Comments (0)

By Emily, August 23, 2010 7:46 am

I hate to break it to you, but it’s just about time to go back to school (if you haven’t gone back already).  I’m not even going to count the days until Brian goes back to work (and hopefully I do too, but I’m still waiting to hear.  Story of my life.)  Let’s just say that high school around here resumes before labor day and that is really freakin’ soon.  I’ll be sad to see summer gone, but I never did feel like I got settled in a routine this summer, and I like teaching, so it’d be nice to get back to work.

Of course, the blogs are all about back to school, because what’s more important than school lunch?  In the past I’ve posted about the issues surrounding school lunches (here and here) and as a teacher who’s into food, it’s still something I’m really interested in.  This post, however, is about going back to school with your own breakfasts, lunches and snacks.

Getting out the door in the morning is not always the easiest thing.  Luckily, Tasty Kitchen has a collection of recipes for breakfast eggs in 20 minutes or less.  (Of course, this would be more appealing if the recent egg recall hadn’t turned me off of eggs, at least for the time being.  But that’s another story.)

Cheap Healthy Good has some interesting ideas about sharing costs and labor with a lunch buddy.  I’d be totally willing to bring in food for other people at school.  Then again, it’s Brian who does all the school lunch making around here, so I probably shouldn’t volunteer.

Mrs. Q on Fed up With Lunch is throwing a “Back-to-school Lunch Revolution Blog Party“.  If you have any interest in school lunch-related issues, you might want to check it out.  If I get my act together (unlikely), I might participate.

Epicurious posted a collection of “the latest and greatest in lunchtime fashions“.  There are some really cute lunchboxes on there.  I’m pretty partial to the Built bag my sister- and brother-in-law bought me for my college graduation.  I’ve used it to carry my lunch to work every day since (over 3 years) and it still looks brand new!  Epicurious also has a back to school guide featuring recipes, snacks, quick dinner ideas and more.

The Kitchn also has their list of the Top 3 Eco-Lunchboxes.

Jill Richardson asks “Senate Passes Child Nutrition Bill: Now What?” (on MarkBitman.com)

From Planet Green: 40 Healthy School Lunch Recipes to Make for Your Kids and Make “Real Food” Versions of These Popular Snack Foods (I may actually try some of these…)

Not going back to school?  Don’t worry.  Serious Eats has all you need to know to throw a lunch lady potluck. :)

What was your favorite school lunch?

(Almost) Every Sunday, I choose a theme and highlight blog posts, websites and news articles from my Google Reader which I found interesting (and hope you do too!) If you want more reading, check out “What I’m Reading” on my sidebar.  And don’t forget to add Relishments to your reader or like Relishments on Facebook!

Comments (0)

By Emily, July 27, 2010 8:18 pm

Disclaimer: this post isn’t about food.  It’s barely about this site.  It’s mostly about me not wanting to do my work.

Ever visit Wordle?

I hadn’t in a while, but just popped over there as part of a project for work.  I plugged in the URL for Relishments and this is what I got:I really like creating these things.  Larger words are ones which occur more often and you can alter the orientation and color scheme.  Apparently I use the word “kitchen” a lot.  Too much?  How about “post”?  Strangely addicting.  I’ve used Wordle for Christmas cards and my original site header was a Wordle design.  It’s also fun to use in a classroom, which is what I’m supposed to be doing right now.

Instead, I’m seeing what happens when I plug in The Kitchn:

And G4TV (Brian’s suggestion):

Okay…apparently it’s time for me to get back to work.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll post about food.

Comments (0)

By Emily, April 29, 2010 6:46 pm

Shortly after watching the 5th episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, my husband asked if I thought the show was actually going to have any effect.  It’s a version of a conversation we’ve had many times: what difference does one person, whether they’re eating organic, shopping at a farmer’s market, writing a blog or creating a television show, really have on the overall perspectives and eating habits of Americans?

I replied with the same answer I’ve been using for sometime.  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is another addition to the “storm” of information that has the potential to change American diets.

Did I like the show?  Yes. I’m so glad that someone finally created a show on network television that revealed some of the issues in eating today.  I really enjoyed Jamie’s personality and completely respect the work he’s trying to do.  As a teacher, children and school food are topics which are really important to me.  The only thing I didn’t like about the show was that it seemed almost entirely focused on the schools.  I wish Jamie had spent more time with families, or demonstrating healthy cooking, or teaching someone how to grocery shop.

