We were inspired by a recent New York Times magazine which carries an excellent section on different kinds of soup recipes. We tweaked it a little bit and substituted a few ingredients with what we had on hand. Still, it turned out great!

Ingredients

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cup organic chicken broth
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped (we got it from our vegetable garden)
• 1 bag of spinach, washed and chopped (8-10 oz)
• 1 cup yogurt

Method

Put chopped onions, garlic, water and chicken broth in a pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and let it simmer covered, until onion is tender. Add spinach and parsley and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add yogurt and puree in a blender. Garnish with a spoonful of yogurt and chopped parsley.

Serve hot with pita bread or naan.

Enjoy!

©2011 Littlestomaks.com

Börek is similar to spanakopita except it is not presented in a triangular shape and has a few more layers of the phyllo dough pastry. It makes a delicious, healthy snack or an appetizer before the main meal. Enjoy and let us know how it turns out if you give it a try!

Ingredients

• 1 box of phyllo dough sheets (Athens brand)
• 1 bag baby spinach, washed and chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, crushed in a food processor
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 egg
• Shredded cheese, cheddar, mozzarella or feta
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Prepare spinach filling: Add about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and saute onions over low-medium heat. Press chopped spinach to remove excess water before adding to the pan. Saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare liquid mix: Add milk, yogurt and a little bit of shredded cheese in a bowl and mix well with a whisk. The liquid mix will go between every two layers of the phyllo dough sheets.

Prepare the pastry: Grease the bottom of a glass dish with olive oil. Place two layers of the phyllo dough sheets to cover the bottom and sides. Spread 2-3 tbsp of the liquid mix on top of the phyllo dough layer and sprinkle a little shredded cheese. Take another two layers of the phyllo dough sheets and repeat this procedure. Now spread all of the spinach filling evenly on top. Resume layering of phyllo dough sheets in twos with 2-3 tbsp of the liquid mix spread between each pair. Continue until all of the phyllo dough sheets are placed in layers.

Whisk the egg in a bowl. Brush the egg evenly on the top layer.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the glass dish with the assembled pastry on the lower rack and cook until the top is light brown, about 30 minutes.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Happy Easter! It is Friday again, which means it is time for the usual Five for Fridays! Here are 5 food and nutrition related stories that caught my eye. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

New health bill will require restaurants to show calories on the menu

Chain restaurants with more than 20 outlets nationwide will be required to display nutrient content and calorie information on their menus according to Section 2572 of the recent healthcare bill. Similar rules will apply to vending machines. Menu labeling has been already in place in New York City for over an year with mixed results. Studies published last year, which I wrote about in a Five for Fridays, reported that doubts were emerging about the effectiveness of calorie labeling. What was more worrisome to me was the fact that some restaurants were actually “cheating” by posting lower calories than actually present in certain food items when tested! Clearly, this should not be allowed.

I think calorie labeling on restaurant menus is a good idea. Not only that,  there should also be other nutritional information available, particularly on salt, sugar and fat. It may take some time before consumers are fully aware of the risks of salty, sugary and fatty foods, but clearly in the long run it will help them make better decisions. The problem is that now it will require some sort of policing to ensure compliance with the law. Already there are problems with the National Organic Program (see below) due to constraints in budget and inspectors . These new requirements will undoubtedly create a new bureaucracy and another cat-and-mouse game will begin between food marketers and compliance officers. Hopefully it will become a self-policing system if consumers begin to vote with their wallets at these restaurants.

National Organic Program lacks teeth to enforce rules

You pay extra for certified organic products. You have the right to expect that they are genuine and that they do not contain pesticide residues. You do not expect non-organic products sold with the organic label. Yet, it is not an absolute guarantee! Now, wouldn’t that make you mad?

This is exactly how I felt when I read a report in the New York Times which exposed serious gaps in federal oversight of the organic food industry. Turns out that they don’t have enough inspectors to spot check organic products for pesticide residue (required by law) and that bogus organic products were allowed to be in the market for over 2 years before any action was taken. The excuse? Well, demand for organic products has grown so fast that the USDA’s National Organic Program can’t keep up with its enforcement responsibilities!

Finally, they are making a commitment to enforce spot testing for pesticide residues. They are getting more money and more people. The bureaucracy is ballooning but don’t expect it work perfectly. It never does. Meanwhile, don’t give up on organic products; just do your research and buy from a reputable brand.

Pepsico wants to trick your tongue by “designer salt”

Don’t give up on the potato chips! At least that is what Pepsico would like you to do just in case you are having second thoughts after reading about the evil sodium in their popular snacks. Recently they announced plans to cut sodium content by 25% by 2015, saturated fat and added sugar by 15% and 25% respectively by 2020. Sounds like the responsible thing to do, especially now that there is a bright spotlight on the link between processed food and obesity.

The solution, at least for sodium? A new “designer salt” which has crystals shaped and sized so that they dissolve fast on the tongue delivering a rapid salty sensation. While an innovative idea, which Pepsico is sure to market as a “breakthrough”, I think it is still a great example of incremental thinking. The problem is not with salt folks, it is the chips that we need to cut down on.

And 25% reduction is not going to make these products “healthier”! Consider Cheetos, which contain a whopping 290 mg of sodium per 1 oz serving. A 25% reduction (in 5 years) will bring it down to about 220, which is still very high. Too little, too late? What do you think?

Spinach leaves enrich their vitamin content sitting on the store shelf

Worried about picking up that box of baby spinach close to its expiration date? Well, believe it or not, you may be actually getting more value for your money compared to a box that did not sit on the store shelves for this long!

According to researchers at the USDA, spinach leaves exposed to store lighting conditions continuously over 9 days had a higher level of folate, vitamin C, K and E compared to those kept in the dark. This fascinating research was recently published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. The researchers reasoned that the spinach leaves continued their photosynthesis (a process by which plants produce sugars using sunlight and carbon dioxide) under the store light, which also produces these vitamins. When the same spinach leaves were stored in the dark, photosynthesis did not happen.

This is interesting for sure, but remember that the vitamin content of vegetables also depends on how you cook them. Steaming and microwaving is good; but eating raw fresh veggies is even better.

Teaching kids to eat healthy the French way

Offer preschoolers a 5 course meal, make sure they eat at the table and keep the parents out is the French recipe for getting kids to build lifelong healthy eating habits. I was fascinated to read the Nursery School Gourmets in a recent TIME magazine, which explained how seriously the city of Paris looks at the matter of school lunches.

Clearly, it is a well-structured, heavily funded state program unlike what we have in the United States. The daily menu is planned in advance for 2 months with no repetitions. Every meal includes an hors d’oeuvre, salad, main course, cheese plate and dessert (yum!). Soda and snack machines are banned. Parents are given suggestions for what to serve at dinner based on the day’s lunch menu. Discipline is intense and kids are trained to eat at the table and keep quiet.

Should we emulate the French model to solve our childhood obesity problem? The topic of school lunch is center stage these days, and Jamie Olivers’ Food Revolution is on prime time. The French model is yet another benchmark for us to consider. What do you think?

Enjoy and let me know what is on your mind.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Hope you all enjoyed the day’s festivities. Our twins had fun at their daycare where they got green milk for breakfast! It was quite a novelty for them since we don’t usually offer them colored or flavored milk. It was fun to see them proudly display their green milk moustache! They also threw a small party in the afternoon and invited the parents to come hang out with the kids and the teachers.

Green happens to be my favorite color, which is one reason I like this holiday. And when it comes to food, the nutritious value of green vegetables is unbeatable. That is why I want to highlight a few green recipes in this week’s Five for Fridays. Some of them are our own favorites which we have published before in our Simple Recipes column. A few others I found on blogs of some of my favorite bloggers. Check them out and feel free to share your personal favorite St. Patrick’s day recipes!

Pasta with spinach and mushrooms

Salmon and broccoli in green curry sauce

Avocado and pears salad

Rebecca has this Easy South Indian Spinach recipe on her Chow and Chatter blog

Jenna has this Green Macroni and Cheese recipe on her Kid Appeal blog. She also has a very nice lineup of other St. Patrick’s Day recipes you might want to check out!

Enjoy and do share your favorite green recipe!

Earlier this week I wrote about 5 Things You Need to Know About Vitamin A. This is a very important vitamin especially for growing children. It is required for their eye health, immune system, healthy skin, bone development, brain development and development for blood cells. A severe deficiency is known to cause night blindness.

As a follow up, I decided to scan a few of my favorite recipe sites for kid-friendly and easy-to-make recipes rich in Vitamin A. Check them out and be sure to visit these blogs for more great recipes.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Bisque on Chow and Chatter

This recipe has a tripe-dose of vitamin A rich vegetables – sweet potato, carrots and butternut squash! Strictly speaking, bisque is a thick soup, but this recipe could easily be turned into rich, creamy dip for french bread or baked chips. I would skip the wine, of course, when offering it to your kids! Check it out.

