by Gina Lindow
 My gramma Bernice. She taught me everything I know about cooking.
She instilled in me a sense of wonder about food, about preparing food, about enjoying food. There was always enough for everyone. Even if someone showed up unexpectedly, there was food enough for them too.
I remember sitting on the counter while she peeled potatoes and her letting me eat the peelings. I remember her teaching me how to cut the crust and lay the lattice strips for a cherry pie from the tree that sometimes showed its first bloom on my birthday. How to fry up a chicken and lay out the meal, all as folks were sitting down. …Shucking corn and snapping beans, out on the porch of the old house in the heat of the summer. Watching as she canned peaches, or salted down the cucumbers so we’d have pickles. I would pick mounds of blackberries and she would make me a cobbler (with less sugar, cause she knew I liked it tart) and she’d make up the rest into jam.
My own granddaughters now help me in the kitchen, gathering the tools and ingredients. The girls are still little, so I find tasks that suit each one. They love cracking the eggs, grating the cheese, squeezing the lemon, and most especially, “stirring.” They also like to help choose a tomato, or to pick some herbs – whether in the backyard, at the local grower’s markets or along the path.
When I entered an online contest for Stonyfield Organic Oikos yogurt the other day, I got to thinking about my gramma, and how she affected my approach to food. The question was … “From whom did you inherit your gene for cooking or eating?”
 Two of the author's grandchildren, learning the lessons passed down from one generation to the next. When I was a kid, there was no such thing as “organic.” I don’t even remember fresh juice. My mom didn’t share gramma Bernice’s love for preparing food. It was the 70′s: women were working, and processed, packaged foods were all the rage. Time savers in an increasingly hectic world. My mom worked and went to school, as did my dad. Quick meals and “T.V. Dinners” were the norm at our house.
Even so, we never had to buy jam growing up, and we always went to gramma and grampa’s for a big supper on Sunday afternoons. Oh how I looked forward to spending the night with my grandparents, going grocery shopping with them on Saturday, wandering their property, climbing fences to get to the creek, picking berries, helping my grampa in the garden and my gramma in the kitchen.
Holidays were the hardest time after my gramma passed. She was the heart, the soul of the family. But over the years, we have developed new traditions. My daughter has inherited the love of preparing beautiful meals, and of making cakes and desserts from scratch. As a child, her favorite thing was her great-gramma making her pancakes from scratch. In the 80′s we didn’t have a car, so she and I hauled our groceries home in the little red wagon, shopped at the local co-op and made simple meals with ingredients that we could afford. In the 90′s, my partner and I started one of the first organic CSA’s in the Rogue valley where we live in Southern Oregon. I helped on the farm, and worked full time at the local Co-Op.
Now in my 40′s, I cherish having my granddaughters over. When it’s time to cook, the question is always “gramma, can we help?”
I realize now that my own gramma never really “taught” me anything. Rather, I stood beside her as we prepared the food. In those moments, I “learned” everything I ever needed to know.
Gina Lindow is the mother of one and the grandmother of three lovely girls. A lifelong resident of the beautiful Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, Gina has worked in the natural products industry for more than twenty years as a buyer and manager and most recently as a writer and consultant. She loves the Blues, good food, camping and gardening. She currently lives with her partner Russ and three cats in Talent, Oregon.
By Valerie Deneen
 It’s that time of the year when you may want to consider starting a garden, and you should! It’s true that gardening with small children in tow can have its challenges. But gardening also provides virtually limitless learning opportunities for children and adults alike, so here are five easy tips for planning a garden with your kiddos:
1. Start Small & Keep It Simple
Gardening does not need to be done with a lot of land, since many vegetables and herbs can be successfully grown in containers. For those just starting out, try a small garden with just a few easy-to-grow vegetables. Keeping it simple will be less stressful for you and will help ensure some early growing success for your garden.
2. Use a Kid-Friendly Layout
Some kid-friendly garden designs include: raised beds or containers, square-foot gardening, or planting in rows that allow plenty of walking room in-between. If possible, designate a small area of the garden for your child to experiment with his or her own mini-garden, and to grow whatever he or she would like.
3. Give Kids Tools of Their Own
Consider buying some kid-sized gardening tools to further encourage children to have an active role in the garden. Many can be found inexpensively in stores like Target or even the dollar store. Some tools you may want to start out with include: kid-sized gardening gloves, shovel, cultivator, and watering can.