But back to the storm. The show was a mini-series, only 6 episodes long.  Will the show make a difference?  I doubt that cafeterias across the country are suddenly going to stop serving processed food, but I’m sure that at least a handful of people discovered how poor the offerings of many cafeterias are.  Those people may instigate change in their local school system, or start packing healthy lunches for their children.  Those parents, or students, will likely share this information with those around them.  I’ve said it before and I still believe that one of the most effective ways to change people’s minds is personal contact.  I changed my eating habits, shared what I learned with Brian and my family and they’ve made some changes to theirs.  The more people are exposed to healthy eating ideas, and the experience that the food actually tastes good, the more likely they are to change and the more likely we are to see real change in America.  It seems to me that the more changes I make, the more people I meet who are also interesting in changing the food system; the more conversations we have, the more change is going to happen.  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is just one more addition to the storm of information, education and change that has the potential to change the way America eats.

In the event that you missed the series, the finale episode is below.  Check out Hulu for the rest:

If this wasn’t enough commentary for you, here’s some of the latest on Jamie’s show from around the web:

The Atlantic: “School Lunches: Helping Kids Eat Commodities”

SlashFood: Nasty Things Come in Lunch Bags – ‘Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution’

Serious Eats: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Episode 6 Recap

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you can show your support by signing the Food Revolution Petition by clicking the button below:

Comments (0)

By Emily, March 23, 2010 6:09 am

A couple months ago I started getting really excited about Jamie’s Food Revolution, a new TV show coming to ABC.  The excitement started when he won the TED Prize (love TED!) this year.  This video is of TED Prize speech:

And here’s the premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  It’s really good and I’m really excited about the awareness it may be bringing, because awareness is going to bring about change. We can’t leave all the work to Jamie, after all!

Comments (2)

By Emily, January 23, 2010 8:55 am

Brian and I were both sick all week.  That’s my excuse for lack of posts this week.  I wonder what my excuse will be next week :)

This week I got the really cool opportunity to show one of my classes Food, Inc.  Obviously, I was really excited about showing it and even more excited that it was what they’d chosen to watch (from the limited choices I’d offered).  Of course, I wasn’t surprised when they began to freak out a little bit at the information they were receiving.  To me, the information in Food, Inc is kind of old news, but its so cool to see someone hear it for the first time.

In honor of my students and their expanded awareness and the start of a new semester on Monday, this week’s highlights from my Reader are related to schools and the issues presented in the movie.

Highlights for January 17-23: Education

Tom Laskawy has a good opinion piece on Grist this week: Lessons for Schools: Sweetened Junk Shouldn’t Count as Food.  No kidding…and yet, it does!

Obviously some people agree with Laskawy, because Ontario schools will ban junk food starting in September.  Go Canada!

Several blogs have picked up on Fed Up: A School Lunch Project which follows an Illinois teacher as she buys school hot lunch every day.  If you’re not aware of what kids are being served, check it out.

NY Times has a great piece on the dangerous prevalence of snack time, especially among kids.  It is sort of ridiculous when you think about it…

Watching Food, Inc again sent me into another debate with myself over what I should really be eating.  It was really comforting to see that Holly was having a similar debate over a box of Special K bars.  And I probably would make the same choice she did.

Some of my students expressed the suspicion that there’s nothing we can do to change the food system.  I told them that I disagree and I believe the biggest way to create change is to educate our friends and families, one person at a time.  So, if you find any of these links helpful, share them!

Comments (1)

By Emily, June 9, 2009 12:46 pm

Some of you may recall the School Lunch Links post I made on April 1.  The gist of it is that school lunch offerings in this country are pretty awful and there’s legislation being worked on right now to change that.

Honestly, I’d kind of forgotten about it (something about trying to finish out the school year and plan my wedding at the same time…), but there is still stuff happening!

Christie left me a comment on that post today:

Completely agree! That is why I’m pushing people to sign the Child Nutrition Act reauthorizaation petition which asks Congress to remove junk food from schools. If you haven’t already, please sign! I’ve also created a Facebook group for it.
Petition:
http://www.foodincmovie.com/sign-the-petition.php
Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=757915220&ref=name#/pages/Child-Nutrition-Act-reauthorization-petition/93888175682?ref=ts

Well, you heard her.  If you support the Child Nutrition Act, click the above link, sign the petition and get involved in improving the food provided to our youth.

Comments (0)

By Emily, April 7, 2009 7:45 pm

Your Score: 55
You’re a Discerning Diner. You know what you like and it often includes gussied-up grub. But you’re just as happy scarfing a Papaya Dog any day of the week.

Really? I think I may be a bit more of a snob than that, but…quizzes are quizzes (therefore I must take them!)

In other news, the highlight of my day (week, month, year?) was that Mark Bittman (@bittman) retweeted my “Vegetarianism: an Eating Disorder” blog post, and its up to 243 views! Thanks to all those who are reading!  I realize this blog has been evolving, and I appreciate your readership.  And some day, I may stop talking about Mark Bittman so much.  Maybe.

