During Eat This! Summer Camp, in addition to lessons in the kitchen and garden, campers learn how food is marketed to them to be smart consumers and make healthier food choices. To drive home the concepts, each camp session creates an original food product, from recipe to product name, slogan and packaging. After learning how various marketing tactics are used at the store, campers presented their creations to Revival Market, who selected their favorite goodie to produce and sell in the store.
Last year’s winner? Chocolate-Chip Kale Cookies! Made with wholesome ingredients, the sweet treats are packed with nutrient-dense kale for an extra dose of goodness.
Watch S2P Instructor Chef Susie Mullen and her daughter whip up a batch. Then, head to the kitchen to make your own!
Watch more From Our Kitchen cooking videos on our YouTube Channel.
For the 2014 VegOut! Challenge, Amy Anton, Houston mom of three boys, shares a favorite recipe of her eldest, which just happens to be a simple and tasty way to check kale off of your Veggie Log, as well as a way to get the kids in the kitchen.
When I picked up my twelve-year-old from camp last year, the first thing he asked for was a Kale Caesar Salad. Wow, you might think, what an enlightened child, what a lucky mom. In some ways yes, in others, I just chuckle.
Kale is the super food of the year, on every menu in town, and, really yummy, but that is not why he loves it. He loves kale because it is a hearty leaf that can stand up to a serious Caesar dressing with a flurry of cheese, and still have fortitude. There’s no limp, watery lettuce here. It’s just stiff greens with briny anchovies, tart lemon, and the nutty goodness of parmesan. If that’s what it takes for him to inhale an entire bunch of kale, so be it. There are a couple tricks we have learned along the way that make the salad the success that it is.
First, hold the rib of the kale in one hand and, with a sharp knife, just cut down the rib to remove the leaf. The rib is too bitter and hard to eat most of the time. Then chop chop chop all of the kale into fine pieces.
The recipe for the dressing is below, but we have a couple pointers. For one, mellowing the garlic in the lemon juice is a good thing, as it removes the raw garlic taste you would have otherwise. Also, don’t be shy with the anchovies. Ashton has been known to slip in 6-8 anchovies! He likes strong flavors.
And last, massage the kale. Kids love to get their hands dirty, so this is fun for an idle child begging for dinner now. Massaging the dressing into the leaves with your hands really makes a difference. The kale needs to be persuaded into accepting the dressing, melding the flavors into one.
There are also endless possibilities for add-ins: tart cherries, avocado, pepitas, slivered almonds, thinly sliced radish… you name it.
Ashton’s Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For dressing:
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1-2 lemons
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1 T Dijon mustard
2 anchovy filets
Yolk of 1 egg
1/2 C grape seed oil (or other mild flavored oil)
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
For salad:
1 head kale
Add-ins (optional)
Directions
Juice the lemon, mince the garlic and combine, letting them sit in a small mixing bowl while you chop the kale.
Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, anchovies, and egg yolk.
Slowly add the oil while whisking constantly.
Whisk in the the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour desired amount of dressing over kale and massage it into the leaves.
Let dressed salad sit, covered, in the fridge for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
Top with desired add-ins, if using, and serve!
Try Ashton’s recipe and let us know what you think, or share YOUR favorite ways to eat kale below.
This March, Recipe for Success Foundation will host its second-annual VegOut! 30 Ways in 30 Days Challenge, motivating folks to eat 30 different vegetables in 30 days during National Nutrition Month. Bustling schedules and picky palettes can make the task of nourishing a family an uphill battle, so how do you get your brood to eat 30 different vegetables period, much less within one month?
Houston mom Amy Anton has a plan.
30 Ways in 30 what!?! There is no way I can do it again this year. I have three boys who will eat some veggies, but certainly not 30, and we have school, and homework, and lacrosse… and busy lives!
But this is important.
OK, breathe, and make a plan of attack.
March is busy with sports and we have a whole week off at spring break, during which we will be eating out a lot. I think I will frontload to get as many veggies as I can in during the first two weeks. That way, I can relax and we can have fun with the Challenge in the second half of the month. After all, it’s “an easy, delicious food adventure”, it’s supposed to be fun!
So, what to start with? Salads. Remember, salad dressing can be a friend, and if I make a yummy dressing or grate in some parmesan, they will usually eat it all. Possibilities are endless there. If I am really in a pinch, I can run to the salad bar and load up on already chopped goodies.
Then, I can alternate with a huge pan of roasted veggies – squash, zucchini, cauliflower and bell peppers. Just toss with some olive oil and a roast in a 375 degree oven, and there’s four more to add to the Veggie Log.
Add my oldest child’s favorite, Kale Caesar, to the list, maybe even with sliced radishes, and we’re on our way! Stay tuned for Ashton’s recipe for Kale Caesar. It’s a keeper!
How will YOU tackle the 2014 VegOut! Challenge? Tell us in the comments!
VegOut! HERE partner Piatto wants to help you eat your veggies this month. Each week, they’re offering two veggie sides to accompany their Special of the Day and Fish of the Day. Menu looks tasty, take a look!
As a mother to two little ones, Becky Flechsig over at Raising Texas has taken on the 2014 VegOut! Challenge to her tool box to help raise a family who enjoys healthy foods, with more fun and less stress.
Join her on their food adventure this March…
I am now feeding real food to two little mouths. Now more than ever I am reminded about how passionate I am about telling all of you (and anyone else who will listen) that kids don’t have to hate healthy foods. Starting them out on the right path can lead to a future of loving healthy, easy foods. Having the right mind set can make this easier on everyone.
Some days my daughter loves cauliflower. The next day she might not want to eat it. We don’t ever take anything off of the menu. And thanks to this handy post from July, meal time is more relaxed in our house. Per point number four, when it comes to meal time, we decide the what, when, and where and the kids decide the whether and how much. When it can be that easy, it is. Sometimes it isn’t. And when you feel like you are wasting uneaten food, you might be. I need sanity right now, not to stress over a half-eaten meal.
So to kick off what I am officially calling a blog comeback, our family is going to VegOut! with Recipe for Success. During the month of March we will eat 30 vegetables in 30 days. To be honest, we eat a decent amount of vegetables regularly, but we will run out and will then be faced with a challenge. We’ll be shopping around for new things we’ve never had and hitting up our favorite farmer’s market to see what is in season.
I’m also giving a decent amount of ownership in this endeavor to my almost three-year-old. I want to show her how exciting it is to try new things, and then she gets to rate her veggies. So if she doesn’t like something, that’s fine too. It’s all about being open to new foods and new things.
Tonight we went over the chart and ran through the veggie suggestions. We highlighted the things we have eaten already and circled items that are new. She is currently most excited about filling out the chart. Kids love charts. So do I. Win on the chart, guys. At the end of this adventure we get to turn in our filled-out chart and we might win something. You know, beyond the grand prize of winning a healthy and varied diet.
Here is some more great news… YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO REGISTER! And you should. Of all the food challenges to do for yourself and/or your family, this might be the easiest. You just might not know that yet.
Hopefully, if you don’t take the challenge now, following along with us will help you realize how easy it is to incorporate vegetables into your daily life. This is a challenge you could take on your own at any time. But if you want to be official, it starts March 1. I would love for you to join me and let me know what veggies you are trying, and if you are loving or hating them.
