I have another article on the Savvy Auntie website. It’s written for aunties but appeals to anyone that works with or has kids. You don’t need the White House lawn in order to grow your own food! Check it out:

A few weeks ago, I left behind a rainy Seattle to visit my hilarious and adorable nieces in California. On my last day there, we visited their other grandparent’s, Safta and Saba (Hebrew for grandma and grandpa). Safta is an avid gardener and was excited to show my nieces and their cousins the carrots they had personally planted.

I watched my younger niece, 3 years old and the epitome of precocious, excitedly dash around waiting for her turn to pull out her carrot. Now, this girl is the type of child who is less than enthusiastic about food. She tends to get distracted at meals and is destined to become one of those adults who forgets to eat. But when she knew that “her” carrot was ready to be harvested, she acted as though Mickey and Minnie were about to join us.

As a cooking instructor, I’ve watched many, many children surprise their parents by eating foods they usually snub but upon preparing them, decided that it was the best meal of their life. But even I was impressed with how excited the children were to pull, wash and eat “their” carrots. I realize that as aunties, you may not have the opportunity to garden with your nieces and nephews on a regular basis but there are lots of opportunities to introduce them to the wondrous miracle of growing food.

Go to a nursery. It’s planting season, so instead of taking them to the toy store, let your nieces and nephews pick out a fresh herb or a tomato plant to take home and nurture – they don’t need a yard for these plants.

Take them to a farm. Lots of farms are connected to Community Supported Agriculture programs (which deliver boxes weekly to customers) and welcome visitors – some may even have special activities for the kids. Visit Local Harvest to find a farm near you.

Pick Your Own Food. We are a little early for berry season but depending on where you live in the U.S., there are lots of Pick Your Own farms that offer great produce and an afternoon of fun for children.

Find a neighbor with a garden. I’ve never met a gardener that doesn’t love giving a tour of their beautiful yard – many would be flattered if you asked them to stop by with kids. You’ll probably end up leaving with a fresh bouquet of flowers and some just-picked produce.

Take them to a farmer’s market. It’s not quite the same as seeing food in the ground but many farmers love sharing stories and the kids can pick out a new fruit or vegetable as a treat to eat at the market or take home to prepare together.

Start your own garden. This is the time of year to begin planting! If you’re looking for tips on how to get started, visit backyardgardener.com. As you can see in the first picture, you can plant in pots if you don’t have a yard.

Find a local school garden. Bring your nieces and nephews to a local school garden so that they can see other kids digging in the dirt.

After you have collected a few vegetables from your food adventure, try serving them raw with a Homemade Ranch Dip. It takes only minutes to prepare and the yogurt and lack of preservatives makes it a lot healthier than most store bought products. If you’re willing to use a food processor, try blending in cream cheese or an avocado for a different consistency and flavor.

Homemade Ranch Dip

1/3 cup mayonnaise or lowfat sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt (low-fat products won’t provide the correct consistency)
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs such as parsley, chives, tarragon
¼ teaspoon crushed garlic (which is more kid-friendly than fresh garlic)
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine mayonnaise and sour cream in a small bowl – blend them together well. Add lime juice, fresh herbs and garlic - stir gently. Add salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve dip with a platter of crunchy vegetables such as carrot sticks, pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, or blanched snow peas.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves 2-4
Recipe by Julie Negrin © 2005

If children and gardening is a topic you’re interested in, visit Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard site or KidsGardening - there are lots of other sites too!

I recently wrote the  following article for a wonderful site, www.savvyauntie.com that offers resources and an online community for aunties. Although the article is targeted toward aunts, it’s still useful information for parents, grandparents, sitters, teachers, and anyone else that spends time with kids (or likes asparagus). This will be the first of many posts on how to encourage children to eat more nutritious foods - many parents mention that this as a big issue for them.

Getting Kids to Eat More Green

Green, green, green! It’s definitely the color of 2009. But a lot of kids aren’t a big fan of green – especially when you’re talking about vegetables. I know that it’s hard for us aunties to feel like we have much influence on our nieces and nephews’ eating habits. But there are plenty of ways for you to introduce a love of food, even vegetables, to your nieces and nephews even if you don’t see them frequently.

Even the smallest of activities can help you and your nieces and nephews forge a bond in the kitchen so that they become open to eating new foods with you. When my nephew was only 2 years old, I began making smoothies with him and talking to him about how it’s important to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Now, at 7 years old, he constantly peppers me with nutrition and food questions and trusts me when I encourage him to try a new dish – and of course, he still loves smoothies! Even if you aren’t a confident cook, you can still make basic recipes like yogurt parfaits (yogurt, cut fruit and granola or graham crackers layered in a clear glass).

Once you have them excited about sweet, fruit-based recipes, you can try introducing them to vegetables and more exotic cuisines. They will often be more receptive to trying a food for you that they might not otherwise try for their parents. While many parents are often too busy (and tired) to keep introducing a new food (it can take up to 15 tries, or in the case of my 4 year old nephew, 150) you have the advantage of being the Cool Auntie who can make something as simple as eating a fun, new adventure!