Also exciting: the fact that I’ll be sharing my vegetarian lunch of the week, Sage-Mushroom Barley modified from The Flexitarian Diet, with one of the teachers at school tomorrow, since she’s vegetarian and I made way too much (what else is new?).  It’ll be nice to share with a vegetarian, instead of my parents who are still perplexed by this change in my eating habits.

Comments (3)

By Emily, April 1, 2009 9:08 am

Mark Bittman tweeted this great link this morning regarding school lunches.  I completely agree with Gehry Oatey’s post, especially this line:

Tellingly, I rarely see any teachers eating the school lunch. Seems strange that this needs to be said, but if it’s not good enough for us, why do we give it to our students? This isn’t just about a stale peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it’s about social justice.

As I mentioned before, the school lunch issue is a big one. I suspect that no educator reading the “Teacher, Revised” blog post would be surprised by its content (at least, I’m not), but it’s refreshing to see someone outside of education who has lots of “foodie” connections making themselves aware of the issue and sharing it on Twitter.  The accompanying class blog, 510 Eats Well, features student comments and insight–why are we feeding our students so poorly? What sort of message and model does it give students when we feed them junk? I think Oatey is genius–way to involve students in the process of creating change to benefit them!

The blog mentions legislation proposed late last year, but I used THOMAS to see what else what happening on the school lunch front. The most exciting result was the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2009.  We need to “amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966″? You think?! 1966?!  The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Add to my to do list: Compose a letter to the Committee members, further educate myself on this issue

Comments (0)

By Emily, March 12, 2009 9:31 pm

Food and Fads: When I started this blog, I just wanted to write and share with the world my thoughts on “stuff”.  A week later I got the inspiration to write about food, it made sense: I was watching ridiculous amounts of Food Network television, beginning to cook for myself and was reading lots of inspiring food blogs.  I like food.

It’s a bit surprising to find myself, three months later, a disciple of the current big “food fad.” (which is to say, “the thing everyone is talking about,” not “the thing that’s not going to last”)   It’s really strange, because I usually work hard to buck trends. I still haven’t seen the Lord of the Rings movies or read the Twilight books primarily because everyone else has.  I just like to be contrary.  But it suddenly seems like I’m running into vegetarians all over the place and everyone is talking about flexitarianism and here I am, ranting and raving about not eating meat (though I still do) and cooking food with barley and beans and wondering how on earth that happened.  It’s just so unlike me.  I used to eat so much junk and now I’ve changed my habits dramatically.  Its like I don’t recognize myself.  Part of me wonders if one day soon I’ll wake up and go back to eating roast beef sandwiches and candy bars for lunch.

:Teaching and Twitter…

Comments (0)

By Emily, February 27, 2009 10:16 pm

I posted some of my thoughts on the current school lunches discussion last week.  Meanwhile, the discussion rages on in the blogging world and I’m finally catching up with it.  (I have way too many subscriptions in my RSS reader)

Timing is everything and it appears that Alice Waters just came out with a new book in December highlighting her views: Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea.   Esther Sung on Epicurious gives it a glowing review.  I’ll add Edible Schoolyard it to the bottom of my very long reading list.  At the moment, I think I’m too cynical to handle it, plus I’ve already got a million other books to read.  But if you’ve read it, let me know how it is.

Meanwhile, the folks at The Internet Food Association have been going back and forth about whether The Pretentious is the Enemy of the Good (how can we easily and simply achieve our goals?),  The Problem of Pretension (what is the goal of all this proposed change, anyway?), and, my favorite, Of Pragmatism, Pretension and $5 School Lunches.  Therein Sara Mead seems to compromise the ideas of the other posts and notes that  “Any scalable solution to this problem (and to have impact it has to be scalable) must involve a combination of both some of the things Ezra and Waters want (more fresh fruits and vegetables, more intensive and local-level preparation of food) and more creative use of mass produced and prepackaged foods that both are healthy AND appealing to kids.”  Right on.  I also much appreciate her separating the fact that schools need to provide students with healthy lunches (a la Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs) and the need to educate students about healthy eating.  Sara is right: schools are asked to do an awful lot these days and as an educator, I’m not sure most of us are up for teaching cooking classes as well.

At any rate, the debate rages on and I’m still not settled on what I think.  There’s a lot of variables: How much will this really cost?  Is the food actually going to be local and organic (and is that good or bad)?  Who is going to make these decisions–local schools, states, federal government?  We’ll see.

Finally, as much as I think something (but I’m still not sure what) should be done about school lunches,  is  it possible to take it too far and cause children to become overly anxious, as this NY Times article about overly cautious parents suggests?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk]