopped fresh herbs (see
Hummus
or
Fluffy Hummus
in
Sauces, Spreads, and Dips
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
), cucumber slices, lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes, almond butter and honey (see Roasted Almond Butter in
Nuts and Seeds
in
Recipes,
Chapter 5
) or avocado
Snack Ideas
| • | Olives |
| • | Pickles |
| • | Nori sheets |
| • | Organic corn tortilla chips and salsa (see Fresh Tomato Salsa in Sauces, Spreads, and Dips in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Kefir |
| • | Homemade Granola and yogurt (pack separately in a small jar) (see Above the Line Granola and Yogurt in Fermented Foods in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Pretzel sticks and almond butter (see Roasted Almond Butter in Nuts and Seeds in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Slices of goat cheese and brown rice or whole-grain crackers |
| • | Hummus and brown rice crackers (see Hummus or Fluffy Hummus in Sauces, Spreads, and Dips in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Guacamole and brown rice or whole-grain crackers (see Guacamole in Sauces, Spreads, and Dips in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Rice cakes and goat cheese or almond butter (see Roasted Almond Butter in Nuts and Seeds in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Kale Chips (see Kale Chips in Vegetables in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Sliced cucumbers or cucumber salad (see Cucumber Salad in Salads and Dressings in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Cucumber Tomato Salad (see Salads and Dressings in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Raisins and almonds |
| • | Roasted Sunflower Seeds (see Nuts and Seeds in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | Mochi. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice—not to be confused with gluten; this is a gluten-free food—that was pounded into paste and molded into shape. It can be bought frozen. Cut into bite-sized strips, bake, and serve with butter and honey. |
| • | Popcorn |
Perfect Popcorn
In these days of microwaves, making popcorn “the old-fashioned way” is an opportunity to include your children, so they get to see the process! Make plenty of it, because bowls of fresh popcorn get emptied surprisingly fast.
Serves 2, prep time 10 minutes. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, 1/3 cup organic popcorn kernels, 2 tablespoons butter or to taste, Salt to taste.
Heat oil in a 3-quart covered saucepan on mediumhigh heat.
Put 4 popcorn kernels in and cover. When kernels pop, add all popcorn kernels in an even layer.
Cover, remove from heat, and count 30 seconds. (Count out loud; it’s fun to do this with children.)
Return pan to the heat. The popcorn should begin popping soon and all at once. Once the popping really starts, gently shake the pan by moving it back and forth over the burner. Keep the lid slightly ajar to let steam from the popcorn release (this makes it drier and crisper). Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and dump the popcorn immediately into a big bowl.
With this technique the oil is heated to the right temperature. Waiting 30 seconds brings the kernels to a near-popping temperature so when they are returned to the heat, they all pop at about the same time, resulting in nearly all of the kernels popping and nothing burning.
If you are adding butter, you can easily melt it by placing the butter in the now-empty but hot pan.
Salt to taste.
Tips:
Add salt to the oil in the pan before popping. When the popcorn pops, the salt will be distributed throughout the popcorn.
Fun toppings—Spanish smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, cayenne powder, chili pepper, curry powder, cumin, Braggs.
Healthy Treat Ideas
| • | Dried fruits: mango, banana, papaya, apricots (make sure they are sulphur-free), dates, figs, pineapple |
| • | Freeze-dried strawberries |
| • | Date Nut Balls (see Desserts in Recipes, Chapter 5 ) |
| • | "Parfait" |