Some tips on introducing new foods to kids:

Don’t make a big deal out of it. Keep your tone light and offer it only a couple of times per meal. Remind them that if they don’t like it, they don’t have to eat all of it. The point is to get them to TRY new foods – so compliment them for trying it, even if they don’t end up liking it. It’s fine if they spit it out but they must do so politely into a napkin.

Be a good role model. Introduce the new foods around other adventurous eaters – including yourself. Don’t expect them to eat something that you won’t - they are too smart for that. If they don’t want to even taste it, I’ll eat it instead and say “Mmmmmm” and tell them how lucky I am that I get to eat something so good.

Have fun with it! If you’re at a grocery store, make it a safari hunt or at a restaurant, pretend that you’re on an exotic vacation – they love immersing anything into a “story” so let both of your imaginations run wild.

Here is a spring time dish that is a favorite with adults and kids. Kids are more open to vegetables like broccoli and asparagus because they look like little trees. I can’t explain it – I just know it works. It’s very easy-to-prepare and this is asparagus season so try to pick up a fresh bunch at your local farmer’s market.

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

1 pound green (or white) asparagus stalks, ends cut off
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of ½ lemon (zest is finely grated lemon peel – it’s best to grate with a microplane)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup grated parmesan
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Arrange asparagus on baking sheet. Whisk olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice in small bowl and pour over asparagus. Toss asparagus stalks gently to coat. Spread asparagus in a single layer. Sprinkle parmesan and salt evenly over stalks. Roast until asparagus is tender, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves 2-4
Recipe by Julie Negrin © 2006

I like teaching parents and kids how to prepare hummus because it’s the ultimate kid food (a smooth, creamy dip), keeps in the fridge all week long, and is easy to prepare. And most importantly, it’s a great source of protein - so it’s the perfect snack to serve with crackers or carrots right after school when everyone is cranky and needing an energy boost.

In my cooking classes, the kids prepare hummus old school style by mashing the garbonzo beans with a fork and then adding in tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, water and salt without measuring each ingredient. If you need more specific instructions, the following recipe  is a little more sophisticated but equally as delicious! Enjoy.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

After living in Israel and working in a kibbutz kitchen, I’m a hummus snob. I like making this recipe for parties because it can be made in under a half hour using canned beans and jarred roasted peppers. Though, if you take the time to make the beans from scratch and roast your own peppers, you’ll appreciate the difference in taste. The tofu can be omitted but it’s a great way to double the protein - especially for kids who don’t eat enough of it.

*1 large red pepper (or 4 oz of jarred roasted red peppers)
1 15 oz. can (or 2 cups cooked) garbonzo beans
4 oz. silken tofu, well-drained
¼ cup parsley, chopped
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime (or lemon) juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic (or jarred crushed garlic)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup sesame tahini
1 to 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

To roast pepper, preheat oven to broil. Make sure top oven rack is positioned so that the pepper will be 4-5 inches away from heat at the top of the oven. Place pepper on a baking sheet lined with foil. Roast until black and charred, flipping with tongs when necessary. When the pepper is nearly all black, remove from oven and place in a metal bowl and cover with saran wrap to loosen skin. When peppers are cooled, gently peel skin off and remove all seeds. Save the oil released from the pepper during the roasting process. Cut 2 or 3 slices for garnish and set aside.

Blend the roasted pepper, beans, tofu, parsley, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, olive oil, tahini and 1 teaspoon of salt in a food processor until desired consistency is achieved. Add in roasted pepper oil from pan or jar. Depending on your taste, add more garlic, lemon juice, olive oil or salt.

Serve warm or chilled. Garnish with slices of red pepper. This dish keeps for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*For plain hummus, just leave out the red peppers and add in some extra olive oil to make the dish creamy.

Preparation time: 30 minutes (once beans are cooked or if using canned beans)
Serves 6
Recipe by Julie Negrin © 2008

HIRE YOUR KIDS AS SOUS CHEFS – they can:

-Kids can rip up the parsley leaves or cut with a butter knife.
-Roasting peppers is easy but peeling them is the perfect task to give to kids 6 and older as it’s more time-consuming than most parents would like.
-Kids love squeezing lemon and lime juice - or if you’re in a time pinch, buy the organic Santa Cruz bottle of fresh lemon juice.

The simple act of cooking together can improve the entire family diet, minimize meal time battles and create a lifelong, healthy relationship with food. Even the simplest tasks - like having them break eggs for scrambled eggs on Sunday morning - can initiate a love of cooking.

Cooking together provides a natural way to discuss nutrition, good eating habits and the impact their food choices have on the environment. The more educated they are about food, the more likely they will appreciate your suggestions to eat something healthful.

Kids are much more likely to eat what they make. They love to be creative - is there anything more fun than getting to eat your art project? It’s a great acitivity for picky kids who resist trying new foods because they are more open to eating an unfamiliar food if they helped prepare the meal.

What else do they learn? Science, language, math, counting, fractions, budgeting, weighing, sequencing, measuring, problem solving, sharing, fine motor skills, and reading.

Even if they don’t wolf down their first few creations, don’t worry – you are still introducing them to a wider range of foods and better nutrition. Eventually, they will copy your eating habits (beware!), so stick it out – they will eat more variety as they mature.