4. Choose Plants that Grow Easily
 Picking plants that grow easily allows kids to have the joy of success, which makes it more likely they’ll catch the gardening bug. These vegetables, flowers, and herbs are great for those who are new to gardening: lettuce, sunflowers, basil, peas, carrots, marigolds, cherry (or grape) tomatoes, parsley, and onions.
5. Decorate the Garden
Another way to include the kids in this early stage of gardening is to decorate the garden with seed markers, colorful banners, or other garden crafts. One year, we made a special garden banner to welcome all of our plants and make our garden fun and colorful. If you’d like to try this fun and easy project with your own children, the instructions are can be found here.
http://innerchildfun.com/2010/06/easy-garden-welcome-banner.html
Have fun gardening with your kids!!
Valerie Deneen is the author of Inner Child Fun, a blog filled with inexpensive craft and activity ideas, money saving tips, and all around good times on a budget. She loves sewing, digital photography, organic tea, dark chocolate, gardening, clipping coupons, bourbon, knitting, graphic design, and cooking. Valerie is a graduate of Bucknell University, a former senior software engineer, and now a stay-at-home mom.
 Over the years, we’ve connected with so many amazing blogger moms. Many of these women wanted to know more about the food they feed their families and we wanted a way to empower them with information and continue the dialogue on healthy eating. We are all trying to communicate the same message: We’re invested in feeding our families in a healthy way, and in order to do so, we need to know what’s in the food we’re eating. As a result, the Yo-Getters ambassador group was born!
We wanted to get to know this passionate group of moms better so what better way than to highlight a new Yo-Getter each month! Our latest Yo-Getter under the spotlight is Amelia Winslow from Eating Made Easy.
Amelia is a nutritionist, foodie, and new mom who believes healthy eating should be fun and easy, not stressful or overwhelming. That’s why she started Eating Made Easy, a site that answers your food & nutrition questions and offers practical tips to make eating at home easier. Next time you feel confused about what to eat, where to shop, how to cook, or what to buy, head to Eating Made Easy to get Amelia’s trusted, science-based advice!
Chandra Carson: Thanks for joining me Amelia! Can you tell our readers a little about yourself and your family?
Amelia Winslow: I’m a nutritionist, self-taught chef, blogger at Eating Made Easy, wife of an elementary school PE teacher, Tyler, and mom of 1-year-old Lucy (still can’t believe she’s ONE!). We live in Hermosa Beach, CA, which is just about the best beach town on earth if you ask me 
CC: Can you also describe your blog and what inspires your posts?
AW: Eating has become complicated, confusing, and overwhelming, which is the opposite of how I believe it should be. I started Eating Made Easy so that busy people would have a place to find reliable, science-based information about nutrition and practical tips that make healthy eating easier. Every time I sit down to do a post, my goal is to write about the topic in a way that will make my readers’ lives easier, healthier, and more enjoyable.
CC: What do you like to do when you’re not blogging?
AW: I love taking weekend walks with Tyler and Lucy, going to country music concerts, doing crossword puzzles, singing karaoke, and reading anything that will make me a little smarter.
CC: What are your favorite meals to cook?
AW: My go-to meal is always salad. There are so many different possibilities when it comes to salad, and with minimal effort you can have a healthy meal on the table in minutes. To make dinnertime salad preparation easier and faster, I buy pre-washed bagged greens, then add a protein source and whatever cooked grains, veggies, fruits, nuts, cheese, or fresh herbs I have on-hand. Some of my tastiest salads are born out of trying to use up what I have in the fridge.
CC: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
AW: I’ve been pondering this question since I could first form thoughts, and I’ve never been able to get it down to just one. So I have a top 3 that never waivers: sourdough bread with butter, Greek salad, and yogurt. Between those 3 foods I would be satisfied for life!
CC: Yum! And can you share any tips for getting kids to eat healthy?
AW: My biggest tip is very simple: don’t make food a big deal. If your kid won’t eat something, try again later. If your kid wants to eat the same thing over and over, let him. As long as you’re providing a healthy food environment at home, I think letting your children make choices about when, what, and how much they eat is the best way to encourage a long-term healthy relationship with food. And as much as possible, model good eating behavior by eating healthy yourself.
CC: So what are your top 3 organic food must-haves?