Sweet Potato Quesadilla on Fix Me A Snack

This is such a cool idea for a quick snack rich in vitamin A! It uses sweet potato, applesauce and optionally cranberry sauce and of course cheese and tortillas. Our twins love crunchy quesadillas, so we are definitely going to give it a try!

Chili Mac ‘N Cheese with a Healthy Makeover on Meal Makeover Moms

Kids love Mac ‘n Cheese, but the problem is the fat and refined carbs from the usual ingredients – pasta, milk and cheese. The Meal Makover Moms did  a simple and clever ingredient swap to make this a healthier option. Vitamin A comes from the milk, cheese and the vegetarian chili.

Börek – Spinach Pastry on Binnur’s Turkish Cookbook

This is our family favorite! Spinach filling and a liquid mix made up of milk, egg and olive oil are added between layers of phyllo pastry and the whole stack is baked in the oven for a crunchy, yet soft spinach pastry. It is a great snack or an appetizer before a meal.

Butternut Squash Soup on Littlestomaks

We have made this recipe several times now and it has become one of our favorites. It takes a little longer to cook, but it is very good! The good thing is that you can make enough to last for a couple of days. Butternut squash is a great source of vitamin A and other vitamins.

Enjoy these recipes and let me know what you think!

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

This is a simple variation of our recipe Chicken with Pasta and Vegetables. It hardly takes any time to prepare and we save it for those hectic days when we have to quickly put something together for dinner. Our kids love spaghetti and we just add the mushroom and spinach to it to make a quick meal.

Ingredients

1. 1 lb box spaghetti (we used Ronzoni brand)
2. 1 9 oz bag of baby spinach, washed well
3. 1 8 oz box of baby bella mushrooms, washed and cut in quarters
4. 1 medium onion, finely chopped or crushed in a food processor
5. 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6. Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box, drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, lightly heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil, saute onions until light brown. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, mix well and saute some more. Add spinach and cook covered for 2-3 minutes until spinach is soft but not overcooked. Set it aside.

Lightly heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan. Add pasta and toss over a few times so it is uniformly coated with olive oil. Add the mushroom and spinach mix on top and serve immediately.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Ingredients

1. 3-4 medium sized Tilapia or Flounder fillets
2. 1 box (16 oz.) rotini or penne pasta (we used Ronzoni brand)
3. 1 jar (24 oz.) Bertolli 5 cheese pasta sauce (or your favorite tomato sauce)
4. 1 bag (9 oz.) baby spinach, washed
5. 1 small onion, finely chopped or crushed in a food processor
6. 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

Wash the fish fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a medium-sized non-stick saucepan. Pan-fry fish fillets over low-medium heat until fully cooked. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to instructions on the box. We like to add a little salt and olive oil to the boiling water just before adding pasta. The best way to judge if the pasta is cooked is to taste it – I do not like mine to be too soft and overcooked! Once cooked, drain into a colander and shake well to remove all excess water. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and saute for 2-3 minutes stirring frequently. Add spinach, mix well and cook covered for about 5 minutes at low heat. The spinach should soften but not overcook, so adjust the heat and time accordingly. Create room for fish fillets in the center of the saucepan. Add the cooked fish fillets to the center and cover it with the spinach. Add cooked pasta around the fish fillets and top it with the pasta sauce. Spread the pasta sauce uniformly over pasta and the fish fillets with a wooden spoon. Cook at low heat until sauce is warm.

Serve immediately with a side dish of cubed cantaloupe.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

6-8 toddler servings, 4 adult servings

Ingredients

1. 1 12 oz box of Rotini pasta (or another type such as Penne)
2. 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in quarters (or chicken breast)
3. 1/2 lb baby bella mushrooms, cut in quarters
4. 1/2 bag fresh baby spinach, washed well
5. 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped or crushed in a food processor
6. 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. Parmesan blend bread dip seasoning

Method

Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil over low-medium heat until soft. Set aside. Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box, drain and set aside. Lightly coat chicken with olive oil and Parmesan blend seasoning and pan fry on medium heat until cooked through and the skin is crispy light brown. In a large saucepan heat a little olive oil, add pasta and toss over a few times so it is uniformly coated with oil. Add mushrooms and spinach, cooked covered for 2-3 minutes or until spinach is soft but not overcooked. Serve with blueberries on the side and a slice of bread.