AW: Top 3 organic must-haves: Organic dairy, meat, and eggs. Because if I’m choosing to eat animals and animal products, I at least want to know that the animals were raised in a healthy, humane way that encourages sustainability. I buy other things organic whenever possible, but dairy, meat, and eggs are non-negotiable for me when eating at home.
CC: Name 5 items you never leave home without.
AW: Lucy (!!), sunglasses, a snack, my phone, and a little container of rainbow sprinkles- in case a vanilla ice cream opportunity arises 
CC: What is your favorite Stonyfield product/flavor?
AW: Please don’t make me choose just one!! Ok, I think it’s a tie between Plain Oikos and Minty Chocolate Chip frozen yogurt.
CC: Thanks so much Amelia! And where can our readers follow you?
AW: At Eating Made Easy, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Look forward to “meeting” you there!
 by Terra Wellington
I recently attended a foodie culture event. The eclectic, attentive crowd got an entertaining kick listening to stories about three-year-old European beets delicacies and food theatrics using Gorgonzola volleyballs. But in spite of the out-there cuisine curiosities, the highbrow conversation continually circled back to family, conversation, sustainability, relationships, and the soul of food.
Even though I grew up as a meat-and-potatoes girl eating typical Western pioneer fare, the joy of seasonal is in my veins. There were always unlimited tomatoes from the garden come August and September, as well as boxes of fruit my mother would collect from downstate each fall. I have many memories of bottling fruit up for the winter and enjoying delicious, wholesome food months later.
Somehow this childhood relationship with food was lost in my 20’s – I don’t know what happened. But a move to California changed all that.
Maybe it was the sun, the engagement with the outdoors, or maybe it was just the artsy crowd I ran with. But, within a few months, I got hooked on going to my farmers market every week. I kept returning, initially, because the food just tasted better; later, because I wholeheartedly grasped the larger vision of regional farming, organics, and what that meant for my family, my children, and my community.
Lately, I feel like I’m coming full circle. An organic apple that had a little bug bite brought back memories of eating pears when I was three. Thank heavens there are a few bugs where my apples and pears have come from – it means there’s some living ecology on that farm.
This winter’s organic, three-legged carrots have swept me up into thoughts of fall backyard harvest when I was 10 – every veggie I picked or pulled was unique. My husband and I love buying up those one-of-a-kind veggies just to prove a point to our kids that real food is fun and showcases nature’s beauty.
I’ve watched the care farmers take in showing off their product at the market booth, like they’re selling off their protected babies. And that mindfulness, in turn, makes me want to care too. I can return to the grower the next week and give a compliment that will matter, ask any questions with immediate answers, and learn about what foods are coming up on a yearly cycle.
I’m proud to say that my food isn’t just a functional part of my life or just a delicacy. Rather, my food has soul — rooted in the changing seasons, drawing from nearby dirt, and is connected to me through a community story.
Here are some tips on bringing soul to your dinner plate:
- Look for story goodness: Anytime you can learn about the story of your food, and have that story rooted in a sustainable practice, it’s worth talking about in the kitchen and at the dinner table. Story enriches the food experience and gives soul to your food. Goodness is found in regionality, seasonality, organics, your own backyard garden, and small farmer relationships.
- Cherish uniqueness: If your food is distinctive because of look, taste, variety, harvest cycle its picked in, or regional characteristics/availability – these are all ways you can ignite conversation about what you eat and infuse soul into your food.
- Develop seasonal traditions: Make it a tradition to buy seasonal food so that your food is connected with a year-long cycle of life. This not only breaks up the eating-rut monotony but also adds specialness to what you eat and forces you to try new tastes and combinations. When you add emotional value and memories to your food, you create traditions that can span generations.
A little more about Terra: Given her enthusiasm for wellness and lifestyle topics, Terra Wellington has been a popular guest on such programs as Chicago’s WGN, The Daily Buzz, The Montel Williams Show, WCBS’ This Morning, and also at Martha Stewart Radio. For Earth Day 2009, St. Martin’s Press released her much-publicized book, “The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home.” Terra is the former wellness editor of Fit Body and Real and has contributed to Los Angeles Family Magazine, DietsinReview.com, FocusOrganic.com, TheGreenParent.com, and Aisle7’s syndicated healthy living content. Plus, she’s an actress and mom. More at www.terrawellington.com.
|
|
